The RSS is Hindu. Viktor Orban says, "Christianity is Europe's last hope.". The exquisite parallel state was Christianity's usurpation of Roman political power. So why not acknowledge religion is the key to the successful parallel? Any body with their eyes open can see the religious fervor of the revolutionaries and their hopes kindled in the prophetic vision of destroying their oppressors.
People have to believe in their gods. There is no connective tissue in the body-politic without the cult. Religion is the key to understanding man.
There is a serious motivation problem though. When you have one side filled with people who just want to live their lives and be left alone up against a side who wakes up every day imaging how they can "fix big problems!" I.e get into everyone's business, it's not a fair fight.
N.S., love the article. My own thinking has led me to similar conclusions about what is necessary to build a conservative movement. One question I’ve been pondering is how we can prevent a conservative movement from being overtaken by the most radical right-wing members in a time when politics is so reactionary. I fear that the success of a truly principled conservative movement could be thwarted by a failure to fend against the right flank. While, sometimes, saying the most inflammatory, controversial hot-take can win support among a right-wing base, this tends to alienate those who are more moderate. I agree with your analysis that what is needed is a pre-political movement. I believe there is a large majority of moderates in this country who would be happy to return to a more traditional culture, but are not particularly interested in politics and are often turned off by movements considered to be overtly partisan. The question is how to balance the need to have strong conservative principles at the core of a movement, without allowing it to be overtaken by the loudest, most reactionary voices in the room, simply because they appear to be an enemy of your enemy.
I have been waiting for this - a plan for a path forward - and away from globalism. I would love to hear more about the ins and outs & the brass tacks of this parallel state. It puts me in mind of how the Catholic Church in Poland safeguarded their culture through the Church. With the accession of the first & only Polish Pope - John Paul II - he was able to speak to the faithful in Poland lending his weight giving rise to the Solidarity Movement. There is an excellent video on Amazon Prime about this - "Liberating a Continent: John Paul II and the Fall of Communism". You have given me hope that there IS a way out. Thank you.
The timing could be perfect. It's becoming an ugly, scary, depressing world out there, overloaded with hate, bile, resentment, blame. Really, an unending nightmare. Into that mess, throw sunshine, invitation, aspiration, humor and optimism. And see who comes to the party. Be brave, dare to smile, be happy, worshipful, and laugh a lot. Brilliant.
Tell me where to sign up. I have no great stash of money, my body can be a bit undependable, but I'm a quick learner, passionate, and I have a modicum of intelligence and some ideas.
Now that I think about it there are local groups of Europeans organizing to defend their property, children and quality of life (i.e., culture) against a hostile alien group – in Washington, DC, of all places.
Also, why is a house in Upper Caucasia (NW quadrant) twice as expensive as a similar one in African-American SE quadrant and the same distance from the federal triangle? According to official definitions of racism this is serious evidence and should be stopped. Oh, the horror, the horror!
Great article. Look forward to more with more specifics about the core principles around which such a movement can both be operated from the local community levels, and autonomously so, whilst also being able to spread throughout a polity at the idea visionary level.
It is so unfortunate that people keep believing in the 'vote harder' option. I have felt since Trump announced after his second impeachment that he would run AGAIN as a Republican that the best option for American conservatives is to cede the field entirely by refusing to vote for the Republican Party at any level whatsoever so that the country can see where the 'left' wants to take it, wake up, and create an alternative.
Your call to do this with parallel organizations is right on the money. But the biggest obstacle right now is the widespread con perpetrated by the current post-constitutional republic's electoral circus suckering people into doing the same thing over and over whilst expecting a different result.
There is a lot written about the role of Christianity in these comments, on which I have no comment, but I would add here that an equally important component of such a movement is restoring a love of cultural heritage. It seems to me quite easy to love America when you devote time and energy to Mark Twain and James Baldwin, Winslow Homer and Jackson Pollock, Scott Joplin and Aaron Copland, Tennessee Williams and Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins, Walt Whitman and Edna St. Vincent Millay, Robert Caro and Shelby Foote, and on and on and on.
I'm curious as to how your address was received. Like other readers, I found it uplifting because it offered a glimmer of hope in the midst of this pessimism I've been feeling. Maybe it's not the complete collapse of Westen Civilization. Or if it is, there's hope for something good to arise from the rubble.
I hope that this can and will be successful. The challenge will be in getting people to accept that it needs to happen. A lot of people probably agree with the problems we're having, with censorship and transgender surgeries for kids and the like, but think they can be fixed within the system.
Thinking about your examples, there is the interesting point that China, DPRK, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cuba and other communist states have been able to nullify these sorts of movements - and indeed actively suppress them (Xinjiang, being just one example). So what made the successful examples successful? One aspect seems to be imperial rule - the perception that the elite were captured and indeed, agents of, foreign powers (Russians, mostly, though for the Hindu Nationalists there were the twin occupations of the Mughals and the British. The "people" under Hindu nationalism do not really include the Muslim minority.
