One of the biggest intellectual crimes of anti-Western ideologues is perpetuating the dichotomy between what they label “far” or “extreme” left and “far” or “extreme” right.
This stubborn perception treats communistic and fascistic doctrines as though they were ideological opposites. It inflicts irreparable harm to classical liberalism by associating it with communism, and to conservatism by associating it with fascism, Nazism, and racism.
This false dichotomy presupposes a linear progression whereby classical liberalism gradually devolves into communism on the left end of the spectrum, and conservatism into national socialism, on the right. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Socialism originated as an antithesis to classical liberalism. It disregards innate human rights and freedoms and favors the state and the collective at the expense of the individual. It is inherently racist and discriminatory, as it prefers certain groups and punishes others.
The so-called “far-left” ideologies do not derive from classical liberalism but are its categorical rejection. By resorting to effective language manipulation, progressives and socialists have been labeling themselves “liberals” and misleading actual liberals to endorse their radical policies.
Similarly, national socialism and fascism are by no means a natural progression of conservatism, but in fact they vehemently oppose tradition, Judeo-Christian values, personal responsibility, and the concept of limited government.
Churchill famously wrote in Volume 1 of The Gathering Storm that “Fascism was the shadow or ugly child of Communism.” He further elaborated:
As Fascism sprang from Communism, so Nazism developed from Fascism. Thus were set on foot those kindred movements which were destined soon to plunge the world into even more hideous strife….
A troubling recent occurrence is the so-called “woke right,” whereby people who seemingly identify as “right-wing” express antisemitic and fascist-adjacent views. Such individuals are undoubtedly much fewer than their leftist counterparts, who have embraced both the Islamist and Marxist flavors of anti-Israel propaganda.
Yet, the iron must be struck while hot, and any such instances must be nipped in the bud. It is also conceivable that such occurrences on the so-called “right” are partly due to foreign or leftist subversion, which should be investigated and exposed.
Others who may identify as “right-wing” are misled by the false concept of isolationism. They believe that America should only ever focus on herself. This derives from a deep moral confusion and historical misconception.
It is true that the United States should not wage forever wars, waste taxpayers’ dollars to export wokeness to the rest of the world, or fund unnecessary international projects. However, we cannot, and should not, abandon our strategic allies who share our moral principles, such as Israel, for instance. As Dennis Prager explains, “America First” does not mean “America only”:
I am a strong advocate of America First. Indeed, I believe the citizens of every country should put their country first… Just as people should put their family’s well-being first, they should put their country’s well-being first…
[Yet] America has never been just a country. Nor is America an ethnic group or race. America is an idea: the greatest nation-making idea in world history. America was set up to be a “bright shining light,” and has always seen itself — correctly, I believe — as exceptional. The America Firsters who believe in America Only do not see America as a moral force for good in the world…
As for the argument … that America must first deal with its own problems before helping any other people on Earth, this simply means that America will never help any other people on Earth. There never was and never will be a time when America is free of domestic problems.
The argument that we should concern ourselves with our borders, not those of Israel (or, presumably, Taiwan) is a non-sequitur. That we have made America into a country with open borders has nothing to do with Israel or any other country. It has to do with the left’s desire to undo America (and Western Civilization in general). And it is not an America First argument; it is an America Only argument.
Moreover, supporting our allies often directly benefits American interests and the survival of the West. Ideas and policies that favor national interest are a positive phenomenon when they are based on American values, which recognize that all human beings possess equal innate worth and rights — a much-needed antidote to the prevailing globalist narratives, which advocate for the elimination of national sovereignty and uncontrolled migration by bearers of anti-Western ideologies.
Nationalism, on the other hand, which is based on discriminatory, socialist, and racist principles, is harmful and un-American. It directly contradicts what America was founded upon and stands for. Totalitarian socialist and related ideologies have no place in the normal political spectrum.
Therefore, it makes much better sense to abandon the left-right linear division, which culminates in communism on the left end of the axis and in fascism and national socialism on the right. Fascism and national socialism, just like communism, abolish individual rights and freedoms. In contrast, liberalism and conservatism uphold them.
To understand the current ideological conflict, we should visualize instead the core American values and adjacent philosophies as part of a normal, healthy body politic. This includes views that may differ, such as classical liberalism and conservatism, but they balance each other and are compatible with basic American ideals.
This normal body politic is constantly attacked by incompatible ideologies — mental viruses that have plagued humanity in one form or another. They include antisemitism, racism, national socialism, communism, progressivism, wokeism, radical feminism, anti-Western environmentalism, globalism, etc. We should not regard them as extensions of normal conservative or liberal views but as diseased and parasitical influences that must be excluded from a healthy political spectrum.
The current division, stated simply, is between those who love and support America and its ideals and those who either openly hate it or want to radically transform it along un-American lines.
More broadly, as Melanie Phillips remarks:
The real divisions are not so much between groups as within groups. The dividing line is not between conservatives and liberals, white-skinned individuals and people of color, heterosexuals and gays. The division now is between those who want Western civilization to continue and those who don’t.
Instead of interpreting the battle of ideas as the “woke left” versus the “woke right,” as though they were natural progressions of normal left and right ideologies, we need to contrast American principles with hostile beliefs that seek to destroy America. We should protect and preserve our core values from any and all ideologies that strive to co-opt normal political positions and ultimately annihilate the West.
Nora D. Clinton is a Research Scholar at the Legal Insurrection Foundation. She was born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria. She holds a PhD in Classics and has published extensively on ancient documents on stone. In 2020, she authored the popular memoir Quarantine Reflections Across Two Worlds. Nora is a co-founder of two partner charities dedicated to academic cooperation and American values. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and son.
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