Radical traditionalism

Radical traditionalism is a movement opposing modern industrial society and democracy and looking for a rebirth of an older social order, which they view as heroic and anti-egalitarian. Thoroughly reactionary in its politics, it is informed by several right-wing ideologies such as paleoconservatism, third positionism, social Darwinism, Perennial Traditionalism, and a fondness for the Middle Ages and the pre-Christian classical era, as well as a few usually seen as left-wing, such as anti-capitalism, radical environmentalism, and primitivism.

Their opposition to capitalism is in no way connected with Marxism or social democracy, which they also oppose, nor with a desire to progress beyond it. Rather, they view both capitalism and socialism as two sides of the same coin, two faces of a dangerous modernism fostering decadence and egalitarianism, and wish to return to a world in which life is nasty, brutish, and short for most people, warrior virtues reign, women and minorities know their place, and men are men (and sheep are nervous). As such, it's often considered to be a strain of neo-fascism, a characterization that many of its supporters would likely find little fault in — and when they do, it's often because they feel that fascism doesn't go far enough, putting too much focus on mass movement politics and modernism.

Not to be confused with the "traditional values" of fundamentalist Christianity, since many of them also oppose Christianity, viewing it as another form of egalitarianism that promotes a "slave morality". The white nationalist elements of radical traditionalism also play a role in this opposition, with many viewing Christianity as a Middle Eastern import promoted (usually by the Jews) to weaken the white race. As such, many radical traditionalists adhere to some form of paganism, preferably that of a hard reconstructionist sort.

Favorite writers of these people include Italian fascist fellow-traveler Julius Evola (who helped pioneer the term and much of the philosophy), ultra-radical environmentalist Pentti Linkola, French Nouvelle Droite founder Alain de Benoist, Ragnar Redbeard and his book Might is Right, American Nazi sympathizer Francis Parker Yockey, and Norwegian neopagan Varg Vikernes. The Unabomber Ted Kaczynski also incorporated themes very similar to radical traditionalism into his primitivist ideology and manifesto, though he didn't explicitly identify with the movement or its proponents and didn't seem to have even heard of them; any similarities can likely be chalked up to convergent evolution based on their shared anti-industrial and anti-liberal views. The movement seems to have a small bit of influence in the "dark folk" and industrial music subcultures, but only just.