For a very long time, there was a zone of acceptable behavior in politics that was bound by both political coalitions. One side of the political class established the right side and the other camp established the left side. Within those two boundaries is where you found acceptable political discourse. If someone on the right side started noticing things, they were thrown over the wall into the void. Similarly, if someone called shenanigans on the liberals, they were marginalized.
Most people noticed the barrier on the right side as it was the tallest. Those gatekeepers also made a big deal out of being gatekeepers. In retrospect, conservatism was nothing more than a gatekeeper’s handbook. On the left side, the grandees did their policing more subtly, with a sense of shame. People like Bernie Sanders and Dennis Kucinich were tolerated as long as they knew their place. They got to pretend to be real socialists as long as they never threatened the established order.
The story of the last decade or so is the collapse of both walls. Donald Trump swung a wrecking ball through Conservative Inc. What started as a vanity campaign set off a populist rebellion first aimed at the gatekeepers on conservatism. Forgotten in all of this is the way Trump humiliated the Bush wing of the party. The mediocrities running conservatism did the rest. The whole thing collapsed under the weight of its own stupidity, corruption and perfidy.
Something similar occurred on the left side. The Bernie Sanders challenge to Clinton in the 2016 campaign exposed a massive crack in that foundation. His 2020 run forced Liberal Inc. to blow up it up to prevent Sanders from winning. In retrospect, the 2020 shenanigans should include the rigging of the Democratic primary. The result was a collapse of the gatekeeping on that side. This is an underappreciated part of the whole effort to install Joe Biden as president.
It seems that some of the empire’s rich people have noticed that the walls are down, so they are coming up with solutions. One is a new university in Texas that will gather up various exiles from the establishment into something of a think tank. Their stated claim is they will challenge the orthodoxy of the academy. The money for this is coming from a guy calling himself Joe Lonsdale. He is part of the Peter Thiel network, so it is safe to assume that Thiel money is involved too.
When you look at the list of people involved, it is basically civic nationalism gathering the remaining troops for one last stand. The “left-wing” people involved are the old liberals who never embraced cultural Marxism. The “right-wing” types are mostly people who never had a chance to work at AEI or Heritage. The one thing all of these people have in common is they are exiles from the establishment foundations. This project is an effort to create their own version of Heritage.
The problem with challenging the established orthodoxly is you need to do so from an alternative moral order. Civic nationalism has never had a moral order at its center, so it was never much of a challenge to the ideologues. This is stunningly clear now that cultural Marxism is off its chain and running wild. What does Conservative Inc. say about the corruption of the law we see in the Rittenhouse trial? Their advice is you should throw your guns in the nearest lake and stay home.
Into this moral void is flowing the integralists. These are mostly Catholic revanchists who think the answer to the present is to rewind the clocks. They keep turning up in the pages of the American Conservative. Here is Sohrab Ahmari explaining why he has joined the new university. Here he is explaining their new moral order along with some fellow revanchists, also involved in the new university project. Buchanan’s old publication seems to be part of the new gatekeeper operation.
Interestingly, it appears that Rod Dreher has not got the memo about the new direction of his platform. Here he is reacting to a post by Patrick Deneen, another Catholic revanchist, lumping Dreher in with David French. It is an excellent observation as both men are cafeteria Christians. They pick from the vast menu that is Christianity to create for themselves a religion that suits their needs. Dreher takes issue with it, but he should have read it as a warning. His days are now numbered.
Another interesting fact is the Catholic revanchists are involved with the Yoram Hazony project, which is also funded by Peter Thiel. We have one oligarch and some lesser allies working to fund a new building project. The new walls on the right will be built on a new brand of nationalism, stripped of the icky parts, and a civic nationalism rooted in a desire for the old throne and altar conservatism. It is a do-over of sorts, starting someone in the middle of the last century.
Taken as a whole, the Theil project is an interesting play by one of the most important and ambitious oligarchs. Unlike many of his fellow oligarchs at the table, he seems to get that a storm is brewing. If they wish to avoid the national razor, they better figure out how to create order from the chaos. Unlike the other oligarchs, people like Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg, Thiel is not trying to curry favor with the cultural Marxists. He seems to get that they are the problem.
The trouble, of course, is that this is a rearguard action. In order to rebuild those old walls, there has to be a ruling class consensus to defend. That was always the point critics missed about Conservative Inc. It was created as part of the ruling class consensus that formed up after the Cold War. One reason it is in ruins is the consensus no longer exists. Into that void is flowing the demographically driven identity politics that so frightens the civic nationalists.
That is another thing missed by the civic nationalists. You see it in that Deneen post about his new brand of conservatism. Defense of the liberal order, which is the heart of civic nationalism, was itself a creation of the post-Cold War consensus. Without that political center, civic nationalism is nothing more than armed men defending a city that has already been put to the torch by the radicals. The Rittenhouse story is not just a young man on trial. It is civic nationalism on trial.
