I never understood how NRx reconciled technology with ethnonationalism, when the two seem at odds with each other. The Vox article lists tech billionaires Elon Musk and Peter Thiel as being somehow tangentially related to NRx, yet I imagine they probably advocate neoliberal economic and trade policy that would go against ethnonationalist interests.
In 2010, scholar Arnold Kling described ‘neo-reaction’ as having elements of neoconservatism, and while ‘neoconservatism’ nowadays has pejorative connotations, it seems accurate anyway. I came to a similar realization that neoconservatism may be the most logically consistent ideology in balancing homeland security & defense, property rights, rule of law, individual autonomy, nationalism, trade & markets, etc. Moldbug & Thiel variants of NRx don’t renounce capitalism, but rather seem to condone the inequity that arises from technology and capitalism.
I’m of the impression the ‘tech elite’ generally favor incrementalist approaches to reform (as do I) as apposed to overt collapse. People who have a lot to lose don’t want the system to fail, even if many parts of it are malfunctioning.
How about traditional conservatism, which advocates isolationism, protectionism, and decentralization. The problem with isolationism is it forces America to play defense rather than neutralizing threats before they can initiate an attack. Is it worth getting bombed first, in order to adhere to a rigid policy of isolationism, or bomb the enemy first? Ending the fed and economic centralization may also prove problematic, if not impossible, due to the large, interconnected nature of the economy. The data shows that there were vastly more economic panics and recessions before the establishment federal reserve, and later, the ending of the gold standard. Without a central bank, bank runs would be very common, causing substantial economic disruption. Protectionism may seem appealing from a labor standpoint, but one of the advantages of globalization it allows America to export inflation (through the petro dollar, low foreign wages, treasury sales to foreign governments), resulting in cheaper goods for Americans. Neoconservaitves, being pragmatic and data-driven, as opposed to holding on to an romanticized vision of a decentralized country, seem to better understand the realities of the world and the economy.
Neoconservatives, like reactionaries, seem to understand hierarchy and order, also rejecting populism and egalitarianism. I would take it a step further and introducing themes of HBD into policy, along with rationalism, creating a hybrid ideology called reactionary realism. Additionally, rescind voting acts or eliminate voting altogether, under the pretense of some sort of right-wing utilitarianism.