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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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In political discourse, especially that of the politics of the United States, the alt-right (sometimes referred to as alt-conservatism) is an umbrella term for the designation of right-wing ideologies presented as an alternative to mainstream conservatism.[1][2][3] The alt-right has been described as a movement unified by support for Donald Trump,[1][4][5] opposition to multiculturalism and immigration, and rejection of egalitarianism.[1][6] The alt-right is said to include beliefs such as neoreaction, monarchism, nativism, populism, national capitalism, identitarianism, white nationalism, anti-Semitism, protectionism, white supremacism and American secessionism.[1][2][7] The term appeared more frequently after it was used by Richard Spencer's website Alternative Right in 2010, gained prominence in 2015 after being identified as a movement by critics, and was criticized by anti-Trump Republican strategist Rick Wilson in 2016 on MSNBC.[1][4][8] The alt-right is demographically younger than mainstream conservatism.[1][4][5]

Origin

The term "alternative right" or "alt-right" was used sporadically in 2008[9] and 2009[10][11] before becoming more frequent after self-described "identitarian" Richard B. Spencer founded AlternativeRight.com in 2010, a journal described by neoconservative Tim Mak as "sexist and racist",[12] and by the Southern Poverty Law Center as far right and racially focused.[13] Jeet Heer of The New Republic identifies the alt-right as having ideological origins among paleoconservatives.[14]

Beliefs

The alt-right includes beliefs such as neoreaction, monarchism, nativism, populism, national capitalism, identitarianism, white nationalism, anti-Semitism, protectionism, white supremacism and American secessionism.[1][2] Commonalities shared across the otherwise loosely defined alt-right include anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist views, disdain for mainstream politics, and strong support for Donald Trump.[5][15][16] Adherents view mainstream conservatives with ridicule and have also been credited for originating and using the term "cuckservative",[1][2] a neologistic epithet described by some as racist.[17] In addition, sources like Newsday and the Cornell Review note the alt-right's strong opposition to both legal and illegal immigration and their hardline stance on the European migrant crisis.[5][7] Ethan Chiel, writing for Fusion, has described members of the alt-right as "identity-obsessed".[18] Members of the alt-right use social media and the internet to organize and share their beliefs, particularly on the /pol/ of image boards such as 4chan and 8chan.[18][19]

Reaction

In 2010 Greg Johnson, then-editor of The Occidental Quarterly, said that Spencer's concept of the "AltRight" was about bringing together a wide variety of intellectual perspectives that are outside the purview of the American conservative movement.[20]

In a 2015 article in Buzzfeed, reporter Rosie Gray describes the alt-right as "white supremacy perfectly tailored for our times", 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 also notes that the alt-right is largely based online, and both supports Donald Trump's candidacy while benefiting from his coattails. Gray quotes a prominent alt-right figure, 52-year-old vlogger Paul Ramsey, as saying that the alt-right are not neo-Nazis, although often some hold similar beliefs, such as Holocaust denial, which they also identify as historical revisionism.[1] Proponents are said to use culture jamming and memes to promote their ideas. Some adherents also refer to themselves as identitarian, and criticize National Review and William F. Buckley for not openly supporting white nationalism or similar ideologies.[21] Professor George Hawley of the University of Alabama noted that the alt-right may pose a greater threat to progressivism than the mainstream conservative movement.[22]

The alt-right has also been praised by Benjamin Welton of The Weekly Standard who described the alt-right as a "highly heterogeneous force" that refuses to "concede the moral high ground to the left".[2] Although some conservatives have welcomed the alt-right, others on the mainstream right and left[7] 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.[19] 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.[23] Some sources have connected the alt-right and Gamergate, such as through Milo Yiannopoulos.[2][24][25]