While it is wise to assume the worst from these new projects, the fact that they exist should be read as good news. When the oligarchs are sensing that things are heading into very dangerous waters, it means they are ready to stop playing make believe and engage in serious politics. Cultural Marxism poses a greater threat to them than it does the common people. If the oligarchs start to question the prevailing moral orthodoxy, it opens the door for a legitimate challenge.
The crackdown by the oligarchs on dissidents has had the happy result of a proliferation of new ways to support your favorite creator. If you like my work and wish to kick in a few bucks, you can buy me a beer. You can sign up for a SubscribeStar subscription and get some extra content. You can donate via PayPal. My crypto addresses are here for those who prefer that option. You can send gold bars to: Z Media LLC P.O. Box 432 Cockeysville, MD 21030-0432. Thank you for your support!
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The current oligarchs are the cultural Marxists.
2
Hoagie’s right. They used to rail against The Man; now they are The Man.
1
The organizations Thiel is pushing forward is as far right as anyone is willing to go with their name attached to it.
Thinking a lot of the reason for the laughable requirement of relaying the identity of 10k+ Bitcoin donations is the realization there is going to be a new class of rich who may talk a woke game, but will secretly finance new power structures, especially if they’re whites who are locked out of power due to diversity. When they see millions of disenfranchised whites, they see a way of garnering political power.
The left has mastered creating shadow organizations, shadow funding, and infiltrating and destroying old philanthropic organizations. They also were masters of having a public narrative and a private, closed-door radical ideology. The new right elite’s public face might be civic nationalism, but their private face may start to become very different.
5
There is too much there for one sitting. I shall start chewing on it post haste.
“This project is an effort to create their own version of Heritage.”
————————————————————————————-
An alternative theory, not quite fully thought out yet:
These guys obviously know something is up, Z. Conservative Inc is going to fracture: those that want to stick their heads in the sand, and pretend it’s 1984, and those that realize they need to come to terms with the realities of the day and the growing influence of the dissident right. These guys know they have to parley – because what is coming will sweep them away with the establishment when it arrives – kinda like the way Bill Mitchell was tossed from Gab.
The University of Austin intriques me. Classical Texans might just make a go of it, maybe? Being Texans, they will poach the best talent from their adversaries, and it is out there, ripe for the picking. If you were a top notch scientist being suffocated by women and vibrants – you’d jump ship the second a viable alternative surfaced.
Maybe the university is a step toward something better? One thing is obvious at this point: Conservative Inc has to change or die.
2
Hmppfffffff.
this line of thought opens other cans of worms. Is there a ‘dissident left’ Z? If so… who are they, and what do they look like?
Clearly, Liberal Inc. is on it’s last legs too…
I don’t think there cane be a dissident left. To be a dissident means rejecting the prevailing moral orthodoxy. All forms of leftism start with liberal dogma.
Insofar as Texas is striving to become this era’s version of the 1960s and 1970s era of California — meaning the place to be to be on the cutting edge of culture and business — I can see lots and lots of wannabes and aspirants and all the rest moving there to be part of the action and be around to tell us of the “dark side” the rest of the world never learned of and only heard all the promotional stories. And I can already hear all the soon to be written stories and articles and maybe even movies talking of the new Texas mythology, crafting an image of Texas much as they did to California. My sense is that Shapiro and his ilk are trying to bring some of that mystique to Nashville, another place that is trying to live up to its own mythology in the making. Soon we will be hearing of the Texas School of this or that, or the Nashville School style of cultural critique.
All in before it becomes a racket
I think the, “University of Austin, ” is a bit silly out of the gate.
People will endlessly confuse it with the state flagship University of Texas at Austin with its $3.1 billion budget, $30.1 billion endowment, and top 50 global ranking.
Yeah, these guys aren’t exactly pursuing a blue ocean strategy here.
Thiel and the other oligarchs seek to build on top of foundations they undermined.
5
I don’t trust him for the simple fact he is an open homosexual. That doesn’t mean him funding some dissidents is a bad thing though, just keep your distance and be ready to say no to the money.
6
Ah. That is reason enough right there for our host’s skepticism. The faggot must inevitably fink. I stand corrected…
1
Most of what Thiel does is to put himself in a position to be around and hiring and in control of lots of young men
Or I would always presume that to be his primary motivator
3
That seems to be the unifying motivation for everyone in that particular tribe.
Dreher situation at TAC is interesting. A few years ago, he was their main draw as Daniel Larison would go on rants about Yemen and everyone else they published was obscure. They have really made an effort to expand beyond Dreher and must be having some success.
