The Basics of PaleoConservatism

News By Us ^ | Dec 21, 06 | William H. Calhoun

[A. Pole]

"Are there even any real conservatives left in America?" recently asked the one eager for knowledge. "There are," responded the wise man, "but they are often called paleoconservatives."

What are paleoconservatives? Well, as Russell Kirk once said, they are the only real conservatives left in America. The whole "conservative movement" has moved so far to the Left, or rather has been "neoconned," that many so-called conservatives are "conservative" in name only.

What do paleoconservatives believe?

Like mainstream conservatives, paleos are often religious, or at least reverent of religion. They are opposed to secularism, opposed to "gay marriage," opposed to the abortion industry, opposed to political correctness, opposed to the vulgarity of popular culture, and opposed to big government.

Otherwise, paleoconservatives hold more traditional views not held by many mainstream conservatives and certainly not by neoconservatives (aka "liberals in disguise").

For the remainder of the essay, I shall contrast paleos with neocons, who have gained prominence in America in recent years largely due to alliances with liberals. The liberal mainstream media is quite tolerant of neocons since they are only liberals of a different stripe.

First, unlike neocons / neoliberals, paleoconservatives oppose free trade. Historically and philosophically, conservatives have opposed free trade, and they should. It is destroying our economy, it is undermining our sovereignty, and it is national suicide. Unfortunately, many in the GOP have been "neoconned" into supporting free trade.

Second, unlike neoliberals / neocons, paleoconservatives are critical of mass immigration and oppose the third-world invasion of America. All immigration (whether legal or illegal) from the third world must end. Our country is currently being invaded, and many in the GOP (Bush, McCain, Rice, Brownback, Giuliani, Huckabee, et al.) not only have done nothing to oppose this invasion, they actually support it. They actively attempt to transform the USA into a third-world wasteland.

Third, unlike Leftists (and the neocons who have adopted this idea from them), paleoconservatives oppose the "proposition nation." The proposition nation is the left-wing idealization of a nation whereby one only has to believe in a few propositions to be considered a citizen. Not only is this contrary to history, but it is the recipe for self-destruction. Paleoconservatives support the traditionally conservative concept of a nation: one built upon kith and kin, blood and soil, genophilia (instinctive attachment to family and tribe), ancestral obligations, and ethnic solidarity.

Fourth, neocons at heart are philosophical liberals. They accept most of the liberal baggage of the Enlightenment and actually champion the left-wing notion of "rights." Paleoconservatives, however, reject Enlightenment notions of "rights," and rather believe in a more traditionalist, flawed view of human nature, one based in history, ancestry, community, and custom, and guided by the laws of nature. Obligation trumps right. Whereas most neocons / neoliberals side with the Enlightenment revolutionaries, paleoconservatives side with Aristotle and the Bible. Whereas neocons / neoliberals champion equality and egalitarianism, paleoconservatives cherish ancestral traditions and hierarchy.

Fifth, neocons support a neoliberal foreign policy, which resembles more Jacobin radicalism than conservatism. Neocons seek to transform the world into a liberal global democracy - tossing aside prudence, history, and realism. Paleoconservatives, on the other hand, realize that different types of government are better tailored for different cultures. Furthermore, paleoconservatives are largely non-interventionist, which means that we should not be a military for hire to solve others’ problems. If attacked, certainly, we should fight back, but we needn’t be the world’s policeman.

Regarding terrorism, many paleos support the position that the only way to end terrorism in the West (we can never stop it in the Middle East) is (1) to completely withdraw from the Middle East, and (2) to deport all Muslims from the West. This policy, more than any other, would reduce the chances of terrorist attacks on Western soil.

Neocons, however, support the opposite: endless war in the Middle East, and endless third-world immigration to the West. In fact, they just increased quotas for Muslims in the USA - not to mention the fact, as reported by Christian Science Monitor recently, that 200,000 Hispanics in the USA have recently converted to Islam.

Neocons, though, have no real historical attachment to America, and could care less about its wellbeing. They send our boys to die in a meaningless war in Iraq while the third world invades our country on an hourly basis. They protect Iraq’s borders, and allow ours to be flooded with third-world invaders.

In short, paleoconservatives are the only real conservatives left in America. Philosophically and ideologically, neocons are leftists in disguise, who fifty years ago would have been tried for treason but now portray themselves as patriotic Americans.

[A. Pole]

In short, paleoconservatives are the only real conservatives left in America.

Paleo bump!

[ex-Texan]

*BUMP*!

[Gondring]

And at the same time, the neocons try to smear paleoconservatives as "so far to the left"...

[Vaquero]

we have been had, by the RINO's portraying themselves as Conservatives.....

I voted for them as the lesser of 2 evils...but they are despicable and no better than the Bolsheviks in the Dim party.

[sine_nomine]

I have called myself a paleo-conservative for decades. I agree with you. The worst thing about the extreme Left is that they make RINOs look a bit conservative.

