Return of the Strong Gods: Nationalism, Populism, and the Future of the West Paperback – November 2, 2021

This book went a long way in helping me understand how we got to where we are in Western society. Many things that seemed insane now make sense when you understand the effect of the post-war consensus. Highly recommended.

R.R. Reno, editor of First Things, wrote “Return of the Strong Gods” in 2019, at the height of President Trump’s popularity before the C0V1D-19 pandemic changed things. Although he doesn’t really focus on this until near the end of the book, he seeks to show why Trump appealed to such a large portion of the electorate. He doesn’t (at least not in this book) express approval or disapproval of Trump’s agenda, but argues that his appeal is based on the fact that a growing number of people feel that our leadership class is not serving our interests.Most of the book is a historical survey of politics and culture in America since the end of World War 2. Following the end of the war there was a general consensus that nothing like what happened in Nazi Germany must ever be allowed to happen again. This resulted in an aversion to anything that might lead to any kind of authoritarianism and an opposition to all forms of rigidity and restriction. The center-right emphasized economic freedom and deregulation, while the center-left emphasized cultural and moral freedom and deregulation, but Reno sees them as two sides of the same coin.However, for the next 45 years or so, this desire was tempered by the Cold War, as most of the West felt a need to do whatever it takes to contain the spread of communism. But after the fall of the Soviet Union, the postwar consensus began to kick into gear with renewed fervor, with talk of a “new world order,” a global community without borders and restrictions, unhindered by the separate aspirations of individual nation-states. At the same time, there was to be unfettered openness to non-traditional lifestyle choices, unhindered by the restrictive traditions of the past.But, argues Reno, things have changed in the past 70 years, and while there was indeed a time when concern over a reemergence of authoritarianism was valid, today’s need is for a recovery of the stability that has been lost. But at the same time the anti-authoritarianism of the post-war consensus has, paradoxically, solidified into an authoritarianism of its own that brooks no dissent. And, argues Reno, the changes have benefited the relatively small number making up the elite leadership class, with the rest of the citizenry at best left out of the resulting prosperity, and in many communities devastated by the changes, while their concerns are dismissed as rooted in racism and bigotry.Those who are irrevocably settled in their belief that half of the country’s population is made up of racist and transphobic bigots will probably not find much of value in this book. But those who, regardless of their opinion of Trump and other populists, are open to the possibility that their appeal might be because they are addressing valid concerns, albeit perhaps with the wrong solutions, and who want to understand what it is that their supporters are reacting to, will find the book insightful and helpful.

The author, an editor at a conservative theological journal, explains why he believes right-wing populism has become a significant force in twenty-first century politics. The author argues that the immense destruction of the two World Wars led Western intellectuals to fear passionate attachments -- the "strong gods" of deep national, religious, ethnic, racial, and/or ideological commitment. Instead, people should focus on the "weak gods" of scientific agnosticism, economic liberalism, multiculturalism, and diversity. But these weak gods are incapable of motivating individuals or holding societies together, and in fact mans' true nature leads them to seek transcendence -- that is, leads them to worship the strong gods. Thus, people are increasingly returning to the strong gods while the support of the "weak gods" becomes itself a strong god, as evidenced by the increasingly authoritarian progressive discourse around issues such as diversity.The author makes good points, and I also worry about the nihilistic, self-flagellating, and centrifugal forces in Western intellectual life. But I pause before the author's religiosity, his condemnation of sociobiology and contemporary economic theory. The author laments that people have turned away from the strong god of Truth, but spiritualism, superstition, and religion are themselves not oriented toward the Truth -- at least not in any practical sense. Thus, while I agree with much of the author's diagnosis, I can't go fully along with his treatment program. Instead, I think the best push back against contemporary progressive extremism is to remembrance the traditions of liberalism.

Excellent treatment of the development of the West's micro management of democracy in order to tamp down the possibility of another global war by some demigod type leader or hyper-nationalistic supremacist mindset. The resultant problem was micromanagement of everything by a globalistic, State "uber alles," consensus driven control beast of their own making, subverting democracy in order to "save" democracy via trampling individual rights, and even attempting to (with unfortunately much success) de-god God through ameliorization with other belief systems.

RR Reno is editor at First Things magazine, and he has done a superb analysis and explication of the origins and ramifications of post-WW2 liberal democracies Neo-liberal ideology. It is a spare, efficient book- I read it twice, it's that good. it is not polemical or a call to arms, rather it is a thoughtful compassionate insightful work that explain just how and why we arrived at the current crisis in Western societies and where things are going from here.

Quite insightful and relevant for our current political climate. His thesis, the collapse of the house of cards of the postwar consensus is on target. Strong gods are returning, and if not the true God, A very dark future awaits. I highly recommend.