Paleoconservatism Explained

Paleoconservatism is a political philosophy and a strain of conservatism in the United States stressing American nationalism, Christian ethics, traditionalist conservatism, localism and non-interventionism. Paleoconservatism's concerns overlap with those of the Old Right that opposed the New Deal in the 1930s and 1940s as well as with paleolibertarianism.[1] [2]

The term paleoconservative was coined by Paul Gottfried in the 1980s to refer to American conservatives who had opposed the Vietnam War, in contrast to neoconservatives who had supported the war.[3] Paleoconservatives press for restrictions on immigration, a rollback of multicultural programs and large-scale demographic change, the decentralization of federal policy, the restoration of controls upon free trade, a greater emphasis upon economic nationalism, and non-intervention in the politics of foreign nations.

Terminology

The prefix paleo derives from the Greek root παλαιός (palaiós), meaning "ancient" or "old". It is somewhat tongue-in-cheek and refers to the paleoconservatives' claim to represent a more historic, authentic conservative tradition than that found in neoconservatism. Adherents of paleoconservatism often describe themselves simply as "paleo". Rich Lowry of National Review claims the prefix "is designed to obscure the fact that it is a recent ideological creation of post-Cold War politics".[4]

Samuel T. Francis, Thomas Fleming, and some other paleoconservatives deemphasize the conservative part of the paleoconservative label, claiming they do not want the status quo preserved.[5] Fleming and Paul Gottfried called such thinking "stupid tenacity" and described it as "a series of trenches dug in defense of last year's revolution". Francis defined authentic conservatism as "the survival and enhancement of a particular people and its institutionalized cultural expressions".[6] [7]

Ideology

Paleoconservatives support restrictions on immigration, decentralization, trade tariffs and protectionism, economic nationalism, isolationism, and a return to traditional conservative ideals relating to gender, race, sexuality, culture, and society.[8]

Paleoconservatism differs from neoconservatism in opposing free trade and promoting republicanism. Paleoconservatives see neoconservatives as imperialists and themselves as defenders of the republic.[9] [10]

Paleoconservatives tend to oppose abortion, gay marriage, and LGBTQ rights.[8] [11]

By the start of the 21st century, the movement had begun to focus more on issues of race.[12]

Human nature, tradition, and reason

Paleoconservatives believe tradition is a form of reason, rather than a competing force. Mel Bradford wrote that certain questions are settled before serious deliberation concerning a preferred course of conduct begins. This ethic is based on a "culture of families, linked by friendship, common enemies, and common projects",[13] so a good conservative keeps "a clear sense of what Southern grandmothers have always meant in admonishing children, 'we don't do that'".[14]

Pat Buchanan argues that a good politician must "defend the moral order rooted in the Old and New Testament and Natural Law"—and that "the deepest problems in our society are not economic or political, but moral".[15]

Southern traditionalism

According to historian Paul V. Murphy, paleoconservatives developed a focus on localism and states' rights. From the mid-1980s onward, Chronicles promoted a Southern traditionalist worldview focused on national identity, regional particularity, and skepticism of abstract theory and centralized power. According to Hague, Beirich, and Sebesta (2009), the anti-modernism of the paleoconservative movement defined the neo-Confederate movement of the 1980s and 1990s. During this time, notable paleoconservatives argued that desegregation, welfare, tolerance of gay rights, and church-state separation had been damaging to local communities, and that these issues had been imposed by federal legislation and think tanks. Paleoconservatives also claimed the Southern Agrarians, an early 20th century group of poets and writers famous for the literary manifesto I'll Take My Stand, as forebears in this regard.[16]

Foreign policy

Paleoconservatives have varied opinions on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; some have argued that supporting the country damages foreign relations with the Islamic world and American interests abroad.[17] Pat Buchanan has asserted that "Capitol Hill is Israeli-occupied territory". Russell Kirk argued that "Not seldom has it seemed ... as if some eminent Neoconservatives mistook Tel Aviv for the capital of the United States".[18] During the Israel–Gaza War, paleoconservative Tucker Carlson argued Israel was guilty of war crimes, and that President Joe Biden's support of the country risked American complicity in the actions.[19]

Other paleoconservatives, such as Paul Gottfried (who coined the term paleoconservative) have expressed pro-Israel stances. Gottfried in particular views the rise in anti-Zionism following the October 7 attacks as part of a broader movement of anti-white sentiment in Western countries.[20]

