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Alt-right

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For the descriptive term used in several countries for various policies or groups that are right-wing, see New Right. For the online magazine publication based in the United States, see Alternative Right.
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The alt-right is a segment of far-right ideologies in the United States and Europe presented as an alternative to mainstream conservatism in its national politics.[1][2] The alt-right has been described as a movement unified by support for Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump,[1][3][4] as well as opposition to multiculturalism and immigration.

Although there is no official ideology associated with the alt-right, various sources say it includes beliefs such as Dark Enlightenment, libertarianism, monarchism, nativism, right-wing populism, business nationalism, identitarianism, white nationalism, antisemitism, racialism, white supremacy and American secessionism.[1][2][5]

Etymology

The term "alternative right" or "alt-right" was used sporadically in 2008.[6] and 2009[7][8] It has been used more frequently since self-described "identitarian" Richard B. Spencer founded Alternative Right in 2010.[9]

Origin

Jeet Heer of The New Republic identifies the alt-right as having ideological origins among paleoconservatives.[10]

Beliefs

The alt-right includes beliefs such as Dark Enlightenment, libertarianism, monarchism, nativism, right-wing populism, right-wing socialism, national capitalism, identitarianism, white nationalism, antisemitism, racialism, white supremacy and American secessionism.[1][2] Commonalities shared across the otherwise loosely defined alt-right include disdain for mainstream politics, strong support for the 2016 presidential campaign by Donald Trump, and antisemitic views.[11][12] Adherents view mainstream conservatives with ridicule and have been credited for originating and using the term cuckservative,[1][2] Newsday columnist Cathy Young notes the alt-right's strong opposition to both legal and illegal immigration, and their hardline stance on the European migrant crisis of 2015–2016.[5]

Reception

Support

The alt-right has been praised by Benjamin Welton of The Weekly Standard, who described the group as a "highly heterogeneous force" that refuses to "concede the moral high ground to the left".[2] Proponents are said to use culture jamming and memes to promote their ideas. The Youtuber behind Uncuck the Right refers to the alt-right as part of the identitarian, and criticizes National Review for not openly supporting white nationalism or similar ideologies.[13]

Criticism

Although some conservatives have welcomed the alt-right, others on the mainstream right and left[5] have attacked the movement as racist or hateful, particularly given the alt-right's overt hostility towards mainstream conservatism and the Republican party in general.[1][2] National Review, for example, attacked the alt-right as "wanna-be fascists ... tweeting from their mom's basement" and bemoaned their entry into the national political conversation.[14] Another National Review writer, Jay Nordlinger, attacked the alt-right for their use of gallows humor, social Darwinism, artistic homoeroticism, and accused them of embracing Nietzscheanism in place of Christian values.[15] Some sources have connected the alt-right and Gamergate in multiple ways, such as Milo Yiannopoulos' supportive articles on Breitbart.[2][16][17] According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Breitbart has become the the dominant outlet for alt-right views.[18]

Ian Tuttle, writing in National Review, states that "The Alt-Right has evangelized over the last several months primarily via a racist and anti-Semitic online presence. But for Allum Bokhari and Milo Yiannopoulos, the Alt-Right consists of fun-loving provocateurs, valiant defenders of Western civilization, daring intellectuals—and a handful of neo-Nazis keen on a Final Solution 2.0, but there are only a few of them, and nobody likes them anyways." Bokhari and Yiannopoulos describe Spencer and American Renaissance founder Jared Taylor as representative of intellectuals in the alt-right, while Tuttle says they are "by definition" racists.[19]

Michael Dougherty writing in The Week describes the alt-right as radical working-class white people who are critical of globalization and contemptuous of "permanent members of the political class".[20] Similarly, Cathy Young writing in Newsday called the alt-right "a nest of anti-Semitism" inhabited by "white supremacists" who regularly use "repulsive bigotry".[5] Likewise, Chris Hayes on All In with Chris Hayes described alt-right as a euphemistic term for "essentially modern day white supremacy."[21]

In a 2015 article in BuzzFeed, reporter Rosie Gray describes the alt-right as "white supremacy perfectly tailored for our times", saying that it uses "aggressive rhetoric and outright racial and anti-Semitic slurs", and notes that it has "more in common with European far-right movements than American ones." Gray notes that the alt-right is largely based online, and supports Donald Trump's candidacy while benefiting from his coattails. According to vlogger Paul Ramsey, the alt-right are not neo-Nazis,[1] although Gray notes that some hold historical revisionist beliefs such as Holocaust denial.[1] Professor George Hawley of the University of Alabama suggested that the alt-right may pose a greater threat to progressivism than the mainstream conservative movement.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Gray, Rosie (2015-07-07). "How 2015 Fueled The Rise Of The Freewheeling, White Nationalist Alt Right Movement - BuzzFeed News". Buzzfeed. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Welton, Benjamin (2016-02-01). "What, Exactly, is the 'Alternative Right?'". The Weekly Standard. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  3. ^ Betsy Woodruff. "Rush Limbaugh's Favorite New White-Power Group". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  4. ^ Oliver Darcy (2016-01-20). "GOP Strategist Under Fire After Giving This Vulgar Description of Trump's 'Alt-Right' Fans on MSNBC | Video". TheBlaze.com. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  5. ^ a b c d Cathy Young (2016-01-25). "Donald Trump's rant against political correctness is comfort food to racists". Newsday. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  6. ^ Gottfried, Paul (2016-01-22). "The Decline and Rise of the Alternative Right -". The Unz Review. Unz.com. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  7. ^ Theodoracopulos, Taki (2009-07-27). "Economism in the Alt Right". Taki's Magazine. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  8. ^ Hunter, Jack (2009-11-03). "Whither the Alternative Right?". Taki's Magazine. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  9. ^ Larry Keller (2010-03-15). "Paleocon Starts New Extreme-Right Magazine | Southern Poverty Law Center". Splcenter.org. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  10. ^ Heer, Jeet (2016-01-22). "National Review Fails to Kill Its Monster". New Republic.
  11. ^ Powers, Darlene (2015-12-16). "And Bolder: Trump's Scariest Supporters Are Getting Meaner". The Voice Herald.
  12. ^ Lizza, Ryan (2016-01-28). "Donald Trump's Hostile Takeover of the G.O.P." The New Yorker. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  13. ^ Chiel, Ethan (2015-10-29). "A YouTube account is rewriting Disney tunes to be racist". Fusion. Retrieved 2016-02-26.
  14. ^ French, David (2016-01-26). "Donald Trump & Alt-Right's Rise - Not Conservatives Fault". National Review. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  15. ^ Nordlinger, Jay (2016-01-24). "Donald Trump, Abortion, and 'Winners'". Nationalreview. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  16. ^ Weigel, David. "'Cuckservative' – the conservative insult of the month, explained". The Washington Post.
  17. ^ Bernstein, Joseph (January 21, 2016). "Conservative Provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos Starts "White Men Only" Scholarship Fund". Buzzfeed News.
  18. ^ Piggott, Stephen. "Is Breitbart.com Becoming the Media Arm of the 'Alt-Right'?". splcenter.org. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  19. ^ Tuttle, Ian. "The Racist Moral Rot at the Heart of the Alt-Right". The National Review. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  20. ^ Dougherty, Michael Brendan (2016-01-25). "The conservative movement has become the GOP establishment. Now what?". Theweek.com. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  21. ^ "All In with Chris Hayes, Transcript 12/9/2015". MSNBC. MSNBC. December 9, 2015.
  22. ^ George Hawley (25 January 2016). Right-Wing Critics of American Conservatism. University Press of Kansas. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-7006-2193-4.
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