See my modest web page.

[Gondring]

Yeah, but don't you dare question the Iraq war, or you'll be called a "leftie"...

What a mess it is when we focus on definitions and terms--instead of defining them first and focusing on the real issues. :-(

[Pukin Dog]

This article is the biggest load of nonsensical crap I have ever read on this forum. Conservatives are against free trade? Someone alert Ronald Reagan! What a load of bull. The Right has their radical-wacko wing, just like the Left.

But, Merry Christmas all the same.

*shudder*

[yuta250]

Neocons seek to transform the world into a liberal global democracy - tossing aside prudence, history, and realism.

Bump!

[Terpfen]

Maybe the article is trying to say that Reagan was a leftie neocon as well. After all, he was a Democrat once upon a time--who needs evidence?

[gcruse]

"neoconservatives (aka "liberals in disguise")'

What a pantload. Neocons were solidly behind the Iraq war, the wreckage of which paleos cling to like lifesavers. The error we neocons made was in thinking Arabs, when free to choose, would choose democracy. Our bad. That doesn't make one a liberal. In fact, liberty used to be a conservative thing.

[patton]

LOL. Well, he never did defund the Dept. of Education...

[patton]

Still is...but, some folks are afraid of liberty.

[proxy_user]

I would rather say that true conservatives are those willing to entertain the possibility that there are values more important than making money and getting rich.

If free trade destroys the moral basis of society, or allows foreigners to take over the USA, then some limitations may be in order.

[KC Burke]

I am often mistrustful of references to Russel Kirk that don't square with my memory. In Kirk's last published book of essays, he had a chapter that was generous and ecumenical to those who were being cast as neocon, chiefly Irving Kristol, citing how he, himself, had been also called a neoconservative by thosev that came before him.

That said, Kirk was unafraid to object to the first Gulf War citing it as a non-strategic war for "an oil can".

[JHBowden]

The paradox of paleoconservatism is: why support the tradition when socialism has become the tradition? But by jettisoning the Enlightenment, paleocons can't even make the case for originalist judges, since the "tradition" has been socialism and social engineering for decades.

Neoconservatives can make the case why socialism is a failure. We understand the relationship between economic freedom and political freedom. In addition, paleoconservatives have no explanation why Japan's closed medieval society took off after the Meiji restoration, while India after independence, which had centuries of exposure to the British, stagnated under protectionism and central planning. There are rational principles why markets and freedom work that transcend culture and locality.

With respect to foreign policy, paleoconservatives are the reason why we abandoned the British to fight the Nazis alone. Like James Baker, they want to throw one of our few friends in this world, Israel, to the wolves for the sake of "stability." However, waiting for radical revolutionaries, in this age the Revolutionary Islamists, to spike a nuke over the net would be an absolute disaster in our world. We transformed Italy, Japan, and Germany into modern societies, Russia isn't perfect but isn't even a fraction of the terror society it once was. The only reason why many conservatives are looking at the path of Comrade Nader these days is that they expected instant gratification in Iraq and haven't received it. They think if we have a homogenous culture and keep to ourselves, all policy challenges will disappear. That's not an approach to succeed militarily or economically in a globalized world.

[Larry Lucido]

Whatever.

[Vaquero]

I am so paleo I say NUKE Iraq. We should have carpet bombed the middle eastern areas of interest right after 9/11, as we had done during WWII. the death toll should have been devistating....not the surgical strikes that just serve to p1ss off the Muzzies....we needed to look at Dresden, Hamburg, Tokyo and yes, even Hiroshima/Nagasaki for guidance into how to prosecute a war....not Bush 41.

I question the way the RINO's methods of being kindler gentler, compassionate conservatives...(which they are NOT)

[Liberty Valance]

LOL - by this definition paleoconservatives are folks who want to find a hidey-hole so as not to be offended by the real world around them.

[Rembrandt_fan]

The article read, "Neocons, though, have no real historical attachment to America, and could care less about its wellbeing."

Although cagey and oblique, the reference here is clearly aimed at the supposed 'Zionist-centric' nature of neoconservativism--the old calumny that Jewish people 'have no real historical attachment to America'. The paleos are molded in the image of their founder, Pat Buchanan, that great admirer of Adolf Hitler, that staunch defender of concentration camp guards, that altogether narrow, despicable man who wears a conservative disguise to hide his true, rabidly antisemitic face. Paraphrasing Teddy Roosevelt, I could carve a better man from a banana.

A neoconservative myself, fully supportive of the President's attempts to reshape the Middle East, I believe Buchanan and his ilk are the political equivalent of a chancre sore. The Republican Party would be best served, I think, by an utter and complete repudiation of Buchanan and all of his like-minded pals. Let them form their own party, where they can wear snappy uniforms and have big rallies and salute each other with enthusiasm.