Notable people

Philosophers and scholars

Commentators and columnists

Donald Trump

Historian George Hawley states that, although influenced by paleoconservatism, Donald Trump is not a paleoconservative, but rather a nationalist and a right-wing populist. Hawley also argued in 2017 that paleoconservatism was an exhausted force in American politics, but that, for a time, it represented the most serious right-wing threat to the mainstream movement conservatism. Regardless of how Trump himself is categorized, others regard the movement known as Trumpism as supported by,[31] if not a rebranding of, paleoconservatism. From this view, the followers of the Old Right did not fade away so easily and continue to have significant influence in the Republican Party and the entire country.[32] Trump is largely pro-Israel, unlike the usual anti-Zionist paleoconservatives.[33] [34] [35] [36]

Notable organizations and outlets

Organizations

See main article: List of paleoconservative organizations.

Periodicals and websites

References

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. The Case for Paleo-libertarianism. Rockwell. Lew. Liberty. January 1990. 34–38. January 28, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20180907144559/http://www.pericles.press/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Liberty_Magazine.pdf. September 7, 2018. dead.
  2. De Coster, Karen (December 2, 2003). "Paleolibertarianism". LewRockwell.com. . Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  3. Web site: 2016-08-29 . Meet the Jewish 'Paleoconservative' Who Coined The Term 'Alternative Right' . 2025-10-17 . The Forward . en.
  4. Lowry . Richard . Rich Lowry . 2005 . Reaganism v. Neo-Reaganism . subscription . The National Interest . 79 . Center for the National Interest . 35–41 . 1938-1573 . 42897547 . January 27, 2018.
  5. Foer . Franklin . Franklin Foer . July 22, 2002 . Home Bound . The New Republic . https://web.archive.org/web/20091001193300/http://www.tnr.com/article/home-bound . October 1, 2009 . January 27, 2018.
  6. Francis . Samuel . Samuel T. Francis . July 1992 . The Buchanan Revolution . Chronicles . https://web.archive.org/web/20040723154821/http://www.samfrancis.net/pdf/all1992.pdf . July 23, 2004 . January 27, 2018 . SamFrancis.net.
  7. Francis . Samuel . Samuel T. Francis . March 2004 . (Con)fusion on the Right . Chronicles . https://web.archive.org/web/20070404042145/http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/Chronicles/March2004/0304Principalities.html . April 4, 2007 . January 27, 2018.
  8. Web site: Matthews . Dillon . The alt-right is more than warmed-over white supremacy. It's that, but way way weirder. . Vox . April 18, 2016 . Vox Media Inc . August 4, 2019 . August 31, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170831155255/https://www.vox.com/2016/4/18/11434098/alt-right-explained . live .
  9. Web site: Larison . Daniel . How Paleo and Fusionist Conservatism Differ . American Conservative Union Foundation . https://web.archive.org/web/20040205201328/http://acuf.org/issues/issue3/040107med.asp . February 5, 2004 . usurped . January 27, 2018.
  10. News: Judis . John B. . John Judis . October 3, 1999 . The Buchanan Doctrine . The New York Times . January 27, 2018.
  11. Fleming . Thomas . Thomas Fleming (political writer) . September 8, 2005 . Ethics 01A.1: Gay Marriage, Democracy . dead . Chronicles . Rockford, Illinois . Rockford Institute . https://web.archive.org/web/20060927173854/http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/cgi-bin/hardright.cgi/Ethics_01A___Gay_Ma.writeback . September 27, 2006 . August 27, 2006.
  12. News: Greenberg . David . 11 December 2016 . An Intellectual History of Trumpism . Politico.
  13. Book: Bradford, M. E. . Mel Bradford . 1990. The Reactionary Imperative: Essays Literary and Political . Peru, Illinois . Sherwood Sugden . 129. Quoted in .
  14. Book: Bradford, M. E. . Mel Bradford . 1990. The Reactionary Imperative: Essays Literary and Political . Peru, Illinois . Sherwood Sugden . 119, 121. Quoted in .
  15. http://www.buchanan.org/pma-00-0621-fulani.html Pat Buchanan Responds To Lenora Fulani's Resignation – Buchanan Campaign Press Releases – theinternetbrigade – Official Web Site
