Adam Garrie — The problem with intellectualising Steve Bannon

Adam Garrie makes the valid point that Steve Bannon has become the focus of the intellectual aspects of Traditionalism but that Bannon himself is not an intellectual, or so his previous life would suggest. Moreover, he has not commented on the various intellectual aspects of Traditionalism other than briefly and in a cursory manner that suggests he is not interested in being a thought leader. Moreover, it is not clear what the primary influences on him may be. 

Therefore, it would be a mistake to view either Bannon or Trump as Traditionalist thought leaders or heavily influenced by Traditionalist thought instead of as chiefly political agents that can be broadly identified as Traditionalist in their analytic and governing approach. 

The Left appears to be making this mistake, or attempting to identify Steve Bannon and Donald Trump as extremists based on flimsy association. Some are making them out to fascists when Fascism is one of the four major political theories along with Liberalism, Marxism, and Traditionalism, and Traditionalism is opposed to Fascism. Instead, the Left needs to put its own house in order if it aims to be taken as more than an opposition.

The Left also needs to wake up to the fact that Traditionalism strongly supports the family rather than the individual and therefore it aligned with "the little people," that is, ordinary workers with no political voice in the present system. The Left wrongly assumes that this is cohort is naturally aligned with the Left but that was not the case in the recent presidential election.

This is not to minimize the significance of the various cohorts of Traditionalism that are in play nationally in the US and internationally among the rising Right. They are part of the Trump-Bannon coalition domestically and potential allies internationally. As such they are part of the political mix as such their views and aspirations will be a factor in politics and policy. But rolling all this into Steven Bannon as a symbol is not supported by evidence, and less so for Donald Trump.

The Duran
The problem with intellectualising Steve Bannon
Adam Garrie

Rosie Gray — Behind the Internet's Anti-Democracy Movement

Just getting familiar with alt-right. Meet Neoreaction aka NRx and Dark Enlightenment.

The Atlantic
Behind the Internet's Anti-Democracy Movement

Rosie Gray

See also

Vox
The alt-right is more than warmed-over white supremacy. It’s that, but way way weirder. (April  25, 2016))

Neo-monarchist blogger denies he's chatting with Steve Bannon (Feb. 7, 2017)

Dylan Matthews

In case you haven't picked up on it, there is a whole lot of trolling going on. After all, this is an Internet and social media phenomenon. The question is how much is serious.