Note: This piece was originally posted at WRSA as commentary on an article discussing strategy and tactics. The original article is from the blog “Liberty and Lead” and is titled Sound Thinking. It includes this very simple and useful formulation of strategy and tactics:
“Strategy is what we desire to achieve.”
“Tactics is how we get there.”
Below are my comments (with some minor updates). I’m posting this because I use these terms (Haxoist, Buppertist Anarchist, etc.) occassionally in other writings and they are defined here.
Why WRSA has no common strategy
There is no agreement on what we desire to achieve here. And in fact the degree of alignment has gone down over the last several years. Broadly I see a bunch of groups here, and they have quite different aims:
GROUP: The Constitutionalists
GOAL: Restore something that more closely resembles a previous version of our nation, perhaps the pre-1860 Republic. Disassemble or destroy most, but not all, of the Federal Government, including all the 20th Century additions from the EPA to Social Security.
GROUP: The Buppertist Anarchists
GOAL: Destroy both the Federal Government and State Governments as prelude to the spontaneous blooming of the NGU. (No Government Utopia)
I call them Buppertist Anarchists because their beliefs differ in significant way from Traditional Anarchists, who are broadly part of left. For instance the Buppertists, while hating the State with a passion, are big fans of property rights. They do not favor revolutionary violence, as most adhere to the Non Aggression Principle, but they do have expansive views of what constitutes self-defense.
GROUP: White Nationalists / AltRight
GOAL: Force the secession of some portion of the USA and create a white ethnostate there. The resulting State would be explicitly pro-white, and push the removal of non-whites from their territory, either through incentives (Spencer et. al.) or violence (Northwest Front). A less common variation wants to recapture the entire continental USA as that ethnostate.
GROUP: Christian Nationalists
GOAL: Believe completely in the cosmology and philosophy of Christianity and see the Bible as the best guide for reconstructing society. Most want to reassert a more moral, idealized Christian society after SHTF. Most seem content for the State and Society to fail on their own, rather than engaging in revolutionary violence to for the fail. This is, to some extent, an extension of their religious belief.
GROUP: Civic Nationalists / MAGA Right
GOAL: Fix America through the political process. Possibly including dramatic events like a Constitutional Convention. Believe that the USA has gone far off the tracks, but that with diligence and education things can be fixed without revolutionary violence. They reject as morally bankrupt any exclusion of anyone based on race, religion or ethnicity. This groups is sometimes referred to (derisively) as the Alt-Lite. And many would describe themselves as “Patriots”. They formed the core of Trump supporters. (There are many fewer of these people on WRSA than even five years ago.)
GROUP: Southern Nationalists
GOAL: Break off the Southern States from the USA and reform a modern confederacy. Most favor some sort of expulsion of the large Black and Mexican population currently living in the South, usually via some variation of “send them to New York”.
GROUP: Survivalist Right
GOAL: See the collapse of society and the State as inevitable. Wish to survive with their families intact. Most serious ones have opted for a return to rural or wilderness living, often formed into intentional communities. Do not believe politics can change things. Do not believe that revolutionary violence is worth it. Politically seem to favor Local Community as the most important form of government. Not fans of any continent spanning States, or large Nations with agendas.
GROUP: Haxoists
GOAL: Get rid of Jews. The Haxoist critique of our society says that a hostile alien tribe has captured control, and needs to be removed. Once that is done things can be rearranged in a more traditional (pre WW2) way, and society fixed.
SUMMARY:
I’ve tried to use descriptive and non-insulting names here, in a couple cases using the most prominent supporters to name some fairly small groups. Most of these groups have both allies and enemies among the other groups.
I have focused on the groups or factions that make up the dissident right (or, as some term it, the “hard right”), and can be found contesting in the comment section at WRSA. There are many other right wing factions that are more center-right, such as the neocons, Rockefeller Republicans and libertarians, who are not represented on WRSA, are not part of the dissident (hard) right, and who are generally better understood. I have not bothered to describe these groups, but they are out there, and in aggregate probably outnumber the hard right.
The Constitutionalists and Christians Nationalists get along pretty well and agree on a lot of things, neither agrees at all with the White Nationalists. The Southern Nationalists and White Nationalists are frequent allies, but have no use for the Buppertist Anarchists. And so on.
The Survivalist Right can be viewed as both a tactic, and a strategy. All the groups listed here include Survivalism as one of their tactics, but I have called out those who view it as a strategy. That is a permanent and desirable end state in itself. People describe themselves as “a survivialist”, in the same way others would describe themselves as “a conservative” or “a Christian”. It is an ideology for some, not just a tactic.
