by I
Consider the following timeline:
1940s: Post-War Consensus (socially conservative, economically nationalist)
1980s/2000s: Reagan-Bush Conservatism (neolib-neocon w. socially conservative characteristics)
1990s/2010: Clinton-Obama Progressivism (neolib-neocon w. socially progressive characteristics)
2015: Trump Nationalism (throwback to Post-War Consensus during campaign when, in fact, actually more akin to Reagan and even Clinton)
2020: Biden Progressivism (throwback to Clinton/Obama Progressivism)
Since the end of the Post-War Consensus, the American Right has abandoned nationalism & traditionalism for capitalism, just as the American Left has abandoned socialism for progressivism. This has culminated throughout the trajectory of Reagan to Clinton to Bush to Obama.
During his campaign, Trump and the Alt-Right represented what was effectively the result of survival of the fittest against the harsh, selective pressures of political correctness and social justice. Trump dominated politics just as the Alt Right was rising in the intellectual sphere.
The eventual consequence of this was its reverse: Trumpism and the AR ironically ended up selecting for political candidates and intellectuals who could hold up against them. Given the failings of Radical Progressivism, we have politicians like Biden and intellectuals like Destiny & Vaush––moderates in their own respects.
Perhaps nothing is more telling of this disposition than how amicably someone like Destiny interacts with someone like Sargon, just as Vaush can sit and shoot the shit with people like Tim Pool and Charlie Kirk. These moderates on the centre left are trying to appeal to moderates on the centre right, which is eventually liable to form a new centre. But, with that being said, this new centre is being flanked on the Left by Socialists, just as it is being flanked on the Right by Nationalists. And if the Left and the Right flanks create their own radical consensus, then the centre will be surrounded.
II
The United States of America or the American Republic is in the late stages of democracy, wherein there is a transition into anarchy. Cults and cabals compete against one another to secure the throne for themselves, tribes war for territory, and trends compete to become prevailing traditions. There is division along the lines of race, gender, generation, and class. But, moreover, Sulla (Trump) and Marius (Biden) are competing to consolidate power over the various nexuses of power while the way is paved for a Caesar to unite and lead. Like the 1920s, the 2020s is looking to be a period of rapid social progression and economic liberalization. The question is: what will this mean for the 2030s?
Nationalism has been let down by the Right in America just as Socialism has been let down by the Left in America.
In light of the failures of privatized banking & privatized industries, bought-out politicians, and the laissez-faire tradition of Jefferson, Jackson, and Reagan— perhaps it is worth looking towards the alternative model put forward by Federalists like Adams & Hamilton.
The Federalists represent the perfect blend of the economic left with the social right. One one hand, they believe in what could be called “left-wing” economic policies insofar as they favoured state-owned banks and subsidies and tariffs, but on the other hand, they represent “right wing” social traditions insofar as they embody the founding of the United States as a nation and the possibility of the United States as a great empire.
This is the very model that Presidents have had to make feeble appeals to time and time again, from James Madison to Abraham Lincoln to Woodrow Wilson to the Roosevelts. Rather than changing the legislature according to the Federalist position during the constitutional convention, they only want to change specific laws and policies.
The system needs a complete overhaul and the constitution needs to be rewritten according to the views of the true founders of America: the Federalists.
Where Hamilton called for a state-owned bank, protectionist economic policy, a permanent, appointment-based executive branch of government, and an aristocratic republic with a permanent upper house; Adams wanted America to have a “republican monarchy” run within a single-party state (where presidents would be referred to as “your majesty”).
One wouldn’t even necessarily have to recreate the Federalist party, but rather, if a candidate were to run on that platform or openly pursue that vision for the Unites States, it could be a winning ticket on the Left & Right and a trump card when it comes to bolstering geopolitical status.
III
If anything, terms like Progressivism could be spun on their head, which is where one could even rightly refer to American Federalists as “National Progressives” insofar as they pursue the policies that are ultimately best for the progress and self-determination of the Nation. Here, rather than appealing to victim complexes or slave morals, progress is represented by collective strength in industry, in military, and in unity (both economic and social). Furthermore, in this context, “Progressivism” hearkens back to the Progressive Era and the Gilded Age, which was a time that was notable in terms of the expansion of American interests.
Just as a Modern day American Federalism must be Ecofuturist to accommodate a nation of self-reliant citizens, it must also represent a kind of National Progressivism insofar as it must be able to advance its agenda and impose its own interests. Here, Nationalism and Protectionism only serve a function up until a certain point, but when enough political power can be leveraged through international relations, then one can create or co-opt supranational intergovernmental organizations for one’s own purposes.
Just as a National Progressivism would be represented by America turning into a empire from a republic, so too would a National Progressivism be represented by using NATO as the vehicle or vessel through which the empire can further expand and consolidate power. It’s time to go from being weak and Athenian to strong and Spartan, just as it’s time to go from a mere Delian League to a full on Macedonian Empire.
