The American Mind

The decline of the West

William Hillman

(12/2019) Traditionally, my December article is a list of book recommendations to occupy the hibernation season. This year column space limits me two books; the Decline of the West by Oswald Spengler and Lars Anderson’s Carlisle vs. Army. The first was written at the turn of the last century while the later takes place at the turn of the last century.

The events of the last year lead my mind to one particular classic, The Decline of the West, by Oswald Spengler published in 1918. In this classic, Spengler reshapes the linear, epoch view of history and argues for a cultural view. Cultures, he said, go through a life cycle of about a two thousand years. A thousand years on the rise, and a thousand years in decline. He makes the case that the Western Culture is in a declining state heading into its "winter".

The following is a quote from Spengler that resonates today more than when it was written a century ago.

"Democracy has become a weapon of moneyed interests. It uses the media to create the illusion that there is consent from the governed. The press today is an army with carefully organized weapons, the journalists its officers, the readers its soldiers. The reader neither knows nor is supposed to know the purposes for which he is used and the role he is to play. The notion of democracy is often no different than living under a plutocracy or a government by wealthy elites."

Is he right? Events and uprisings from Chile to Italy, from the U.S. to Hungary beg us to look at this question. Across the globe, trust in democracy and the political process is eroding.

When civilizations rise, they become increasingly stable and settled. We currently live in an ever increasingly unstable time.

The world economy experiences crises after crises with a debased monetary system. We are experiencing an explosion of cultural degradation. There is ever expanding economic inequality. Upward mobility is restrained by increasing tax burdens, and regulatory pressure from both inside, and more damaging, outside the borders. The bureaucratic state with its unnecessary regulatory control makes the laws. The governing systems are divorced from the same populist they are meant to govern (the center of wealth in our country has moved to the regulatory center of Washington D.C.). The ruling elite, bureaucratic and regulatory classes see themselves as superior to the population.

Fundamentally, we cannot agree on how to govern.

There is a rapidly increasing divide and tribalization in the developed world where neither side trust the other and fail to accept elections and democratic outcomes. Every issue is a line in the sand. Compromise, which is the foundation of a republic, is unacceptable today.

A recent study in England shocked academics when it produced results that said more than half the population do not think the current government system works anymore. Both "Leave" and "Remain" voters say that violence against MPs and serious injury to citizens is a price worth paying to get their way. Two-thirds of London residents favor a strong omnipotent ruler with no legislative restraints.

In the U.S., the YouGov/Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation survey of 2,100 young people ages 16 and over found that 70 percent of Millennials said they were somewhat or extremely likely to vote for a socialist. Millennials' birth years span from 1981 to 1996. Of Gen Z, those born beginning in 1997 with the oldest now being 22 years old, 64 percent said they were somewhat or extremely likely to vote for a socialist.

An ever-increasing segment of the population is strongly skeptical of politicians. They have awakened to the fact that the system is rigged and share a willingness to try radical solutions. This is a dangerous mix.

Around the world, trust in political systems and democracy is dissolving. The best example of this is the three-year failure of the British government to implement Brexit and exit the EU despite a populist mandate.

In the US, we are witness to an attempt to remove a constitutionally elected president. The effort to remove him started the day after he won that election because those who did not vote for him are not willing to accept the results of the election. But this is just the current manifestation of the breakdown of our government. The previous two presidents failed to find common ground with the legislature and were forced to lead by executive decree.

Each political sect view any compromise on issues as weakness and treason. This leaves the legislatures in a bind where no-action is politicly safer than action.

Despite the push from the money interests and their puppets in the media, the populist rejects the global order and current principals of government. Change is underway. What is next, anarchy, fascism, dictators? Depends on who you ask.

The extreme left keep screaming about Nazism and fascism, but they call anything they object to as the resurrection of Nazism. They are wrong. Nazism is dead and is not coming back.

Those in the center and on the right fear a quasi-Maoist regime which seems to be taking place and is the real threat to the west.

I tend to lean towards the idea of a rise of charismatic autocratic leaders, Caesarism. In this manifestation, the state is led by a strong charismatic executive who prioritizes his nation and pushes back against globalists centric government. The window dressing of a legislative body remains in place but with no real power, all real power lies with the executive. And there is evidence of this. Look at the rise of leaders like Israel’s Netanyahu, India’s Modi, Russia’s Putin, and Trump in the U.S. (All of these men are charismatic leaders, have rejected the globalist agenda and prioritize the needs of their citizens.) This might be our only hope.

My second recommendation for this year is Carlisle vs. Army: Jim Thorpe, Dwight Eisenhower, Pop Warner, and the Forgotten Story of Football's Greatest Battle by Lars Anderson. This book is the classic American story of outsiders fighting the elite system on its own terms and winning. The Carlisle team was smaller, barely "civilized", underfunded and challenged the biggest and best the American elite schools could throw at them. And the American people fell in love with this team.

The book follows the birth of football and gives an insight into the revolutionary tactical developments by Pop Warner who turned football into the game we know today. It follows the rise of Jim Thorpe, arguably this country’s greatest athlete, and the young Dwight Eisenhower whose military career almost comes to an end when he tries to stop Jim Thorpe. This book is the perfect combination of sports, history, and politics.