There is no agreed upon strategy among the dissident Right. This applies to the commentators at WRSA, too. Instead, we belong to all these different factions. We are united in our intense rejection of the Left, and a sense that things have gone badly wrong in our culture and society. But beyond this, we do not agree on basic principles. We do not share the same axioms.
Returning to the quote at the top: “Strategy is what we desire to achieve,”, what we see is that all these factions or groups desire different things. Therefore there is no possibility of us all agreeing on a common strategy.
A Christian Nationalist would be happy with a Bible-believing black family living next door who went to the same church they did. They might look very dimly on the idea of self-professed atheists having political power. On the other hand, the White Nationalist right is full of atheists, and views many aspects of Christianity as a problem. Organized Christianity’s focus on charitable acts such as importing downtrodden immigrants (for instance) is seen as a pox, a wrong belief that needs to be eliminated in their desired future white Ethnostate.
Without a common set of axioms (core beliefs) it is difficult to agree on common goals.
Without a common set of goals it is impossible to agree on a strategy.
This is why the brief idea to “unite the right” was doomed from inception, and indeed crashed and burned at their first attempt to show up and demonstrate unity. The acrimony and recrimination for that event is still burning.
cascade free zone 
Good article. I’ve bumped into pinelander a few times and found him a difficult read. I don’t like or dislike him. I’m just wary, he feels more like a border collie working cattle or sheep, not a boss cow.leading the heard. But that invisible hand to encourage the encouragable. Where does pinelander fall in the descriptors?
I probably fall in 3to4 of those catagories
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I am not sure what to say. I feel something must be put in this space because ALL will fail and that is not good. I would put myself up as an American and believe in the Constitution. I believe, and hope, that many of the other described factions could agree that the Constitution is the one portion of the equation that unites us all. Those that wish to destroy the United States are more zealots and willing to work together for their “common goal” that would destroy what all of us cherish. I believe that all the groups have more in common and could readily get along given a place where they could practice what the feel is an important part of living a full life. Whether I agree or not is unimportant relative to whether we all function as a FREE PEOPLE and stay out of others lives. That is our strength and our weakness. We need to come together for the common goal of preserving what the Founders created and preserve the Constitution. The detractors will always be more organized because they do NOT wish to be FREE!
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Excellent article!
Thank you.
I’ve always said it’s harder to unite people that think for themselves. The left, on the other hand, are dim bulbs that would rally behind anything without understanding what it was or what it meant.
So goes the destruction of Western Civilisation.
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This is brilliant and it identifies the problem perfectly. Therein lies the conundrum. A lot of these websites, including this one, can identify the problem, but few, if any, ever have a strategy. Some do, to a degree, but if there were more strategic methods being deployed, I am sure we would not find ourselves in such dire straits. And I am not bashing this website or any other one. It’s just a matter of opinion.
This is a problem that has always plagued the right. They do not know how to organize and form a cohesive unit. Perhaps it is a fault of the free and independent thinker. Perhaps we are too new to it, or not understanding of the methodology. At any rate, those people on the left know sure know how to organize.
Most leftists, or more correctly stated, most Cultural Marxists are great followers. They go along with the herd. Their programming is so powerful that they have no need to think for themselves. It is done for them. This notion is nothing new, or some grand revelation, but I know how it works in their feeble little minds. How do I know it is so powerful? Look at the behavior of moderate or centrist leftists. They rarely go against the doctrines of even the far left zombies. Hell, there are Republicans and people who consider themselves right wing who give in to all types of degenerate behavior from the left. They capitulate to it by accepting the garbage that is put forth by popular culture, music, movies, corporations, educational institutions etc. This is how I know that Empire has powerful programming. It’s simply mind control writ large.
As a recent example, look at the mindless fools who marched against “gun violence” this past weekend. Behold the mind sorcery of the all powerful state! But are they really that powerful? How does one combat it? Because the left is dug in like a tick in our society and has control of all the societal institutions. I don’t have to rehash it. Anyone reading this comment knows it to be true.
So as the author of this fine article posited, what is the strategy?
I think there are several, but the main problem, as I see it, is how do we all unify? If I knew there was one answer, I could probably be leading the charge, but there isn’t, so we are all left to contemplate it and figure things out for ourselves. Just like there are different factions of the right, there are also many different strategies. All can be good and useful if everyone can unite around them. Question is, how do you do it? I actually agree with ideals from each one of the groups that were listed.
