The American Project Is Undone

Humpty Dumpty

For many reasons I have not looked forward to writing this essay.   Some readers will surely view it as a pessimistic and panicky jeremiad; all Henny-Penny.  And I'd love to be wrong; I hope that my arguments will be found wanting and, if not rebutted definitively, at least convincingly.  My thesis is this: America has passed the tipping point in its long journey toward Marxist solipcism; that, barring the miraculous or the sudden emergence of a black swan, we cannot return to being a free society.


The fact of the President's reelection, bad though it was in my view, is merely symptomatic of something much worse that is abiding, structural, systemic and ubiquitous.  Both the shared vision of America and the intellectual heritage of the West can hardly be said to exist today as unifying forces.  Capitalism and the free market (though we are careful to nurse the myth of their existence) are creatures of a distant past.  What we have in their places are corrupt mercantilism (a redundant phrase) overlaid by a redistributionist bid for absolute political and economic control. [1]  We have permitted ourselves to be parsed into perceived competing classes centered around narrow parochial interests.  Our legacy and our future are in the hands of a largely corrupted, relativist, ignorant and unengaged polity.  A polity without virtue and the trust that virtue engenders to ensure the continuation of a robust civil society.

Why Can't We Turn the Tide?
If Republicans can score victories in the upcoming mid-term elections and the next presidential election, surely we can reverse Democrat policies.  After all, we're a center-right nation, aren't we?

I.  In polls Americans describe themselves as conservative by a large margin.  I have long been suspicious of the polling; I wonder if respondents know what it means to be conservative.  Given the constant indoctrination over many years by K12, academe, entertainment, media, government and too often churches and synagogues we have produced two generations of politically correct zombies. [2]  .
Considering four years of shrinking public sovereignty, ignoring or openly opposing the will of the voters who understand and value liberty, the outcome of November's election clearly flies in the face any notion that a large plurality, let alone a majority, of Americans who are remotely conservative.  I look forward to the argument that reconciles the vote with the polling.

II. The sheer inertia of the enormous and powerful Institutional Left and the cumulative damage it has done to American society would require decades to dismantle and recover.    In the meantime, Republicans have no control and little influence on the American narrative; whatever they do or say they will, predictably, be ridiculed and vilified.
Thought experiment.  Suppose, by some miraculous divine intervention, all the power and institutions of the Left passed overnight into the control of the best and brightest conservatives.  What might be done?  What resources and structures would be left with which to rebuild?   How many competent teachers -- educated, not themselves indoctrinated -- could be assembled and deployed?  How many students capable of learning?  How many balanced and fact-based textbooks free of distorting PC narrative might we find?  These questions only touch the surface of one problem -- public and private education.  Move from there to the rapidly crumbling institution of marriage [3]  and the swelling numbers of failure-prone issue born outside marriage, or the generalized effects of intellectual and moral relativism.  And consider what is probably an enormous cohort of persons habitually dependent on government, lacking the skills or inclination to survive in a lawful competitive economy.  Given enough time and brilliantly drawn and executed schemes, preferably under the control of the private sector with the cooperation of mostly local government, overcoming most of our problems might be possible.  If the economy or foreign powers don't take us down first.  The point of this mental exercise is to suggest the enormity of what has been lost, and to quell naive optimism as to what changes we might hope to see even in the event of Republican victories over several election cycles. [3]

III. The ruined American economy will perpetuate and increase government dependency and loyalty to Democrats.  In a free and minimally regulated market one might expect business to stand against government policies.  Trouble is America has devolved from capitalism into a mercantilist economy (as referenced above), forcing businesses in their own perceived self-interest to seek the good offices of government.  Even the smallest enterprises, given regulatory mazes, arbitrary enforcement and compliance liabilities, are forced into the same accommodating roles, vis-a-vis government, that have always been associated with rent-seekers.

IV.  The "permanent government" of unelected bureaucrats -- federal, state and local -- are overwhelmingly Democrats.  Holders of elected office come and go; mischief-making liberal bureaucrats remain.  Similarly with unions -- government and private sector.

