How the West Was Deconstructed.

Insights from R.R. Reno’s book “Return of the Strong Gods”

As told in R. R. Reno’s excellent book “Return of the Strong Gods,” the cataclysmic upheavals of World War I and World War II left an indelible scar on the Western world, characterized not only by the staggering toll of death and destruction witnessed between 1914 and 1945 but also by the ominous shadow they cast over the future of Western civilization itself. These unprecedented conflicts prompted a profound reckoning, driven by a haunting recognition that civilization itself stood on the precipice of self-inflicted Armageddon.

In the aftermath of these devastating wars, liberal elites found themselves engaged in a desperate struggle to avert the specter of World War III. Their fervent quest led them to delve deep into the root causes of these global conflagrations. Among the voices rising to prominence in this tumultuous era was that of the philosopher Karl Popper, whose monumental two-volume work, "The Open Society and Its Enemies," provided an answer. Popper contended that humanity's proclivity for dwelling within tribal or "closed" societies not only contributed to both World Wars but also the horrors of the Holocaust, bringing Western Civilization to the brink of total annihilation.

Popper believed civilization had a crucial decision to make: either choose to continue to live in a"closed society" that values inherited culture, moral truths, hierarchy, authority, and the prioritization of the common good over the individual, or break free from this collectivist mentality and create an "open society" that liberates the individual from all unchosen bonds and obligations. According to Popper, to achieve social progress, the West needed to deliberately discard most of its religious, cultural, and moral foundations.

As such, Karl Popper targeted the Greek philosophical tradition, as exemplified by Plato and Aristotle, for critique. This "oracular philosophy," as described by Popper, uses an "essentialist method" to discover profound truths about the world. Once these truths were known, they were considered unquestionable and must be followed.

However, to someone who is apprehensive about the return of authoritarianism, this type of philosophy, characterized by a strict hierarchy of authority and obedience, carries a significant risk. According to Popper, any belief that transcends the individual inherently has the potential to lead to totalitarianism. When we establish something higher than the individual, it creates what is called a “supra-individual” authority. If you can claim to understand and define what it means to be truly human, then one can begin to judge individual behavior and, by extension, right vs. wrong.

Popper argues that such a standard of truth is typical of a closed society and that strong claims of truth are actually dangers to freedom.

On the economic front, Popper’s friend, economist Friedrich Hayek, sought to combat the return of fascism not through the critique of Western philosophy but through economics. According to Hayek in his book, “The Road to Serfdom,” the “free market” would serve as the bulwark against the collectivism that gave rise to totalitarianism.

Economic freedom, in Hayek’s mind, was the foundation of an “open society” as the more the unplanned and uncontrolled forces of the market rule society, the safer the world would be from authoritarianism.

After witnessing the command economies of the Allies during WWII, Hayek had concerns about the inefficiencies of central planning that might continue after the war. His belief in the individual freedom of choice naturally aligned with his belief in the power of the “free markets,” as individual liberty meant giving people the most freedom to act without being restricted by higher authorities or transcendent obligations. According to Hayek, when we look at society, the desires, needs, and interests of individuals, both personally and economically, are the only factors that should guide responsible leadership.

Numerous academic elites in the Western world aligned with the viewpoints of both Popper and Hayek, sharing the belief that the destiny of the West hinged on embracing "openness" in both cultural and economic realms. They viewed the prospect of a resurgence of totalitarianism and the accompanying specter of another global conflict as utterly inconceivable. As such, the strong truths found within the religious, cultural, and moral foundations of the West needed to be deconstructed, and American education, specifically, needed to be thoroughly revised.

In 1945, twelve Harvard faculty members set out to develop a new approach to education. Their work, titled "General Education in a Free Society," aimed to instill democratic values in the average American citizen while avoiding blind adherence to the past. The committee members were concerned about the potential return to authoritarianism and repeatedly challenged the role of "inherited culture.” Strong beliefs and loyalty, such as the traditional devotion to God, King, and Country, needed to be critiqued and, ultimately, cast aside. In the minds of those tasked with the reeducation of the West, anything that bound society together could also be used to sow division and eventually be harnessed by dictators for destructive ends.

While the authors believed that a well-rounded education involved being familiar with classic Western literature, they acknowledged that the lessons communicated needed to be open to interpretation and critique as the goal of building an anti-totalitarian “open society” required subjectivity and relativism, devoid of hard “truths.” As time passed and this form of education was more widely adopted, citizens moved away from traditional beliefs and ways of thinking and began to prioritize critical analysis. This shift allowed individuals to assign their own significance to what was previously considered indisputable Western "truths."

Consequently, the rejection of established norms, values, and ethics that were the achievements of Western culture has given rise to the moral relativism found within "multiculturalism," which has not only evolved into an all-encompassing culture of anticulture (no culture at all) but has since mutated into a strain of neo-Marxist theory completely hostile to Western Culture which is said to be responsible for all the evils of the world.

Today, we refer to this form of critique as wokeism.

Multiculturalism and, later, the celebration of diversity and inclusion were intended to reduce societal division, yet our nation has become deeply divided. Multiculturalism has led to identity politics, where people and groups primarily identify themselves according to characteristics such as their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual proclivity, etc., at the expense of shared values or national identity.

These are the conditions that leave a nation vulnerable to a populist backlash, which is exactly the opposite effect desired by those liberals who laid the foundation for an “open society.”

In the wake of the profound challenges posed by World War I and World War II, the West found itself at a crossroads, grappling with the devastating consequences of two global conflicts. It was a time when liberal elites, driven by a sincere desire to prevent further bloodshed and tyranny, embarked on a journey to deconstruct the very essence of Western civilization.

Karl Popper's vision of the "open society" and Friedrich Hayek's defense of the "free market" emerged as beacons of hope in a world scarred by totalitarianism and collectivism. However, in the pursuit of an "open society," liberal elites made a grave miscalculation. They sought to deconstruct the religious, cultural, and moral foundations of the West, believing that this was necessary to prevent the resurgence of populism, nationalism, and totalitarianism. 

The reality is that the rejection of established Western norms and values has not brought about the harmonious and inclusive utopian society envisaged by its liberal proponents. In fact, it has had the opposite effect. Continuously highlighting and “celebrating” our differences only leads to a fractured culture.

In stark contrast to the prevailing woke narrative of our time, diversity, when taken to an extreme that severs the vital bonds among a citizenry, has never been a strength of a prosperous and resilient nation.

When a nation moves away from its core principles and values, such as patriotism, faith, family, morality, and tradition, there is a higher chance of experiencing societal dysfunction and turmoil. Such conditions inevitably elicit pushback, with citizens turning to strong leaders who pledge to restore order and stability.

Unsurprisingly, this is precisely the trend evident in much of the Western world today—an outcome that both Popper and Hayek endeavored to prevent.