ABSTRACT
The Old Right's pessimism (or realism) was simply a stern reminder that man is not only a slave to sin, but that the story of history itself is the rise and fall of nations. Old Right pessimism comes with a hard edge. Mostly, it zeroes in on the phenomenon of American decadence. The Old Right struggled against demographics caused not only by immigration, but also by American rootlessness. Concentrate instead on the "survival question", issues like an America First foreign policy that keeps the country out of needless wars, trade protection when deemed necessary, immigration restrictions, opposition to quotas, and in general, that same anti-American culture war. During the War Between the States, hundreds of thousands of American boys traveled more than twenty miles outside their own homes for the first time in their lives. A bias toward small-town culture has always been a hallmark of the Old Right.
