296: The Turner Diaries by William Pierce (writing as Andrew Macdonald)

(During the month of September I'm recommending conservative titles with which every well-read progressive should be familiar.)

The Turner Diaries: A Novel

Good-hearted conservatives might might be unhappy with the inclusion of a book like The Turner Diaries in this list. This is a profoundly racist book and doesn't reflect the beliefs and values of many (a majority? a non-trivial minority?) conservatives. However, in the list of progressive books I'm also including extremists that are often lumped in with the mainstream left, so it seemed only fair to recommend some of the more extremist literature of the right.

The Turner Diaries came to national attention when it was found among the belongings of Timothy McVeigh after the bombing of the Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City. The Diaries is an action novel that describes a near-future scenario where a full-blown race war has erupted in the United States. The author was once the head of the white nationalist organization National Alliance, and this book is clearly the fantasy future he hoped to achieve through his organization. Removing the racial elements of the book you are left with a fantasy of a well-armed militia overthrowing a corrupt and increasingly totalitarian government.

Why this is libertarian/conservative: Just as black bloc anarchists are associated with the left, the US militia movement is closely associated with the right. There is a substantial underground literature supporting, advocating, and arguing about the role, tactics, and purpose of a right-wing take-over of the US. While many of these fantasies describe themselves as a desire to return to the imagined freedoms of the past, they often include radical Christian or conspiratorial ideas that preclude living in harmony with people of different ethnic backgrounds or belief systems. Familiarity with this literature will help you understand organizations like the Hutaree or the Minuteman Project.

Buy the Kindle version: The Turner Diaries: A Novel

339: For the Common Defense by Allan Millett & Peter Maslowski

For the Common Defense by Allan Millett & Peter Maslowski

Progressives who never served in the military tend to overestimate its conservative population. Progressives who have served in the military tend to accept the self-serving nature of the propaganda they received while training. Millett and Maslowski's tremendous one-volume history of the US military provides an important background helpful to both camps.

In order to understand why the laws governing the military are the way they are it's important to understand the role of the militia in the pre-Revolutionary era. Millett and Maslowski start with the first militia at Jamestown and carry through with the development of the American-style militia until the Revolutionary War. The history of the militia, and not wanting to have a standing army like the British, deeply influenced the structure of the US military in those early days. The latest editions of the book continue the history of the US military until Desert Storm.

The reason we have a second amendment is not so that we can overthrow the government if it becomes tyrannical. The reason we have a second amendment is so that we can keep our standing army small, and still have the firepower to repel an invasion if necessary.

Why this is progressive/liberal: Too often of late the conservative elements of our society claim legitimacy for their ideas by quoting our revolutionary forebears out of context. Progressives need to be able to counter these distortions with well-researched facts, arguments, and evidence. For the Common Defense helps provide much of that information when it comes to the military.

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