Moreover, in China, you had the Communists FIRST make intersectional arguments against the KMT - that "nationalists" would insist that everyone become Han. Then, having secured power, that is exactly what they engaged in - a cultural enforcement on language, clothing, religion and suppression of ethnic minorities.
All of which suggests that success in this endeavor is going to require the demonstration that the American / Western elite are in fact all one blob CAPTURED by Communist China and visiting all of the many evils upon the West that are deliberately ineffective and ineffectual, that they are designed NOT TO WORK. Both to create new excuses for more powers to be ceded and also as a means of destroying the system itself so it can be replaced. Attacking both the patriotism of the elite and its corruption (and the channels through which the money flows) are crucial aspects of this counter-revolution.
One thing that is underappreciated is the degree to which inflation, budget balance and left financing could be addressed through a new approach to taxation. While the left frequently argues about the need to tax the rich more, they put the emphasis on RATES of tax, rather than on the more important question of what counts as INCOME, since this is really how rich people avoid taxation. They get to take all sorts of benefits and expense them rather than pay taxes on them, or they simply defer recognition of them, or and this is the biggest scam - they donate them (to lefty captured institutions). Gifts of appreciated securities are the ultimate tax scam. The appreciation was never taxed (since there was no sale) BUT the full amount of the market value gets to be deducted from income. So there is a double offset - no income is recognized but there is a tax deduction awarded for the untaxed and unrecognized gains. (If this isn't clear, imagine someone bought a stock for $10 and it appreciates to $100. Now he donates it to a charity. The $90 of gain is never recognized nor taxed. But the deduction that can be claimed is $100, offsetting $100 of income - for a taxpayer who itemizes - creating a tax saving of 40% or more for a top bracket taxpayer and depending on the jurisdiction). This is a DOUBLE forbearance of tax - no cap gain on the $90 AND a loss of income tax. This is what finances NGOs.
This should be completely changed. Many options present themselves. First, the amount of charitable gifts, rather than being unlimited and Sched A deductible, should instead be allowed to be an amount up to 120% of the median household gift. Today, little people still make gifts to their school and church and receive NO tax benefit for them. The average household makes something like $2000 in donations annually, and so set the cap at $2400, which supports the little people in making small donations to their local organizations that build their personal networks. Allow this for natural persons only. All larger amounts are deemed a sale and are immediately taxable. (Or consider even the imposition of gift taxes and other deterrents to estate tax avoidance schemes). Furthermore, make "regifting" - i.e. making grants by the charity - not a deductible expense. Too many charities make donations to 501(c)4 advocacy orgs. The beauty is, pushing back on this reflects very badly on lefties - it looks like an effort to shirk making rich people pay taxes; we saw how embarrassing the opposition to the effective elimination of SALT tax deductions was. True, it did hurt some Rs in blue states, but better budget balance (and investments in the kinds of education and civic development) in states that adopt such a plan will make red areas more appealing.
Similarly, tax schools for charging more than 1968 levels of cost to average income of a degreed individual. A four year degree in 1968 cost something like 7500, or 75% of a college grads average wage of 10 or 12 k (might be three years out, which is also a fine benchmark, as some grads need a bit of time to find a job). Apply the same rules. Any school charging MORE than this is not a charity, but is engaging in extraction of economic rent in the form of capitalizing a students future earnings stream and appropriating it. To meet these numbers many things about campus life and administration will have to change and all of them will be pro-social: fewer administrators, full stop. Less programming (more self-direction), less fancy living conditions (you're a student, not a late 20s urban professional; you do not need luxury condos, and you will feel much better about your circumstances when, as an "adult" with an income, you can afford better digs than you had as a student. Red states need to apply these rules already for their state universities and push to reduce tuition, even for out of state applicants in an effort to outcompete northern work schools.
Above all, we must invest in an educational approach that continues to cultivate the next generation. This means strong family and community networks that are anti-atomistic.
A large enough parallel state can also compel the main state to take its demands seriously as the only way to avoid revolution. In the 30s, Huey Long, Father Coughlin and Marxist-flavored unions were well on the way to a complete internal war. FDR saw the result coming and proceeded to SOLVE THE PROBLEMS instead of slaughtering even more of the people.
The situation in 2024 is starkly similar to 1932. The only difference is that we don't have serious movements, just fentanyl.
The RSS is Hindu. Viktor Orban says, "Christianity is Europe's last hope.". The exquisite parallel state was Christianity's usurpation of Roman political power. So why not acknowledge religion is the key to the successful parallel? Any body with their eyes open can see the religious fervor of the revolutionaries and their hopes kindled in the prophetic vision of destroying their oppressors.
