The right has been disturbed by the U.S. losing a white, male, Protestant culture. Old institutions that maintained old hierarchies are preferred by some to modern democracy that actually evolves and lives up to the ideals set forth in the Constitution, most importantly the Reconstruction Amendments, which Black Americans fought to secure.

Yermin

![](https://m.stacker.news/155589)

> an entire century of constant failure

I once thought about it as updated threat modeling, foreign adversaries having more access within a nations borders with digital media, money, etc.

But then the deeper down the history rabbit hole you go it's really still the same shit over and over again. Foreign adversaries would print counterfeit and distribute within another country to attack the currency, essays circulated, newspapers bought or bribed, saboteurs. 

The constitution even has the Emoluments Clause.

Adam Smith, the classical liberalism hero, supported the Navigation Acts, which rhyme of the trade wars today.

So it would seem conservatives have not changed, they're just re-activated out of necessity after a long abdication.

> What happened to reasonable conservatives dedicated to conserving the American Founding?

After an entire century of constant failure people gave up on their approach.

Undisciplined

Laura K. Field’s ‘Furious Minds’ traces the intellectual evolution of the New Right and the ideas driving its rejection of liberalism.

Several years ago, at a Philadelphia Society meeting, a friend approached me. He identified as a national conservative and believed that the Right needed to use the coercive power of the state to make the country more virtuous. He was mainly concerned about the supposed degradation of our culture and insisted that we needed a strong, authoritative leader to restore America to its former greatness. I adamantly disagreed, while conceding that we needed to work to restore the country’s institutions, including the balance of power through proper checks and balances.

He laughed and asked me if I knew what time it was. I looked at my watch and told him the time. He laughed again. I didn’t know what time it was.

For my friend, the time had long passed for reforming institutions, preserving our constitutional framework, and maintaining a minimal state. The time had come for conservatives to be radical. It was time to break the existing framework and for conservatives to wield power against their enemies.

I left that conversation deeply troubled and concerned about the rise of the illiberal, perhaps fascist, New Right. How did this happen? What happened to reasonable conservatives dedicated to conserving the American Founding?

Politics_And_Law

econ

> **Laura K. Field’s ‘Furious Minds’ traces the intellectual evolution of the New Right and the ideas driving its rejection of liberalism.**
>
> Several years ago, at a Philadelphia Society meeting, a friend approached me. He identified as a national conservative and believed that the Right needed to use the coercive power of the state to make the country more virtuous. He was mainly concerned about the supposed degradation of our culture and insisted that we needed a strong, authoritative leader to restore America to its former greatness. I adamantly disagreed, while conceding that we needed to work to restore the country’s institutions, including the balance of power through proper checks and balances.
>
> He laughed and asked me if I knew what time it was. I looked at my watch and told him the time. He laughed again. I didn’t know what time it was.
>
> For my friend, the time had long passed for reforming institutions, preserving our constitutional framework, and maintaining a minimal state. The time had come for conservatives to be radical. It was time to break the existing framework and for conservatives to wield power against their enemies.
>
> I left that conversation deeply troubled and concerned about the rise of the illiberal, perhaps fascist, New Right. How did this happen? What happened to reasonable conservatives dedicated to conserving the American Founding?
>
> [**...read more at thedailyeconomy.org**](https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-rights-long-march-toward-illiberalism/)