Michael Dougherty writing in The Week describes the alt-right as radical working class white people who are dismayed by globalization and contemptuous of "permanent members of the political class".[26] However, Rick Wilson, an opponent of Donald Trump, rejected this distinction, calling the alt-right "crazy ... childless single men who masturbate to anime", and who have "plenty of Hitler iconography in their Twitter icons".[27][28] Similarly, Cathy Young writing in Newsday called the alt-right "a nest of anti-Semitism" inhabited by "white supremacists" who regularly use "repulsive bigotry".[7] Likewise, Chris Hayes on All In with Chris Hayes described the "alt right" as a euphemistic term for "essentially modern day white supremacy."[29]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. ^ "White Supremacists Relish "Cuckservative" Controversy". 11 August 2015.
  4. ^ a b c Betsy Woodruff. "Rush Limbaugh's Favorite New White-Power Group". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  5. ^ a b c d The Cornell Review (2015-11-12). "STEWART | The 'Alt-Right' and Why You Can't Stump the Trump". Thecornellreview.org. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  6. ^ Stevens, Greg (2015-10-31). "When Satanism Met The Internet". Breitbart.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ Gottfried, Paul (2016-01-22). "The Decline and Rise of the Alternative Right - The Unz Review". Unz.com. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  10. ^ Theodoracopulos, Taki (2009-07-27). "Economism in the Alt Right". Taki's Magazine. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  11. ^ Hunter, Jack (2009-11-03). "Whither the Alternative Right?". Taki's Magazine. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  12. ^ Mak, Tim (2010-03-08). "The "New" Racist Right". FrumForum. Archived from the original on 2015-07-25. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ Larry Keller (2010-03-15). "Paleocon Starts New Extreme-Right Magazine | Southern Poverty Law Center". Splcenter.org. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  14. ^ Heer, Jeet (2016-01-22). "National Review Fails to Kill Its Monster". New Republic.
  15. ^ Powers, Darlene (2015-12-16). "And Bolder: Trump's Scariest Supporters Are Getting Meaner Voice Herald". The Voice Herald.
  16. ^ Lizza, Ryan (2016-01-28). "Donald Trump's Hostile Takeover of the G.O.P." The New Yorker. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  17. ^ "Getting Cucky: A Brief Primer On The Radical Right's Newest 'Cuckservative' Meme | Southern Poverty Law Center". Splcenter.org. 2015-08-07. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  18. ^ a b Chiel, Ethan (2016-01-29). "Online racists are very excited about The Angry Birds Movie". Fusion. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  19. ^ a b French, David (2016-01-26). "Donald Trump & Alt-Right's Rise - Not Conservatives Fault". National Review. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  20. ^ Greg Johnson (2010-03-02). "Richard Spencer Launches Alternative Right". The Occidental Quarterly. Retrieved 2016-02-26.
  21. ^ Chiel, Ethan (2015-10-29). "A YouTube account is rewriting Disney tunes to be racist". Fusion. Retrieved 2016-02-26.
  22. ^ George Hawley (25 January 2016). Right-Wing Critics of American Conservatism. University Press of Kansas. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-7006-2193-4.
  23. ^ Nordlinger, Jay (2016-01-24). "Donald Trump, Abortion, and 'Winners'". Nationalreview. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  24. ^ Weigel, David. "'Cuckservative' — the conservative insult of the month, explained". The Washington Post.
  25. ^ Bernstein, Joseph (January 21, 2016). "Conservative Provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos Starts "White Men Only" Scholarship Fund". Buzzfeed News.
  26. ^ Dougherty, Michael Brendan (2016-01-25). "The conservative movement has become the GOP establishment. Now what?". Theweek.com. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  27. ^ Feldman, Josh (2016-01-19). "MSNBC Guest: Trump's 'Alt-Right' Fans 'Childless Single Men Who Masturbate to Anime'". Mediaite.com.
  28. ^ TIMP Staff (2016-01-20). "VIDEO: Republican Strategist Calls 'Alt Right' Trump Supporters 'Single Men Who Masturbate to Anime'". Truth In Media.
  29. ^ "All In with Chris Hayes, Transcript 12/9/2015". MSNBC. MSNBC. December 9, 2015.
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