The New Discourses Podcast with James Lindsay, Episode 114 

What in the world is "Christian Nationalism," and how in the world is it supposed to work? For those who don't yet realize, there is a major reactionary push brewing in the Christian Right that seeks to seize the present moment of uncertainty and frustration and take it into some "Christian Nationalist" direction. What is meant by "some 'Christian Nationalist' direction," though? That's a good question, and there appear to be a wide variety of answers. Worse, the people offering these answers are consciously playing off the others in a kind of motte-and-bailey, good-cop/bad-cop routine to advance their agendas. As we know, and as was documented by Nicholas Shackel for the first time in his 2005 paper, "On the Vacuity of Postmodernist Methodology" (https://newdiscourses.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/SHATVO-2.3.pdf), that strategy is strongly identifiable with postmodernist thinking. So why is the so-called "Christian Nationalist" Right using it for its agenda? And, again, how on Earth is this supposed to work? And why does so much of it sound like Mao? All of these questions are raised and addressed by host James Lindsay in this episode of the New Discourses Podcast, using Stephen Wolfe's ("Mr. Wolfe the Greater") new book The Case for Christian Nationalism (https://amzn.to/3lHnqxN) and William Wolfe's ["Mr. Wolfe the Lesser" (https://www.standingforfreedom.com/authors/william-wolfe)] various writings to explain this peculiar movement that looks every bit like a strategic operation against the enemies of the Woke or an old-fashioned trap. Join James to hear his thoughts about this very suspicious and annoying development.

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Two Wolves of Christian Nationalism

New Discourses Bullets, Ep. 133

Over the last few years, much has been said about the "motte and bailey" rhetorical strategy, which is a dishonest way in which postmodernist, Woke, and other manipulative people argue. First described by Nicholas Shackel in a 2005 paper, "On the Vacuity of Postmodern Methodology," it has become a standard explanation for the Woke era in the last few years. In Counter Wokecraft (https://www.amazon.com/Counter-Wokecraft-Manual-Combatting-University/dp/B09LH2L3B6/ref=sr_1_1), James Lindsay and Charles Pincourt outline both offensive and defensive uses of this crooked strategy, which is a kind of "strategic equivocation" used to steal power. In this episode of New Discourses Bullets, host James Lindsay explains how the "motte and bailey" strategy can be iterated through a series of players to give legitimacy to truly radical ideas and programs while the actors involved keep their own hands mostly clean. Join him to understand an important dynamic.

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The Iterated Motte and Bailey Strategy

Pursuing the light of objective truth in subjective darkness.

New tracks tagged #Motte and Bailey