He recently posted a link to a John Derbyshire column on Viktor Orban to Twitter and then recoiled in horror when some concerned readers called VDare a racist hate site. Hilariously, Dreher claimed he had no idea what VDare posted and hadn’t followed Derb’s work since he(Dreher) had left National Review in 2002. My guess is the gatekeeper crowd no longer finds Dreher useful within a couple of years and he ends up putting out his own stuff on SubStack exclusively.
The comment section there is full of left-wing people for some reason.
1
That is really bizarre. I was still reading Dreher once in a while when they switched to Disqus and he made it sound like he banned a bunch of libs he considered trolls at that time too. Maybe they like the fact that he usually fires to his right, and mostly takes criticism from the left lying down like he deserves it. Even if they thought they could turn him, why would they want to?
I have to wonder that if things get so bad that most people just don’t lose themselves in Metaverse.
Living in Ca, home of both tech and rapid demographic transformation, I noticed some time ago that mass immigration coincided with the rise of the internet where lots of people never really had to venture outdoors to see how rapidly the world around them was changing. They could hide or lose themselves inside at the computer as the human hurricane took place in truly another world.
It’s bound to become a chicken and egg question, What came first, the collapse of the real world or the rise of the virtual world? The two do seem to have a symbiotic connection. And it all requires tons of cheap energy to sustain the virtual. I have to wonder if the green energy schemes will be something the elites wish they never promoted. No internet and no virtual reality coupled with a world outside that is a nightmare ghetto, lots of very discontented people to try and manage.
6
“Something similar occurred on the left side. The Bernie Sanders challenge to Clinton in the 2016 campaign exposed a massive crack in that foundation. His 2020 run forced Liberal Inc. to blow up it up to prevent Sanders from winning. In retrospect, the 2020 shenanigans should include the rigging of the Democratic primary. ”
Thank you 🙏🏻 Z. My view of Sanders, when not comparing him to the surprising yet hopeless candidacy of Upton Sinclair for Governor of California in 1934 (Socialist runs as Democrat, wins primary, goes down to defeat), is to look at him as Rocky Balboa to Hillary’s Apollo Creed. A patsy put in the ring to make the show look legit to the rubes in the cheap seats.
Sanders landing punches on Hillary in the form of winning primaries put lie to the claim “Everybody LOVES Hillary!” Similar to Rocky taking Apollo the full distance in the original “Rocky”, he proved the champ wasn’t that good.
As for the primary fixing in 2020:
1) Trump’s team should’ve been looking a DAMNED sight closer at the shenanigans on the Democratic side and gotten a clue.
2) If one can remember that far back, consider how quickly news of The Worst Disease Ever Seen We Are Totally Serious You Guys You’re Gonna DIE!!!!! appeared after the Democrats got caught rigging their primaries and became a laughingstock.
Coincidence?
4
Trump should have had trusted people preparing for how to prevent and deal with 2020 election fraud by March 2017. Most of his campaign staff was just concerned with making money, like a typical Republican campaign.
1
Maybe I’m a bit naive, but I’ve often wondered why some super rich guy wouldn’t put some of his money toward backing DR type goals. Hear me out.
First, I’m not necessarily talking about a billionaire. I’m talking about someone worth $50 million (hell, maybe $25 million) or more. A couple of million dollars could create a decent-sized organization that could fund candidates or employ some lawyers to attack anti-white public or private policies, etc.
There are a good number of white men worth $25 million or more. At least a few of them are sympathetic to our cause.
But here’s my main point: If you’re rich and want to leave a mark on the world, would you be better off giving millions to charity or some college football program or helping to fund a movement that could save your people?
No one will remember that guy that gives a new weight room to OSU, but the guy who funds the Z Institute could change the world. Yeah, he’ll catch a ton of flak, but he’d be rich enough to ignore it and even fight back. And, yeah, it probably won’t work, but, man, if it did, talk about bang for your buck.
2
If I won the Powerball and started funding d-right ventures, I’d make sure I had millions of that cash stuffed in my mattress so I don’t get Fuentes’d.
3
Exactly. If I was founding an intellectual hub for the future of conservative thought and cultural stewardship, I would also have Bari Weiss announce it in her substack and definitely locate it in Austin because real estate in Santa Monica is too expensive.
I would meet with all my business partners at my ski house in Bozeman to plan it, where we would all agree it should be super American and super cool. Basically, “what would Joe Rogan do?”
I welcome the private shitlord based cabal of billionaire dissident commanders plotting from the lair in a dormant volcano. I would even offer my services as greyman jumpsuit henchman. But I won’t work for bitcoin. Or drive a Tesla golf cart. Or wrestle hairless college boys in lime jello.
Until then I would rather see a handful of wealthier-than-average white men invest in some boring, modest undertaking in a rural white community that improves the social, economic, or physical infrastructure in one of the many ways that could help our people – especially given the massive opportunities currently presenting with urban flight and economic dislocation of our guys.