V.  "Liberals", in the sense we might have used the term in, say, the Fifties and early Sixties, hardly exist as a viable political force today.  The Left is now (almost unabashedly) Marxist, and they are at war with all who are not.  Republicans, including many conservatives, have not had the wit to recognize that the time-honored British/American tradition of democratic debate is an illusion.  To the extent that Democrats pretend to engage in it is only to buy time for battle maneuvers in a naked bid for power and the destruction of all enemies. What passes for debate today is the issuance of a Democrat position, amplification by media with no rebuttal.

Is the Situation Hopeless?

With pitifully few reservations, yes.  What reservations?  Increased media presence, aggressive de-funding of wasteful or ill-conceived government programs by the House of Representatives and nullification by the states.

I.  Republican PAC's, it seems to me, were largely mooted by the Left's control of legacy media.  I believe the best return on investment -- and the most urgently needed -- lies in expanding conservative media presence in cable TV.  The dominance of conservatives in talk-radio (perhaps less so on the web) suggests to me that there is potentially a strong market for conservative television in the Glenn Beck style (Blaze).  FNN has been a great commercial success, but it is not, strictly speaking, conservative except by contrast to network TV and its spin-offs.  There is a gap to be filled.  Better, perhaps, than conservative cable channels would be to gain control or outright ownership of one network station.  Is that possible?  I don't know.  In terms of influence, how does Rush Limbaugh stack up against NPR?  Fox against PBS?  Once the narrative is lost political victory is virtually out of reach.

II.  De-funding government.  A risky business to political careers, but not to the Republican Party, which is already pitifully marginalized.  Public broadcasting a good place to start.  Obamacare, etc.  Reminds me of Janis Jopplin's Me and Molly Mcgee: freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose... Shame it takes such desperate times for some men to act on principle.

III.  Nullification under the Tenth Amendment seems most promising, but if not carefully thought-out,  planned and exercised in concert could lead to civil war.  Yet it might hold the best hope.  I think what is needed is a group of states simultaneously embracing (in the beginning) a few selected common issues that form a united front.  If the states go willy-nilly and independently with parochial concerns, they will be picked apart methodically (through the courts, funds-blackmail, and, ultimately by police power) by the federal government and they cannot win.
The fact that Republicans now hold thirty gubernatorial seats is encouraging.  Those states generally fare better with economies and jobs than those under Democrat leadership.  If the facts are reported at all by legacy media, improvements will not be attributed to the governors.  The Left owns the narrative.

Denial Cripples

I said at the outset that I had not wanted to write this essay.  Among the less important reasons is what I suspect readers will be thinking about me.  That I am a defeatist, disloyal to conservatism, a turncoat, a man of weak character, a quitter.  Remember Thermopylae!  Though I have a decent respect for the opinions of others I am not intimidated by them.  Not so brave as I make it sound; mine is an obscure blog with few (but, so far, loyal) readers.  Unless a consolidator trips over this essay in the dark, I don't expect to face a great public outcry.  Still another reason for my tendency to reticence is that I didn't want to pre-empt Rush Limbaugh. Over the last few years Rush has said, "Don't worry.  I'll tell you when it's time to panic."  If by "panic" he means a realistic assessment of conservative political weakness, I think the time has come.

So why did I decide to publish?  I believe the last election guaranteed the Marxist's hold on power for the foreseeable future, and Republicans and many conservatives are in denial.  The "fiscal cliff" farce would seem to illustrate my point.  Eschewing principle and believing against all evidence that the Left is negotiating in good faith, establishment Republicans repeatedly bid against themselves and seem to expect some material quid pro quo on spending at some falsely promised or unspecified future time.  John Boehner will no doubt be surprised to have the seat of his pants and its contents handed to him (though he may see it as a prudent career move).  So long as we seek comfort and take refuge in denial we cannot act in adaptive ways. If a private soldier, armed with a rifle, charges a superior enemy force in the delusional belief that he is a tank, a fortunate outcome is unlikely.  What is needed is a sober acknowledgement of political and tactical realities; a strategic reassessment of the battle space and a reorganization of forces.