  16. Book: Hague . Euan . Beirich . Heidi . Sebesta . Edward H. . Neo-Confederacy: A Critical Introduction . 2009 . University of Texas Press . 9780292779211 . December 3, 2018 . en . 25–27.
  17. Web site: Postel . Danny . 2023-11-07 . The Conservative Fault Lines Revealed by Debates Over Israel . 2023-12-04 . New Lines Magazine . en.
  18. Book: Fuller, Adam . Israel and the Neoconservatives: Zionism and American Interests . . 2019 . 9781498567343 . 8.
  19. Web site: Schorr . Isaac . 2023-10-24 . Tucker Carlson and Douglas Macgregor Suggest Israel Is Committing 'War Crimes' and Mock 'Moral Victories' . 2023-12-04 . Mediaite . en.
  20. Gottfried . Paul . Paul Gottfried . May 28, 2024 . The Anti-White Sentiment Underlying Left-Wing Anti-Semitism . Chronicles . Rockford, Illinois . Rockford Institute.
  21. Web site: Gottfried . Paul . 2018-02-01 . An Old Paleocon Sets the Record Straight . 2025-07-13 . The American Conservative . en-US.
  22. Web site: Robertson. Derek. The Canadian Psychologist Beating American Pundits at Their Own Game. Politico. Capitol News Company. August 6, 2019.
  23. Web site: Moldbug . Mencius . Curtis Yarvin . August 13, 2009 . UR is on vacation . Unqualified Reservations . And no, I am not a libertarian. I’m a fan of Mill’s pal Carlyle. ... The proper term is reactionary, though I’ll also answer to paleoconservative. ... No one who had any significant exposure to right-wing thought would call a mainstream National Review conservative like Milloy “far right.” “Far right” means either a paleoconservative or reactionary, like me, or an actual neofascist..
  24. Frum. David. March 25, 2003. Unpatriotic Conservatives. National Review.
  25. Web site: An intellectual history of Trumpism. December 12, 2016. Politico.
  26. Web site: Re: Paleocons On Immigration. National Review. March 19, 2003.
  27. Web site: Paleoconservatism, the movement that explains Donald Trump, explained. Dylan. Matthews. May 6, 2016. Vox. August 23, 2020.
  28. Web site: 'Paleoconservatives' Decry Immigration. Southern Poverty Law Center. November 14, 2020.
  29. The American Conservative Crackup. May 1, 2007. Washington Monthly.
  30. Continetti. Matthew. June 1, 2019. Making Sense of the New American Right. National Review.
  31. Drolet. Jean-Francois . Williams. Michael. The view from MARS: US paleoconservatism and ideological challenges to the liberal world order . International Journal . 74 . 1 . 2019 . 18 . 10.1177/0020702019834716 . 151239862 . free .
  32. Morris. Edwin Kent . Inversion, Paradox, and Liberal Disintegration: Towards a Conceptual Framework of Trumpism . New Political Science . 41 . 1 . December 24, 2018 . 21 . 10.1080/07393148.2018.1558037 . 149978398 .
  33. Web site: 12 May 2025 . Lapid: Pro-Israel Trump is 'fed up' with Netanyahu, 'wants results,' cut hostage deal only for US citizen . 22 September 2025 . .
  34. Web site: 17 November 2024 . What have Trump administration nominees said about Israel and its wars? . While pro-Israel views are common in US politics, Trump’s picks signal support for far-right Israeli aspirations. . 22 September 2025 . .
  35. Web site: The Trump right's pro-Israel antisemitism . March 19, 2025 . . March 29, 2025.
  36. Web site: 31 July 2025 . Gaza starvation widens MAGA's rupture with Israel . Trump, who has described himself as the most pro-Israel president in U.S. history, is increasingly at odds with many of his youngest supporters. . 22 September 2025 . .
  37. Web site: Matthews . Dylan . Paleoconservatism, the movement that explains Donald Trump, explained . May 6, 2016 . . August 23, 2020 . June 23, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220623235749/https://www.vox.com/2016/5/6/11592604/donald-trump-paleoconservative-buchanan . live .
  38. Web site: Why I Love Taki's Magazine. Charleston City Paper. May 30, 2008. March 18, 2021. March 18, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210318141623/https://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/story/why-i-love-takis-magazine. live.

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