Diagonalism, the Cosmic Right and the Conspiracy Smoothie
How do you explain the journey of many people — previously thought to be of the Left — and now turning up in far-right channels and spaces?
William Callison and Quinn Slobodian describe the phenomenon as ‘Diagonalism’:
“Taking a cue from one of the movements itself — Querdenken in Germany, in particular — we call the strategy behind the diverse movements “diagonal thinking” and the broader phenomenon they represent “diagonalism.” Bridging the more familiar concept Querfront and the more recent term Querdenken, the idea of “diagonalism” exceeds the German context of its coinage, where it means something like out-of-the-box thinking. Born in part from transformations in technology and communication, diagonalists tend to contest conventional monikers of left and right (while generally arcing toward far-right beliefs), to express ambivalence if not cynicism toward parliamentary politics, and to blend convictions about holism and even spirituality with a dogged discourse of individual liberties.
At the extreme end, diagonal movements share a conviction that all power is conspiracy. Public power cannot be legitimate, many believe, because the process of choosing governments is itself controlled by the powerful and is de facto illegitimate. This often comes with a dedication to disruptive decentralization, a desire for distributed knowledge and thus distributed power, and a susceptibility to rightwing radicalization.”
This description fits many in the American scene, such as the former feminist writer Naomi Wolf, or here the celebrity Russell Brand or the tv presenter Neil Oliver all of whom have been consumed by the wildest aspects of conspiracism — and has ended up with Brand supporting Donald Trump. You can see this process, a dramatic shift to the right, in other journalists and commentators, for example here with Iain Macwhirter or Joanna Blythman who have either got caught up in (what they perceive as ‘culture wars’, or conspiracy culture).
A common theme here is a rejection of aspects of ecological politics. This ranges from a perception of a ‘war on motorists’ (see ‘Bladerunners’ and other anti-LEZ activists) through to an obsession with Net Zero (see Farage and the Tory party) through to the massed-ranks of the Scottish commentariat consumed by hatred of the Scottish Greens, both for their stance on trans rights and their questioning of growth economics, which has had Macwhirter, Alex Massie, Chris Deerin, Euan McColl et als convulsed in fury. While for some this is a generational crisis which has provoked complete incomprehension, despite their job, literally being to understand things, for others this is about a journey rightwards. Naomi Klein explains why it is important to have formerly ‘progressive’ voices onboard:
“Despite claims of post-partisanship, it is right-wing, often far-right political parties around the world that have managed to absorb the unruly passions and energy of diagonalism. folding its Covid-era grievances into preexisting projects opposing ‘wokeness’ and drumming up fears of migrant ‘invasions’. Still, it is important for these movements to present themselves (and believe themselves to b) ruptures with politics-as-usual; to claim to be something new, beyond traditional left-right poles.”
“That’s why having a few prominent self-identified progressives and/or liberals is so critical. Importantly, the role of these progressives is not to renounce the goals of social justice and embrace a hard-right worldview. On the contrary, they must continue to identify as proud members of the left…while claiming that it is the movements and tendencies of which they were once part that have betrayed their own ideals, leaving these uniquely courageous individuals politically homeless and in search of new alliances.”
This is certainly a hallmark of many of the UK individuals who have made a journey rightward through the paranoia of lockdown or the experience of climate catastrophe and its various political ramifications. Some older journalists and commentators simply can’t process the reality that a) capitalist economics are the driver of climate breakdown and therefore b) alternatives to capitalist economics will be necessary. This is an anathema to writers who (as famously stated) find it “easier to comprehend the end of the world than the end of capitalism”.
Others find easier explanations. Some argue that Russell Brand is not on a political journey, he is just a grifter cynically manipulating his audiences to give himself cover for his sexual predatory behaviour.
But grifters aside, what brings such a rich and diverse group of people together in conspiracism is more a form of denialism, best seen in the reaction to climate realities and consequences. This is a new form of denialism, few nowadays actually deny the reality of climate change, they sort of deny instead that this means anything. William Callison and Quinn Slobodian again (‘Coronapolitics from the Reichstag to the Capitol‘):
“Efforts to name the snowballing movements — incorporating a range of anti-government, anti-lockdown, anti-mask, and anti-vax positions — have been strained so far. Beyond the United States, where support for the recently defeated president offers a convenient common denominator, most observers have made heterogeneity the takeaway. The Economist referred to the “diverse bunch” at demonstrations that often feature New Age homeopaths next to skinheads and QAnon supporters in stars and stripes. “Meet Germany’s Bizarre Anti-Lockdown Protesters” read the title of a New York Times op-ed in August. Naomi Klein referred to the “conspiracy smoothie” that unites many protesters. Sociologist Keir Milburn hazarded the coinage of “the cosmic Right.” Drawing lessons from the mass phenomenon that is Bolsonarismo, Brazilian philosopher Rodrigo Nunes described the protests as the latest manifestation of “denialism” born of an inability to come to terms with the enormity of challenges confronted by humankind.”
These new forms of populism have taken all of the counter-culture of the 1960s 70s and 80s and moulded it into some new form, a grotesque caricature of anti-establishment, denuded of any political analysis, and leaning heavily into critiques of state power and media power with no conception of capital. This is a Hippy Grotesque, Dead Heads in a post-truth fever-dream, refusing to come down from the high that is conspiracism, a sort of Peter Pan existence of forever living in your bedroom, stoned and paranoid.
Callison and Quinn Slobodian describe the constituents of this new movement as: “hippies, antiwar activists, libertarians, constitutional loyalists, anti-state monarchists (Reichsbürger), neo-Nazis, alternative medicine practitioners, anti-vaccination campaigners, and apolitical left-liberals” — to which you could add, I think enraged elderly journalists and D-List celebrities (think Far-Right Said Fred & others). On the fringes of this in the UK are the hard-right (Reform etc) who are leaning into this rich seam of paranoia without really believing in it, and in the US those who feel that ANY state intervention or collective action is a stepping stone to Communism (!).
Much of the underlying drive behind these political phenomenon is the realisation (and denial) that anything needs to change about western civilisation, whether this is the idea you can fly anywhere anytime for peanuts, the idea of any restriction on your right to drive, or the idea that we need to change the way we eat and produce food. These very basic ideas are only the start of a process of transformation that will be required in the coming months and years, but such is the affront caused by any idea that WE might need to be part of the change that wild and visceral reactions are provoked. They provide a very useful cover for the states and classes in the global north who benefit from the ongoing experience of business as usual, as the earth burns.