People have to believe in their gods. There is no connective tissue in the body-politic without the cult. Religion is the key to understanding man.
This made me think of the Church, the true “body of believers”. Much of this sounded like how the Church SHOULD act.
There is a serious motivation problem though. When you have one side filled with people who just want to live their lives and be left alone up against a side who wakes up every day imaging how they can "fix big problems!" I.e get into everyone's business, it's not a fair fight.
With the recent billing issues here on Substack I thought, we need our own bank.
N.S., love the article. My own thinking has led me to similar conclusions about what is necessary to build a conservative movement. One question I’ve been pondering is how we can prevent a conservative movement from being overtaken by the most radical right-wing members in a time when politics is so reactionary. I fear that the success of a truly principled conservative movement could be thwarted by a failure to fend against the right flank. While, sometimes, saying the most inflammatory, controversial hot-take can win support among a right-wing base, this tends to alienate those who are more moderate. I agree with your analysis that what is needed is a pre-political movement. I believe there is a large majority of moderates in this country who would be happy to return to a more traditional culture, but are not particularly interested in politics and are often turned off by movements considered to be overtly partisan. The question is how to balance the need to have strong conservative principles at the core of a movement, without allowing it to be overtaken by the loudest, most reactionary voices in the room, simply because they appear to be an enemy of your enemy.
I have been waiting for this - a plan for a path forward - and away from globalism. I would love to hear more about the ins and outs & the brass tacks of this parallel state. It puts me in mind of how the Catholic Church in Poland safeguarded their culture through the Church. With the accession of the first & only Polish Pope - John Paul II - he was able to speak to the faithful in Poland lending his weight giving rise to the Solidarity Movement. There is an excellent video on Amazon Prime about this - "Liberating a Continent: John Paul II and the Fall of Communism". You have given me hope that there IS a way out. Thank you.
The timing could be perfect. It's becoming an ugly, scary, depressing world out there, overloaded with hate, bile, resentment, blame. Really, an unending nightmare. Into that mess, throw sunshine, invitation, aspiration, humor and optimism. And see who comes to the party. Be brave, dare to smile, be happy, worshipful, and laugh a lot. Brilliant.
Tell me where to sign up. I have no great stash of money, my body can be a bit undependable, but I'm a quick learner, passionate, and I have a modicum of intelligence and some ideas.
Now that I think about it there are local groups of Europeans organizing to defend their property, children and quality of life (i.e., culture) against a hostile alien group – in Washington, DC, of all places.
https://dcist.com/story/23/12/13/dc-chevy-chase-community-center-housing/
https://dcist.com/story/23/07/06/gwu-dorm-shelter-for-medically-vulnerable-brooke-pinto/
Also, why is a house in Upper Caucasia (NW quadrant) twice as expensive as a similar one in African-American SE quadrant and the same distance from the federal triangle? According to official definitions of racism this is serious evidence and should be stopped. Oh, the horror, the horror!
Great article. Look forward to more with more specifics about the core principles around which such a movement can both be operated from the local community levels, and autonomously so, whilst also being able to spread throughout a polity at the idea visionary level.
It is so unfortunate that people keep believing in the 'vote harder' option. I have felt since Trump announced after his second impeachment that he would run AGAIN as a Republican that the best option for American conservatives is to cede the field entirely by refusing to vote for the Republican Party at any level whatsoever so that the country can see where the 'left' wants to take it, wake up, and create an alternative.
Your call to do this with parallel organizations is right on the money. But the biggest obstacle right now is the widespread con perpetrated by the current post-constitutional republic's electoral circus suckering people into doing the same thing over and over whilst expecting a different result.
There is a lot written about the role of Christianity in these comments, on which I have no comment, but I would add here that an equally important component of such a movement is restoring a love of cultural heritage. It seems to me quite easy to love America when you devote time and energy to Mark Twain and James Baldwin, Winslow Homer and Jackson Pollock, Scott Joplin and Aaron Copland, Tennessee Williams and Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins, Walt Whitman and Edna St. Vincent Millay, Robert Caro and Shelby Foote, and on and on and on.
Well said! As Tip O’Neill famously observed, “All politics is local.”
I'm curious as to how your address was received. Like other readers, I found it uplifting because it offered a glimmer of hope in the midst of this pessimism I've been feeling. Maybe it's not the complete collapse of Westen Civilization. Or if it is, there's hope for something good to arise from the rubble.
I hope that this can and will be successful. The challenge will be in getting people to accept that it needs to happen. A lot of people probably agree with the problems we're having, with censorship and transgender surgeries for kids and the like, but think they can be fixed within the system.
