Errors of Reform Conservatism
Learning the Wrong Lessons from Reform Conservatism by T. Greer @scholars_stage
I think of this article now and then when considering the ideological void present in much of the right across the West. Metasophism is not an exclusively right-wing ideology because in order to work, it needs to include people and ideas from both the left and right. However, it’s good to think of the traps other reform programmes fell into, right-wing ones included. In later chapters (5 and 12) I will outline how it can avoid the pitfall Greer outlines as follows:
“Little wonder then that the reformocon vision of the future struggled to take hold! Reformocons argued for the centrality of community without endorsing any concrete vision of communal life. They described the need to build new institutions without committing themselves to any specific institutions. They authored wonkish proposals to strengthen family formation but painted no picture of families worth forming. The visions of the reformocons were colorless and empty. This was by design: Like a coloring book, every community and family could fill out the pre-printed designs with whatever color palette they treasured most. That worked when conservatives had an organic set of treasured traditions, values, and relationships to fill the blanks in with. Now they do not, and the reformocon platform is found wanting.”