On Tradition, Common Sense and Conspiracies. Strategies and Insights of the Contemporary Far Right

In the first chapter of the book, “Granola Nazis And Neoliberal Mystics”, Catherine Tebaldi and Alfonso Del Percio discuss digital traditionalism, that is, the ways in which new technologies enable old, often reactionary, ideologies and new modes of life which often call to mind images of ancient traditions. In particular, Tebaldi and Del Percio focus on two seemingly opposed elements of what they call “digital traditionalism”: (a) the rise of white nationalist online influencers, and their use of women’s media, and (b) the UK fascist group, Patriotic Alternative, who couch white supremacy in a return to so-called traditional ways of living that mix the hippie’s “back to the land” and the Nazi’s “blood and soil”. The chapter offers an analysis of “neoliberal mystics”, i.e., entrepreneurs who use the language of ancient spiritual traditions and wellness for technocratic ends. According to Tebaldi and Del Percio, while rugged homesteaders and suited HR bureaucrats may seem at opposite ends of the spectrum, they both blend new technology and reactionary politics, traditionalism and futurism (see also Leidig 2023; Tebaldi 2021). In the second chapter, Katherine Kondor argues that the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures implemented by various governments tended to foster specific far-right conspiracy theories. Particularly concerning was the perception of pandemic measures as support for the New World Order conspiracy theory, which suggested that the pandemic was part of a grand plan for total control. More specifically, Kondor starts from the premise that throughout history people have adopted conspiratorial beliefs to explain the origins of various pandemics, with the coronavirus being surrounded by alternative explanations for the origins of the virus and the efficacy of safety measures; these correlate with studies showing that conspiracy beliefs increase when people feel powerless as they offer individuals some sense of control in being able to reject official narratives. In the third chapter, George Newth analyses Matteo Salvini and the Lega’s use of “common sense” to depict policies via Twitter. In particular, by combining a Gramscian-inspired dyad of common sense versus good sense (senso comune v buon senso) with the general orientation of the Discourse Historical Approach (DHA) to Critical Discourse Studies (CDS), Newth examines Salvini’s use of a buon senso trope over the five year period (2018-2023), revealing how Salvini’s use of buon senso formed part of a populist far right logic to construct a reactionary people and contribute to a mainstreaming of far right politics (see also Newth 2023). In the fourth, final chapter of the book, I focus on the sudden and risky decision, taken in August 2023 by the Italian executive led by Giorgia Meloni, to tax the extra-profits of Italian banks, which was largely welcomed by the political opposition. More specifically, using the notion of vincolo esterno (“external constraint”), so avoiding conflict with European Union Institutions and the organisations of which it is a member (NATO, G7), I argue that the Meloni government’s actions in this first year have carefully respected this constraint, seeking continuity with the Draghi government at the foreign policy level (as the Ukrainian dossier can demonstrate) and showing how the tax’s rationale is hard to understand. In fact, the chapter concludes that rather than a (populist) well-conceived marketing device, the taxation of Italian banks – or at least the first draft of the tax – was conducted as a pure improvisation.