# So, what exactly is the “New Right?” | The Gray Area

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUaKLRO33-I
Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/OUaKLRO33-I
Generated: 2025-08-18T12:34:52.333+00:00

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## Quick Overview

The "New Right" is an intellectual movement that fundamentally rejects American liberalism, advocating for a return to traditional values, nationalism, and a strong state, often expressed through economic nationalism, secure borders, and an "America First" foreign policy. This movement, characterized by a preoccupation with gender roles and a deep commitment to certain visions of the good, is fractured into distinct factions like the Claremontists, Post-liberals, and National Conservatives, each with differing approaches to economics and social issues, but united in their opposition to liberal democracy.

**Key Points:**
- The "New Right" is defined as an intellectual movement and an umbrella term for various pro-Trump factions, fundamentally rejecting American liberalism in favor of nationalism, economic nationalism, secure borders, and an "America First" foreign policy.
- Key ideological drivers include a strong, often extreme, social conservatism and a notable preoccupation with gender, particularly "manliness" and traditional gender dynamics.
- The movement is broadly divided into three main camps: Claremontists, National Conservatives, and Post-liberals, each with distinct, though sometimes overlapping, focuses on American founding principles, nationalism, and traditional Catholic doctrine, respectively.
- The New Right operates on an "ideas first" principle, believing ideas have causal power to shape reality and aiming to redefine moral norms and create a virtuous citizenry, often drawing on thinkers like Carl Schmitt and historical conservative thought.
- Laura Field critiques the liberal intellectual class for a "tepid intellectual reserve and cluelessness" in responding to the New Right's "coarse brazeness," highlighting a perceived failure to defend liberalism robustly or engage with fundamental questions about the "good life."
- Despite internal contradictions and a lack of liberalism's inherent pluralism, the New Right's influence on the Republican Party and its strategy of building parallel institutions and impacting state-level politics are significant, posing a continued challenge to liberal democracy.

**Context:** The interview features Laura Field discussing the "New Right" as an intellectual movement with Zach Bechum. Field distinguishes the "MAGA New Right" from earlier iterations of conservative thought, particularly the "Reagan Buckley right," which was characterized by fiscal conservatism, social conservatism, and anti-communism. The discussion centers on the core tenets, internal divisions, and ideological underpinnings of this contemporary conservative movement, as well as its perceived impact on American politics and the response from liberal intellectuals.

## Detailed Analysis

This interview with Laura Field delves into the "New Right" as an intellectual movement, distinguishing it from the "Reagan Buckley right" or establishment conservatism which was built on fiscal conservatism, social conservatism, and anti-communism. The New Right, or "MAGA New Right," is characterized by economic nationalism, a turn against free markets, a focus on secure borders and anti-immigration, and an "America First" foreign policy, contrasting with liberal internationalism. A core element identified is a strong, often extreme, social conservatism and a significant preoccupation with gender, particularly manliness and traditional male-female relationships. Field notes the overwhelming male dominance in these intellectual circles, where women academics with comparable profiles are scarce, suggesting a lack of respect for women within the movement. The New Right is further divided into three main camps: the Claremontists, who see America as the best regime but corrupted by liberalism and requiring a "counterrevolution"; the National Conservatives, focused on nationalism that can lean towards ethno-nationalism and Christian nationalism; and the Post-liberals, often Catholic intellectuals like Adrian Vermeule and Patrick Deneen, who advocate for a more traditional Catholic vision and are more open to government-led economics, sometimes bordering on socialism. These factions, while ideologically diverse and sometimes in tension, are united in their rejection of American liberalism, which they view not as a guarantor of liberty but as cultural aggression. The movement operates on an "ideas first" principle, believing that ideas have independent causal force and can reshape reality, drawing on thinkers like Carl Schmitt and historical conservative ideas from Richard Weaver. They aim to redefine moral norms and create a virtuous citizenry, often detached from empirical reality and liberal democratic norms, viewing liberalism as a source of modern societal decay due to its embrace of relativism and materialism. The interview also critiques the liberal and academic response, describing it as tepid and lacking intellectual rigor and boldness compared to the New Right's fervor, suggesting a failure to cultivate a robust defense of liberalism or engage with fundamental questions about the good life. Ultimately, the New Right's internal contradictions and lack of liberalism's pluralism pose a latent vulnerability, particularly after Donald Trump, but their influence on the GOP and their strategy of building parallel institutions and influencing states remain significant threats.

### Defining the New Right

- Umbrella term for pro-Trump factions
- Rejection of establishment conservatism (Reagan Buckley right)
- Core tenets: economic nationalism, secure borders, "America First" foreign policy
- Strong social conservatism and preoccupation with gender roles

### Factions of the New Right

- Claremontists (counterrevolutionaries, January 6th sympathizers)
- National Conservatives (ethno-nationalism, Christian nationalism)
- Post-liberals (traditional Catholic intellectuals, government-led economics)

### Ideological Foundations

- "Ideas first" principle, ideas shape reality
- Rejection of liberalism, relativism, materialism, historicism
- Influence of thinkers like Carl Schmitt
- Aim to create a virtuous citizenry and new moral norms

### Critique of Liberal Response

- Tepid intellectual reserve and cluelessness of centrist/liberal leaders
- Lack of robust defense of liberalism
- Academia's insularity, hyper-specialization, and failure to engage with "the good life"
- Liberalism's origins in navigating existential differences vs. New Right's cohesive but often factually incorrect narratives

### Movement's Strength and Vulnerability

- Overwhelmingly male dominance within intellectual circles
- Internal doctrinal disagreements and lack of liberalism's pluralism
- Potential for future fragmentation post-Trump
- Influence on GOP and state-level politics