Jerome C. (jerome) reviewed The Death of the West: How Dying Populations and Immigrant Invasions Imperil Our Country and Civilization on + 13 more book reviews
Pat Buchanan, being a former propagandist for Nixon and other conservative presidents, writes this book in that style rather than a scholarly one. One thing about the citations is they go to secondary sources when primary sources would have been easily accessible, and those sources are usually from right wing publications and think tanks. Thus, this book is an echo chamber of the American far right.
With the current debate over abortion in 2022, The Death of the West is useful to obtain the debate points of the far right. Being a white nationalist, Buchanan bemoans the declining birth rate of white people not only in the United States but in Europe. He sees this decline in white births as the first stage of the coming death of western civilization. This is why he and others oppose abortion, to create more white Christian babies to save the West!
With declining birth rates in the U.S. and Europe, it would seem that immigration would help this in creating more younger tax paying workers. But Buchanan opposes immigration, especially from the Third World, and sees these brown hordes as an invasion of the United States and Europe, as they will not assimilate.
Along with the decline of white babies and the Third World invasion, the cosmopolitan elites are destroying the pure white Christian culture through the spread of pornography and ideas of equality for women, non-white people and gays. Buchanan was an early adherent of the idea of Cultural Marxism infiltrating the culture, with the need for a reactionary Christianity to counter it in a culture war.
Overall this book is a rant of a Catholic white nationalist bemoaning the changes in society that created less coercion on women and minorities. It appeals to those right wing extremists and trailer park simpletons who think "their" America is disappearing. The rise of Trump was based on many of the ideas in this book and appeal to the same constituencies, with less appeasement to the religious Right, seen as hypocrites, and an emphasis on white nationalism. Still, this book is useful to get an understanding of where these ideas came from.
With the current debate over abortion in 2022, The Death of the West is useful to obtain the debate points of the far right. Being a white nationalist, Buchanan bemoans the declining birth rate of white people not only in the United States but in Europe. He sees this decline in white births as the first stage of the coming death of western civilization. This is why he and others oppose abortion, to create more white Christian babies to save the West!
With declining birth rates in the U.S. and Europe, it would seem that immigration would help this in creating more younger tax paying workers. But Buchanan opposes immigration, especially from the Third World, and sees these brown hordes as an invasion of the United States and Europe, as they will not assimilate.
Along with the decline of white babies and the Third World invasion, the cosmopolitan elites are destroying the pure white Christian culture through the spread of pornography and ideas of equality for women, non-white people and gays. Buchanan was an early adherent of the idea of Cultural Marxism infiltrating the culture, with the need for a reactionary Christianity to counter it in a culture war.
Overall this book is a rant of a Catholic white nationalist bemoaning the changes in society that created less coercion on women and minorities. It appeals to those right wing extremists and trailer park simpletons who think "their" America is disappearing. The rise of Trump was based on many of the ideas in this book and appeal to the same constituencies, with less appeasement to the religious Right, seen as hypocrites, and an emphasis on white nationalism. Still, this book is useful to get an understanding of where these ideas came from.
Amy P. (ladybugacres) reviewed The Death of the West: How Dying Populations and Immigrant Invasions Imperil Our Country and Civilization on + 40 more book reviews
A very thought provoking book.
