The Authoritarian Right’s Culture Wars Are Not New
The ‘protective’ authoritarianism of the aughts is back, with a new face
To put it simply, be very concerned about your freedom when power-hungry politicians say they want to protect you (or your family, or your community) from something. Real freedom isn’t granted or protected by politicians.
What the two sides share is rising censoriousness-a tendency to want to shut down views each dislikes. But, for now, only one side (the right) uses government power to impose it, and that means only one side is engaging in censorship. I try to be very exacting in drawing this distinction. A Twitter mob demanding a publisher withdraw a book is censorious. If the publisher capitulates to the mob, that’s cowardice. But it isn’t an act of censorship, which is what happens when the government steps in to prevent publication or dissemination of a book, article, speech, etc. As a writer and someone who reveres the open exchange of ideas, I disapprove of censoriousness. But it’s far more dangerous when it’s welded to government power. That’s one of many reasons why I think the right is the bigger threat to liberal democracy in the United States at the moment. -Ask Me Anything-April 2023 by Damon Linker
Back in the aughts, we the libertarian-minded used to harshly criticize those who looked to the government to ‘protect’ our freedoms from terrorists. What we said was that the ‘war on terror’ state would destroy our freedoms quicker than any terrorist can, something that has ultimately been proven to be true. Now some wannabe authoritarians are looking to sell their brand of politics as the way to ‘protect’ us from wokeism. This is where we must boldly state the truth: these power-hungry politicians will destroy our freedoms quicker than any woke activist can. After all, nothing the woke activists can do comes even close to what these authoritarians are proposing or already doing in terms of being effectively suppressive and oppressive.
Politically motivated fear campaigns on any topic is always part of the problem, not part of the solution, and should be unconditionally rejected. I thought we learned this lesson post-9/11, when governments capitalized on our fear of terrorism to take away our civil liberties, and then launched the 2003 Iraq War, all justified on ‘protecting’ us from terrorism. It appears some people need to relearn the lessons of 2001–3.
Tech billionaire and Republican megadonor Peter Thiel, an early backer of former President Donald Trump who later broke with him, has told associates he is not planning to donate to any political candidates in 2024, according to two people close to the businessman. Thiel is unhappy with the Republican Party’s focus on hot-button U.S. cultural issues, said one of the sources, a business associate, citing abortion and restrictions on which bathrooms transgender students can use in schools as two examples. -Exclusive: Peter Thiel, Republican megadonor, won’t fund candidates in 2024, sources say by Anna Tong in Reuters
More and more people who are otherwise anti-woke are now increasingly frustrated about the authoritarian culture warrior stance of some in the political right, and this wave of frustration appears to have hit top Republican donors too. The frustration we are all feeling is very real. Many parts of the right have clearly taken an authoritarian turn compared to just a few years ago, and those of us who cherish liberty are right to feel uncomfortable about this. Don’t let the authoritarians gaslight you, or scare you into silence by raising the specter of wokeism taking over. Don’t let them convince you that right-authoritarianism is OK because they are ‘at least not woke’. We oppose authoritarianism in all forms, period. We can certainly oppose wokeism as well as right-wing social authoritarianism. What we need to do is to make this frustration heard loud and clear among freedom loving people, so a real movement to push back can begin as soon as possible.
Overall, 83 per cent of respondents saw political attacks against trans youth as a problem — with only 15 per cent saying they don’t have an issue with it, and 3 per cent saying they are unsure…. In contrast, only one per cent of voters think that transgender issues are a significant problem in the US. -Most US voters aren’t happy about political attacks on trans kids by Amelia Hansford in PinkNews
People in the authoritarian faction of the right sometimes like to argue that their brand of culture war politics is popular, and is the only thing that will work to push back against ‘wokeism’, however they define it. However, this does not line up with reality as I have observed. And now, this poll provides evidence to back up what I have seen. While people might have concerns about the more extreme demands of certain activists, most of them rationally know that politicizing such issues just makes the whole discussion toxic, and is not a good way to resolve or change things. We classical liberals have always emphasized that the only way to resolve things is via open and rational debate, which just can’t happen if everything is politicized and toxic.
As weeks have gone by, stories have come out of Missouri describing the effect this is having on local transgender care. A video posted to TikTok went viral where an adult transgender individual named Milo emotionally detailed the devastating effects of the Missouri General’s actions: “I’m scared and I don’t know what to do. Testosterone has been lifesaving for me. Taking me off of testosterone right now is taking away my happiness. It’s taking away my healthcare. I’m a legal adult, I can make my own decisions. I don’t know for sure, because I haven’t been able to get in contact with my provider, but it looks like I will have to detransition for the time being… and I don’t know what to do, I don’t know what to think. I’m going to college in Missouri so I can’t even get out.” -Trans Adults Officially Being Detransitioned In Missouri: “I’m Scared And Don’t Know What To Do” by Erin Reed
Fear-based culture war campaigns have always been a favorite tool of wannabe authoritarians, and they always end up having real life consequences where innocent people are harmed. The current anti-trans campaign is no exception. Classical liberals hate culture wars because we know that authoritarians are going to be the only winners in the end, and everyday people who just want to live their lives in peace are going to be the losers. And, as discussed above, most people out there seem to agree with us here.
The successful social movements of ages past have always succeeded by breaking the rules of decorum-but not arbitrarily or thoughtlessly. The Civil Rights movement of the ’50s and ’60s succeeded in part through blatantly illegal protests that called attention to the injustice of the existing rules. Shaffer told me that labor struggles that work within legal frameworks are going to have a very hard time succeeding, because the law is stacked against workers. The law, he said, is by definition a tool to uphold the status quo, so anyone who wants to change that status quo is going to have to be open to the idea of breaking rules when it’s morally and tactically necessary to do so. -The Success of the Tennessee Three Shows Why We Need More Confrontational Politics by Nathan J. Robinson
One of the most common woke argument against the classical liberal consensus is that liberal values don’t work to promote truth and justice, which is why illiberal means are needed. We liberals have never agreed with their views, but as with everything, it is up to us to show that we are right and they are wrong in the marketplace of ideas. This is why we need to call out the authoritarian right’s abuses of power (like the aforementioned situation in Missouri), because they are exactly what makes the system ‘oppressive’. As liberals, we often get unfairly tarred by the woke for the sins of right-wing authoritarianism, which is highly unfair. I believe the only way to redeem our reputation, to prove that liberalism is ultimately sound, and hence win the argument against wokeism, is to bravely, loudly and relentlessly fight against the power abuses by the authoritarians.
Note: The articles quoted above do not necessarily reflect my views, and I do not endorse their arguments outside of what I have specifically agreed with.
Originally published at https://taraella.substack.com.
TaraElla is a singer-songwriter and author, who recently published her autobiography The TaraElla Story, in which she described the events that inspired her writing.
She is also the author of the Moral Libertarian Horizon books, which argue that liberalism is still the most moral and effective value system for the West.