One of the main problems I see on the dissident right is messaging. Look, I read everything from Daily Stormer, Identity Dixie, Taki Mag to Red State & American Thinker. All of these sites have commented on the need for positive messaging. In the case of the Alt-Right, drop the Hitler memes and the Jew stuff, it does not appeal to the normies. For sites like, WRSA and American thinker, limit the survivalist mentality and “going back” to a constitutional rebuplic and auditing the Fed blah, blah blah. This is not going to happen. Everyone keeps looking for answers that are in the rear view mirror. Look at the past, be aware of it’s failures, but do not try to recreate it. We can do better, we can build something better, something new and fresh.
Does this mean I think we should soften the message and become wish-washy? No! Just DON’T lead with that stuff. It never works. Look, I am well aware of the JQ, true history and other things. I love shooting and love the art of bushcraft. But if you want to gain people in this movement, do you start conversations with things like the JQ, white identity and your skill with a firearm? I think it’s best to project a feeling of confidence and strength. That is what people are drawn to in their lives. Especially women, and God knows we need a lot more of them in this movement. And before anyone poops on that idea, simply look at the demographic problems we face as European peoples. Especially the ones on the actual continent itself. I also like to question people. If you get into discussions with normie folks about “good schools” and “good neighborhoods” and a safe place to raise their children, then ASK THEM what the mean by it. What constitutes “good neighborhoods”? You would be surprised what the conversation leads to regarding their true feelings about safety and society. It’s usually spoken of in hushed tones. Another hint of how powerful the programming is for ALL of us in this society.
Secondly, the internet. Its a great tool for communicating ideas and talking to one another, but what good is it if that is all we do with it? Get out there! Talk to people face to face and join groups. I also think people need to look past things like “shooting groups” and other types of institutions that they may belong to out there. This is not a call to disband or quit firearms clubs, but to expand out from them and find other people. I belong to a shooting club and it’s great, but it’s kind of a bubble. We mostly all think alike, which is good, but I also know a lot of the members would not want to go out into their community. Seems like some of them are just waiting for a collapse. Is that what we want? Or do we want to reach out to other individuals, forge relationships and try and strengthen and build a better society? I know it’s hard and might put some people out of their comfort zones, but this should be a priority for all of us.
Lastly, self-improvement. Fix yourself, fix the world. A most noble axiom. How can we improve our society if we don’t start with the person in the mirror? That is the real challenge. I firmly believe that if you work on yourself spiritually, mentally and physically that the positive energy will flow out from you and affect others around you.
Sound new agey? Maybe. But I have seen it work in my life. However, it’s tough work. There are no shortcuts or easy methods to creating a better self. Much like this movement, it is an uphill battle and it takes lifelong involvement. But if we are vigilant, we may live to see a positive result for ourselves and for the generations to come. What’s the alternative? A boot on on your face?
I don’t have all the answers. Just some observations. Good luck to everyone.
Great article.
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Ben, you were writing while I was making my feeble attempt to participate. I believe that which is NEW is to get back to the Constitution. It allows room for all the “Factions” described in the original article and do what you have suggested, establish more “Community” among those of us out there that wish to “live free”. We need to have someone be determined as “Leader” and a common goal with which to affiliate. We are MORE alike than different and, if we are to continue to have a Free Country, we need to identify those similarities. I see President Trump as having filled that void. Unfortunately, all of us have become so familiar with “Lying Politicians” (we have managed to elect the most effective tellers of lies in the United States to office) until November 2016. Now we keep watching and standing ready to disclaim him because of all those that have preceded him. He needs all of US to make this work and we need to let him know that he is the “Commander-in-Chief”. This is some of the best dialogue I have seen in a very long time.
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I would agree with a lot of that sentiment. However, I don’t think a lot of people understand the basic state of the constitution. That lovely document was “set aside” some time ago. What we think we have in this country is a crumbling Federated Constitutional Republic. That is no longer the case. We are a corporation, plain and simple. I could go into it more deeply but I will leave the research and study up to the readers of this fine website.
I wish I could pass out this book out to everyone who peruses your site and to everyone of the sites I visit.
It should be required reading. There is a wealth of knowledge out there that needs to be digested. This book is a first start. You could read it in a night.
One thing is for certain, I believe in mental, spiritual and physical transformation as well as community. However, at the top of that list should be educating oneself on the true nature of our government and how it operates. This isn’t long lost knowledge, but it has been hidden in plain sight. You just have to find it.
