Europe Maxima: Several protagonists of the Alt Right seem to be influenced by the French
Nouvelle Droite and particularly by
Guillaume Faye and
Alain de Benoist. As far as you are concerned, you invited the latter in 2013 to talk about the identity question. What did you learn from the French Nouvelle Droite and do you believe that its influence is that important among Alt Righters?
Richard Spencer: The so-called French New Right has left a tremendous impact on the Alt Right, as have earlier renditions of the Right in continental Europe: from
Friedrich Nietzsche to the
Conservative Revolutionary thinkers in the interwar period. One of the reasons for this influence is the fact that continental Europe has a rich tradition of right-wing intellectuals as compared to the United States, which has, relative to its population, few. Apart from a number of notable exceptions, today, the Right in the U.S. comprises neoconservatives, libertarians, and paleoconservatives, who either fail to address key questions of identity or do not go far enough in doing so.
Europe Maxima: Except the Nouvelle Droite and some famous thinkers like
Julius Evola and
Oswald Spengler, we don’t really know American thinkers who influenced the Alt Right. Could you name a few?
Richard Spencer: Some of the notable thinkers of recent times in the U.S. include
Sam Francis,
Patrick Buchanan,
Murray Rothbard, and
Paul Gottfried. In various ways, these thinkers criticized Washington’s foreign policy of chaos led by neocons and liberal interventionists, questioned the decline of the West, and examined questions of identity.
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