Nature and the Nation

In this episode we look deeper into the political environment of the first half of the 20th century, from the populist movement to the start of the Cold War, through Bill Kauffman's book, America First! Its History, Culture, and Politics. We look at such figures as Amos Pinchot, Alice Roosevelt Longworth, and Jack Kerouac. We look at the politicians of that era and dip into what it means to be an...

In this episode I explore Tucker Carlson's best-selling book, 'Ship of Fools.' Carlson lays out the case that the American elites have been completely derelict in their management of the nation. I pay particular attention to the rending of our social fabric by infatuation with multiculturalism at the expense of cultural integrity. More at www.neofusionist.com

In this episode I look toward the thinkers of the pre-WWII American right wing, commonly referred to as the Old Right, and the usurpation of the conservative movement by successive waves of neoconservatives. Raimondo weighs the prospects of the libertarians and paleoconservatives, and explores the notion of a new fusionism between the two. I contrast this with my own vision of neofusionism. More a...

In this episode I look at the origins of the concept of fusionism, from which neofusionism takes its cue. In 'In Defense of Freedom and Related Essays' Frank Meyer lays out the 1960s fusionist vision of merging libertarianism with traditionalism to create what we now call conservatism. I examine the relation between freedom, reason, virtue, and tradition, as well as the associated different roles...

In this episode I dive into Richard Weaver's vast array of essays contained in the collection 'In Defense of Tradition.' Weaver covers such topics as dialectic vs rhetoric, the existence of human nature, and the effect of technology on the human condition. More at www.neofusionist.com

In this episode I examine the fundamental principles of Heidegger's existentialism, seeking the ways in which he describes Being from the experiential perspective of dasein, or the human being. This examination explores thrownness and facticity, and the striving toward authenticity that we can utilize in building a naturalistic foundation for paleoconservatism. More at www.neofusionist.om

In this episode I look at the conflict between modernity and tradition from a pre-Christian, spriritually Traditionalist perspective in Julius Evola's Revolt Against the Modern World. I explore how we can look at time cyclically, and embrace the past though the notion of home. I begin to explore the similarities between ancient pagan thought and modern conservatism. More at neofusionist.com

In this episode I explore the Romantic response to the Enlightenment, in Isaiah Berlin's The Roots of Romanticism. I look at the German thinkers Hamann and Herder and their focus on the incapacity of the Enlightenment paradigm to account for the full richness of the individual and group identity. More at www.neofusionist.com

In this episode I take a deeper look at the philosophical concepts that undergird the Age of Enlightenment, through my examination of Peter Gay's 'The Enlightenment: The Rise of Modern Paganism.' In this book, Gay examines the connections that the philosophes felt with the ancient Greek and Roman thinkers, and the culture of criticism that they fostered in their conflict with Christianity. More at...

In this episode I track the conflict between realism and idealism all the way back to Plato and Aristotle in Arthur Herman's epic 'The Cave and the Light: Plato Versus Aristotle and the Struggle for the Soul of Western Civilization.' We explore Aristotle's influence on John Locke and the Enlightenment, and seek to assemble a philosophy that embraces empiricism, pragmatism, and the constrained visi...

In this episode I will dive deeper into the philosophical divide that I explored last episode. This is well exemplified in the debate between Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine. I look closely at tradition as the inheritance that connects generations and man's nature as a social being in a given circumstance. More at www.neofusionist.com

In this important work, Thomas Sowell explains the difference between the constrained and unconstrained vision. I compare this dichotomy to those we've seen in previous eposides. I take a particular interest in the constrained vision, as this is the one which allows for a distinct human nature crafted by the processes of evolution. More at www.natureandthenation.com

In this classic of American philosophy, William James introduces us to the tender- and tough-minded temperaments and the flaws in rationalistic, idealistic philosophy. We also begin to look at the nature of truth, its instrumentality, and its dependence on approximation and shorthand. more at www.neofusionist.com

In Steven Pinker's classic 2002 masterpiece, The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature, Pinker gives us a panoramic view of the landscape of human nature and the politically motivated rejection of the science of evolutionary psychology by the established leftist academia. More at neofusionist.com.

In this episode I begin to zero in on that aspect of nature that most impacts politics: human nature. On Human Nature by E. O. Wilson presents some of the language and metaphors I will using while I explore that intersection of biology, behavior, public policy and political philosophy. more at http://www.neofusionist.com/2019/03/7-review-on-human-nature-by-edward-o.html

In this episode, I explore the more religious side of naturalism, pantheism. Standing in the Light by Sharman Apt Russell takes us on a path through the history of pantheism, from the ancient Greeks to Spinoza and evolutionary theory. More at http://www.neofusionist.com/2019/03/06-review-standing-in-light-my-life-as.html

In this episode, I explore naturalism as a hard deterministic view of reality. Ahmad Safavy presents a stepwise explanation of the cause and effect nature of matter and energy, tracing the structure and function of particles, molecules, and life forms from the big bang to the present, with additional discussions of chaos theory and quantum mechanics. You can find me on social media at facebook.com...

Day of Reckoning by Pat Buchanan can be considered a paleoconservative manifesto. The three most prominent themes of this book are restrictionist immigration, protectionist trade, and isolationist foreign policy. In this 2007 masterpiece, Buchanan lays the groundwork for an America First policy that would later be embraced by Donald Trump. Buy Day of Reckoning at: https://www.amazon.com/Day-Reckon...

In this episode I look at a book that concisely describes core components of philosophical naturalism, but ties them inexorably with progressive politics. I try to separate the concepts, pointing out where naturalism yields competitive survival instincts and a hard-wired sense of self. Join me for a defense of right-wing naturalism. FInd Thomas Clark's book at: https://www.amazon.com/Encountering-...

Mark Levin's 'Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto' sat at the top of the New York Times bestseller list for weeks in the late aughts. It can be considered a definitive explanation of Obama-era conservatism: hints of neoconservative thought, skepticism of climate change, full-throated support for capitalism and global free trade, dedication to Abrahamic faith, and Constitutional fidelity...

In this first episode, I provide a basic explanation of what neofusionism is and why I feel it is important to the future of the Republican Party. I describe paleoconservatism, naturalism and provide a rough outline of some philosophical principles I've been putting together to create a foundation for the further development of the synthesis of the two. I do not review any books in this first epis...