Good luck!
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Ned2, you have said what I was trying to say. I can only hope our perceived differences can be mitigated when the time comes.
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The point of the original was to show what you have spelled in detail above.
We have no hope of coming together in every – or most – things so the answer is to individually find our own strategies for our own AOs and see them through, locally. I will leave it to each man as to what that means.
Herding cats is impossible, TL tried as did others.
Empowering those cats to go out and be… cats, is easy.
Go do cat stuff and be good at it. We will worry about the coming together when we have to.
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I probably would also fall into 3 or 4 of these groups as well. I tend to be libertarian/conservative. A few things I don’t fall into lockstep on is things like same sex marriage. I generally think this way, what people do at or above the age of consent, it is their business. I don’t care what orientation a person is as long as her or she supports America and her Constitution and takes responsibility for their actions. I was a Freeper from 1997/8 until 2015 until Jim Rob (I’d put him mostly in the Christian Nationalist camp) banned me for not following the “party line” for stating such views. This infighting is dangerous for our side. This is very dangerous for our side because we might not agree 100% but I think we can get all of us to 90% or 95%. We all need to stick together. We all might differ on an issue r three but we need to unite and fight the common enemy. As Ben Franklin said, “if we do not hang together, we will hang separately.” I’d probably fall into the libertarian side, the MAGA side,the Constatutionalists with a touch of Survivalist and a dash of being a Confederate Apologist.
As to dismantling things like the Fed and so forth, I’d like to see a lot of the agencies disbanded but it will not likely happen until we have a major game changer like atomic war or some form of partial or total collapse so barring that, put those on the back burner while we deal with the lefties.
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Good post and good site. Glad to have discovered you.
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A “buppertist” is actually an anarcho-capitalist.
“Therefore there is no possibility of us all agreeing on a common strategy.”
Panarchy should fill the bill, as should complete secession. Let different people live among their own kind. There is no need to enforce some cobbled-together political philosophy on all.
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Who gets to pick where each live and what if two or more groups want the same area? Might makes right?
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Ahh if enough men really wanted their freedom it would happen problem is everyone is still to comfortable so all they do is bitch and moan about the sad state of affairs we are in… Sad That…
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We will unite behind an event, and the reaction to it. I believe this is usual. The factions aren’t so far apart, that they can’t put off arguing until after the battle is won. Great work. I didn’t know I had a group, though it’s obvious now you mention. I’d be survivalist.
It’s coming. Wait for it. Be ready.
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I am a White Christian Nationalist Survivalist with strong small government beliefs but I realize we need a strong government to resist the one world order of Satan and Soros and provide for the common defense in a very dangerous world . I have studied eschatology extensively and , as did the Sons of Issachar , have understanding of the times as I ” Watch the Heathen Rage ” . The world is following the Biblical trail of prophecy and it is almost amusing to wait on the two power prophets as they come on the scene following the new pope aka false prophet that is shaking the Catholic Church . Worldwide financial implosion precedes the mark of the beast . Got preps ? I do ! Samson option in every nook and cranny . I’m Scotch / Irish but Braveheart should have read about Samson and followed the Biblical example . Pull those false temples down ! Beasty Boy coming next on the scene .
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A minor error there, the .Alt Right isn’t a White Nationalist movement more of an umbrella movement grounded in the idea that Diversity +Proximity + Conflict and that Western Civilization had three key pillars #1 Christianity #2 Greco-Roman heritage and #3 usually Anglo Saxon Common Law or something akin to it
There is also a broad belief that Classic Liberalism and Civic Nationalism is Anti Western
It is White Nationalist only in the sense that you can’t have a Western Civilization without White people since civilizational models are made for the people in that society, i.e Japanese people will mostly make a Japanese society, Hispanics a Hispanic one and so on.
Its also inclusive of Europe in ways that the other patriot movements are not
The closest thong to a manifesto in a this movement is Vox Day’s 16 Points
https://voxday.blogspot.com/2016/08/what-alt-right-is.html
You may not find all these ideas to your liking but they are unlike nearly every other dissident movement a clear statement of principles which is invaluable as without one action is not possible
A last point, in my opinion taxonomy is far from important , ideology is everything and none of the dissident movements have enough of it. That is the root of the current problem, an inability to even consider what the ends are much less to organize, act or punish collectively
Until a movement can clearly articulate what it wants and what its view for the future is its useless, hell guns are useless since they require will to use. Without a coherent ideology you might as well reserve a seat on that boxcar
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