Thinking about your examples, there is the interesting point that China, DPRK, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cuba and other communist states have been able to nullify these sorts of movements - and indeed actively suppress them (Xinjiang, being just one example). So what made the successful examples successful? One aspect seems to be imperial rule - the perception that the elite were captured and indeed, agents of, foreign powers (Russians, mostly, though for the Hindu Nationalists there were the twin occupations of the Mughals and the British. The "people" under Hindu nationalism do not really include the Muslim minority.
Moreover, in China, you had the Communists FIRST make intersectional arguments against the KMT - that "nationalists" would insist that everyone become Han. Then, having secured power, that is exactly what they engaged in - a cultural enforcement on language, clothing, religion and suppression of ethnic minorities.
All of which suggests that success in this endeavor is going to require the demonstration that the American / Western elite are in fact all one blob CAPTURED by Communist China and visiting all of the many evils upon the West that are deliberately ineffective and ineffectual, that they are designed NOT TO WORK. Both to create new excuses for more powers to be ceded and also as a means of destroying the system itself so it can be replaced. Attacking both the patriotism of the elite and its corruption (and the channels through which the money flows) are crucial aspects of this counter-revolution.
One thing that is underappreciated is the degree to which inflation, budget balance and left financing could be addressed through a new approach to taxation. While the left frequently argues about the need to tax the rich more, they put the emphasis on RATES of tax, rather than on the more important question of what counts as INCOME, since this is really how rich people avoid taxation. They get to take all sorts of benefits and expense them rather than pay taxes on them, or they simply defer recognition of them, or and this is the biggest scam - they donate them (to lefty captured institutions). Gifts of appreciated securities are the ultimate tax scam. The appreciation was never taxed (since there was no sale) BUT the full amount of the market value gets to be deducted from income. So there is a double offset - no income is recognized but there is a tax deduction awarded for the untaxed and unrecognized gains. (If this isn't clear, imagine someone bought a stock for $10 and it appreciates to $100. Now he donates it to a charity. The $90 of gain is never recognized nor taxed. But the deduction that can be claimed is $100, offsetting $100 of income - for a taxpayer who itemizes - creating a tax saving of 40% or more for a top bracket taxpayer and depending on the jurisdiction). This is a DOUBLE forbearance of tax - no cap gain on the $90 AND a loss of income tax. This is what finances NGOs.
This should be completely changed. Many options present themselves. First, the amount of charitable gifts, rather than being unlimited and Sched A deductible, should instead be allowed to be an amount up to 120% of the median household gift. Today, little people still make gifts to their school and church and receive NO tax benefit for them. The average household makes something like $2000 in donations annually, and so set the cap at $2400, which supports the little people in making small donations to their local organizations that build their personal networks. Allow this for natural persons only. All larger amounts are deemed a sale and are immediately taxable. (Or consider even the imposition of gift taxes and other deterrents to estate tax avoidance schemes). Furthermore, make "regifting" - i.e. making grants by the charity - not a deductible expense. Too many charities make donations to 501(c)4 advocacy orgs. The beauty is, pushing back on this reflects very badly on lefties - it looks like an effort to shirk making rich people pay taxes; we saw how embarrassing the opposition to the effective elimination of SALT tax deductions was. True, it did hurt some Rs in blue states, but better budget balance (and investments in the kinds of education and civic development) in states that adopt such a plan will make red areas more appealing.
Similarly, tax schools for charging more than 1968 levels of cost to average income of a degreed individual. A four year degree in 1968 cost something like 7500, or 75% of a college grads average wage of 10 or 12 k (might be three years out, which is also a fine benchmark, as some grads need a bit of time to find a job). Apply the same rules. Any school charging MORE than this is not a charity, but is engaging in extraction of economic rent in the form of capitalizing a students future earnings stream and appropriating it. To meet these numbers many things about campus life and administration will have to change and all of them will be pro-social: fewer administrators, full stop. Less programming (more self-direction), less fancy living conditions (you're a student, not a late 20s urban professional; you do not need luxury condos, and you will feel much better about your circumstances when, as an "adult" with an income, you can afford better digs than you had as a student. Red states need to apply these rules already for their state universities and push to reduce tuition, even for out of state applicants in an effort to outcompete northern work schools.
Above all, we must invest in an educational approach that continues to cultivate the next generation. This means strong family and community networks that are anti-atomistic.
Finally something that makes complete sense!
A large enough parallel state can also compel the main state to take its demands seriously as the only way to avoid revolution. In the 30s, Huey Long, Father Coughlin and Marxist-flavored unions were well on the way to a complete internal war. FDR saw the result coming and proceeded to SOLVE THE PROBLEMS instead of slaughtering even more of the people.
The situation in 2024 is starkly similar to 1932. The only difference is that we don't have serious movements, just fentanyl.