1
Boone Pickens did manage to get his name plastered on some stuff. When I was at the Reagan library they had his name prominently displayed as a major donor. Guys of that era thought they could get anything done if they threw enough money around. Hopefully a couple of the next generation will learn some lessons and provide more helpful funding.
“The new walls on the right will be built on a new brand…”
Whatever they do will ultimately fail because it’s not based on identity, the primary motivator in American society. The Left bases their entire pitch on separating “us from them”, whether it’s class or religion or race. The “white supremacy” slur they throw around is meant to excite envy and hatred of our people in order to spur their people to oppose us and put the Left in charge of the effort. And that’s just one example among hundreds. That policy clearly works as it gave Obama, then Biden, the largest popular vote totals in history. No republican has won more than 51% of the popular vote since 1988. Two of the last three republican presidential wins came in the electoral college while losing the popular vote.
What does this fake National Conservatism have to oppose the Left’s (very effective) dog whistling or to motivate our people into action? Clearly, calling for race neutrality didn’t work because democrat constituents aren’t at all interested in that. Is this more of the same?
–>”We don’t see race … and it’s totally okay that the other side does. Here, let’s vote to make Juneteenth a national holiday, celebrate black history month, and give a speech on BET before returning to congress to praise the Congressional Black Caucus and all the other myriad identity groups.”
All these people seem to have are slogans and a thin veneer of repackaged talking points: “God” but not any god in particular; rants against multiculturalism but a dogma that ends up supporting it; various economic slogans cobbled together by a staff of interns studying websites like this one but with no serious policy recommendations to address them; Abraham Lincoln quotes as if they mattered at all today; various appeals to counterproductive “patriotism” (why are we sacrificing for a regime that actively hates us along racial lines?); etc. Even the same people who ran the old failed Conservatism Inc. are involved — Rich Lowery, for example.
Just as Stalin found out the masses wouldn’t fight for his ideology, these National Conservatives are going to find out that their efforts won’t inspire anyone on our side to oppose the far more motivated and more numerous far-Left. This is more about piggybacking on the coming Red Wave so these gatekeepers can manipulate it to their benefit than achieving long lasting aims for our people (many of these “National Conservatives” aren’t even our people — one is a literal Israeli citizen).
In summary: old hat, new name.
Conservatives, being naturally less interested in politics and more willing to be magnanimous in victory, might just go along with it. Of course, that’ll ultimately end in ruin just as Reagan’s cynical channeling of the 60s racial backlash into economic fusionism ended with Bill Clinton and, ultimately, Barack Obama. But in the mean time, get used to tough talking republicans who oppose “illegal” immigration but support “legal” immigration and oppose CRT only because it hurts black people so much (how?). If they succeed, they may end up demoralizing enough of their base so that the democrat gets reelected in 2024 on a platform of “fighting white supremacy” and “equitable land redistribution.”
*Note: Agent Orange Man provided an excellent critique of the National Conservatism article which appeared on The American Conservative. Much of the same could be said about Thiel’s other efforts like this university.
https://thezman.com/wordpress/?p=25601
2
It is hilarious Rod Dreher criticizes the integralists because they offer no specific program or solutions. Dreher advocates duck and cover and sucks up to the Left so he can limit having to do so.
In many ways, Dreher is more despicable than David French, who in addition to being a grifter has a discernible mental illness. Dreher is a coward and a liar. You will note in his comments the Left flocks there because he was such an OrangeManBad dude and can be socially guilt-tripped into supporting leftism.
He is the worst of the worst of Con, Inc. Hilariously, he wrote a book about the totalitarianism of the modern age and has simultaneously advocated for keeping the 1/6 political prisoners in solitary confinement and subjected to other torture due to trespassing charges. When he alludes to something uncomfortable–race and IQ, for example–he always claims not to have read it.
Conservatism is dead, and all of Thiel’s money cannot revive it. Thiel can help out the dissident right, which is exploding, and goes about as far as someone in his position can to do so.
Modern politics are about to reflect the realities of this age, which are Cultural Marxism vs. everyone else on the ropes. This bodes ill for liberal democracy, and should bode ill for liberal democracy. As you write, reality is the thing that does not go away once you cease to believe it.
1
I’ve been reading Taki since 1980 and have always been entertained and mostly agreed with his comments/observations. This is from the last paragraph of his 11.12.21 post:
“How can a serious debate take place at a university when professors insist that white men dominate, hence any debate is unfair and racist? Social media did not create this mentality, but it exacerbates it at every turn. The situation is too depressing for words, so soon I’ll be off to Texas for a meeting with some great Texan oilmen and conservatives. I can’t wait.”
Could he be heading to UATX?