Much of my thinking, as I represent it here, was influenced by my acquaintance with an English student who was a businessman from Venezuela.  He traveled regularly between the US and home, keeping me abreast of the progressive loss of liberty under Hugo Chavez.  He told me that most Venezuelans were aware of the steady usurpation of individual sovereignty even as it was happening, but no one seemed to know how to combat it.  Once institutional power -- the courts, law enforcement, the legislature, media and private business had been seized and consolidated by government the people were rendered powerless.  To be sure, Venezuela does not have the American traditions of individualism, self-reliance, limited government and natural rights, but our recent histories appear to have much in common.

Virtue and Trust

A liberal society depends for its continued existence on virtue (how quaint!) and mutual trust.  Chief among virtues, in my opinion (though it is often absent in lists of virtues) is honesty.  An honest man accords to his fellows the presumption of reciprocal honesty.  Free-market capitalism is an instrument that polices honesty, and, where it is weakened, openings are created for perfidy.  Mendacity, where there is a presumption of honesty by the other party, is greatly advantaged.  Marxists readily exploit the weakness of bemused adversaries. Adversaries in denial.

What Does the Future Hold?

Damned if I know.  But it doesn't look good for America and the West. [5]  It may be, if I have seen things rightly, that my reservations about the possibility of restoration (or those I have not imagined) might yet obtain.  But if I were a young man with cash and business acumen, I would seriously consider leaving the country to prepare a place for myself and the future of my children and theirs.

The remnant of constitutional conservatives, if it holds together, will at least be left with two priceless models.  The Founders' creation that brought the culture and traditions of the West to their finest expression, and the model of social disorganization. [4]  Perhaps at some time and some place in the unknowable future the Founders' model can be reestablished and better maintained with the benefit of lessons learned.

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1.  The reader may wonder why I emphasize capitalism.  Though characterized by the Founders as the pursuit of happiness, the free acquisition and disposal of private property, as Hayek noted, is essential to the functioning of democracy itself, and, more than any other system -- economic or political -- it rewards virtue.
2.  No one who has read the late Allan Bloom's The Closing of the American Mind (1987) will be in the least surprised.
3.  Traditional marriage has for centuries been the cornerstone of American society.  It is an institution in trouble along with an array of foundational structures underlying American exceptionalism. Smarter than I by far is Charles Murray, whose Coming Apart goes into detail on issues I have barely touched upon; much of what I have written in this essay is informed by Murray's work.  Not only smarter, but wiser than I, Murray posits competing scenarios ("alternative futures")  withholding prediction.  His best-case conjures a great awakening "That requires once again seeing the American project for what it has been: a different way for people to live together, unique among the nations of the earth, and immeasurably precious." 
4.  Not to cast too dark a shadow on prospects of a rapid turnaround, I have to add that under some circumstances and (think war, fiscal collapse, natural disaster, revolution or some external event that concentrates the public mind) with exceptional leadership societies can change with rapidness one would not expect.  Government-designed change in various social engineering initiatives have generally been rapid, and contrary to the narrative of the Left, pernicious.  Changes that support the conservative agenda tend to be, in my view, slow and reversible.  The Tea Party and Tenth Amendment movements may be exceptions.  We shall see.

4.  History suggests to us, as it clearly did to the Founders, that civil societies built around the ideals of liberty, being artificial and fragile, demand vigilance and careful maintenance if they are to survive.  There are forces at work that lead toward disintegration.  A kind of social entropy, in general terms; more specifically anomie and antinomian behaviors.  A collapse of virtue as the term was understood in the 18th Century.
Persons reared in the West (particularly in America) naively assume that their own society, rather than being a great and rare achievement in social, economic and political organization, represents the default state of mankind.  In my view, man's default condition is more hobbesian; more like that imagined by William Golding in his Lord of the Flies.
5.  It is important, it seems to me, that Americans keep in mind that the Marxist assault here at home is not an organic, isolated phenomenon; rather, it is but a part of a long-standing and unremitting assault on the West and all the West stands for.  Western Europe, long at the forefront of the assault, is greatly fatigued, weakened and demoralized by continuous usurpations of  sovereignty by its own fifth column and the European Union.  Western Europe, would seem to have, in its near future, life support, hospice and death.  We should pay close attention and ask ourselves if we are watching previews of coming attractions.