Honestly, I do think the left and the center have failed to address certain key things that are more to the fore in far-right ideologies.
Far-right ideologies, especially ethnic nationalist, tribalist, radical traditionalist, national anarchist, folkish religion (especially folkish Paganism, since Christianity is fast in decline in the West and even among the far-right), etc. tend to take a mythic view of humanity and the world at large. This appeals to the part of humanity that loves myth, symbols, grand archetypes, etc. They have a vision of returning to a wonderful, simpler past based around community, tradition and cohesive culture. They stand in opposition to out of control capitalism which is ravaging our species, other species and the planet itself. They are against the alienation of the modern world, which has wrecked the family unit (over 100 years ago or so, most of us were living more rural lives with both our immediate and extended family), resulted in mental illness (depression and other psychological afflictions are at epidemic levels) and turned us into dog eat dog slaves that spend our lives working menial jobs we hate for a pittance and then we die lonely and unfulfilled on an existential level. They recognize these things as problems and propose solutions to them. They view the modern world as degraded and decadent. They view our general malaise and the coming catastrophes in spiritual terms, primarily. They also have a Heroic view of man. This provides emotional satisfaction. They embrace the irrational and the Jungian. Their views on their enemies may be simplistic and even disgusting, but their ideologies are effective. There's a reason why they go on the upswing when the left has become decrepit and cannot capture the spirit of the age.
The left, on the other hand, tends to take a purely rationalist approach, viewing humans as resources or automatons of a sort. (I'm generalizing, of course, because you have genetic determinists on the right and am mainly thinking of Marxism with that.) There isn't room or much talk about the mythic aspect of humans and how important it is to our psychological well-being as a species. Most things are viewed in terms of class, and in empirical terms. Then you have the so-called "SJWs", who are mostly white middle to upper-class and college educated and most people simply cannot relate to that demographic, from poor inner city people to hicks in the sticks. (Even in my relatively progressive city, we have luxury condos right across the street from homeless shelters. These people are living in another world entirely and are seemingly oblivious to it.)
How can the left capture the mystical side of existence and provide a narrative that both satisfies our atavistic, Jungian aspects while remaining true to the cause of justice? Is it even possible? I don't know. But I'm finding it rather boring and unfulfilling lately. Lately, I just want to go off into the woods and worship the Gods, leaving this depraved and decaying world behind.
Far-right ideologies, especially ethnic nationalist, tribalist, radical traditionalist, national anarchist, folkish religion (especially folkish Paganism, since Christianity is fast in decline in the West and even among the far-right), etc. tend to take a mythic view of humanity and the world at large. This appeals to the part of humanity that loves myth, symbols, grand archetypes, etc. They have a vision of returning to a wonderful, simpler past based around community, tradition and cohesive culture. They stand in opposition to out of control capitalism which is ravaging our species, other species and the planet itself. They are against the alienation of the modern world, which has wrecked the family unit (over 100 years ago or so, most of us were living more rural lives with both our immediate and extended family), resulted in mental illness (depression and other psychological afflictions are at epidemic levels) and turned us into dog eat dog slaves that spend our lives working menial jobs we hate for a pittance and then we die lonely and unfulfilled on an existential level. They recognize these things as problems and propose solutions to them. They view the modern world as degraded and decadent. They view our general malaise and the coming catastrophes in spiritual terms, primarily. They also have a Heroic view of man. This provides emotional satisfaction. They embrace the irrational and the Jungian. Their views on their enemies may be simplistic and even disgusting, but their ideologies are effective. There's a reason why they go on the upswing when the left has become decrepit and cannot capture the spirit of the age.
The left, on the other hand, tends to take a purely rationalist approach, viewing humans as resources or automatons of a sort. (I'm generalizing, of course, because you have genetic determinists on the right and am mainly thinking of Marxism with that.) There isn't room or much talk about the mythic aspect of humans and how important it is to our psychological well-being as a species. Most things are viewed in terms of class, and in empirical terms. Then you have the so-called "SJWs", who are mostly white middle to upper-class and college educated and most people simply cannot relate to that demographic, from poor inner city people to hicks in the sticks. (Even in my relatively progressive city, we have luxury condos right across the street from homeless shelters. These people are living in another world entirely and are seemingly oblivious to it.)
How can the left capture the mystical side of existence and provide a narrative that both satisfies our atavistic, Jungian aspects while remaining true to the cause of justice? Is it even possible? I don't know. But I'm finding it rather boring and unfulfilling lately. Lately, I just want to go off into the woods and worship the Gods, leaving this depraved and decaying world behind.
