What Divides the Right?: Fatalism vs. Optimism

Since the advent of national conservatism, a great deal of ink has been spilled over the ideological fissure emerging on the right. There are those, such as Christopher DeMuth, who believe there needs to be a clean break from the old conservative consensus. In his view, the Right must depart from the calcified intelligentsia and the mantras of the past so it can meaningfully address the plight of those left behind at the End of History. Others, such as Matthew Continetti, see no need for a schism, citing the lack of changes in the national character sufficiently drastic to warrant such a rift.

Though it is partly a contest of ideas, in a deeper sense, the internecine strife on the right is attitudinal. Debates between the two dominant factions may, on the surface, turn on the consequences of free trade or foreign-policy adventurism; on building a multiracial, multiethnic, working-class coalition; or on what the proper role of the state should be in enforcing Judeo-Christian social mores. But much more fundamental than these policy disagreements is the clash between fatalism, or call it “desperationism,” and optimism — an outlook on the current state of the nation and how to solve its problems.

About the Author

Bobby Miller

Bobby Miller is an ISI Fellow at National Review and a graduate student at Georgetown University.

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Since the advent of national conservatism, a great deal of ink has been spilled over the ideological fissure emerging on the right. There are those, such as Christopher DeMuth, who believe there needs to be a clean break from the old conservative consensus. In his view, the Right must depart from the calcified intelligentsia and the mantras of the past so it can meaningfully address the plight of those left behind at the End of History. Others, such as Matthew Continetti, see no need for a schism, citing the lack of changes in the national character sufficiently drastic to warrant such a rift.

Though it is partly a contest of ideas, in a deeper sense, the internecine strife on the right is attitudinal. Debates between the two dominant factions may, on the surface, turn on the consequences of free trade or foreign-policy adventurism; on building a multiracial, multiethnic, working-class coalition; or on what the proper role of the state should be in enforcing Judeo-Christian social mores. But much more fundamental than these policy disagreements is the clash between fatalism, or call it “desperationism,” and optimism — an outlook on the current state of the nation and how to solve its problems.