by John Derbyshire, Nate Fischer, Tom Klingenstein, Daniel McCarthy, Scott McConnell, Michael Rectenwald, and Amy Wax

“This is the most important election of our lifetime” is something we are told every four years. This year, that statement actually may be true. The political division in America is at its greatest zenith since perhaps the Civil War.

What is at stake in this election is the potential advancement of two diametrically opposed visions for America. On one hand is the potential for the permanent enthronement of an administrative “deep state” that will increase its control over every aspect of life and impose the values and priorities of cultural leftism. This class of managers will be supported by a burgeoning class of dependents composed of a never-ending stream of illegal immigrants and a former middle class impoverished by inflation and debt.

On the other hand is a slim chance of frustrating the aims of this class of would-be totalitarians and dismantling the mechanisms that empower them. Perhaps there is even a glimmer of hope for the establishment of a new, lasting, and authentic right that will replace complacent establishment conservatives and implement true “America First” domestic and foreign policies. 

With the potential for tragedy and triumph firmly in mind, the editors of Chronicles have asked a collection of commentators to imagine the potential consequences of this election for our readers. Each of the seven contributors to this series has been involved in the fight in his or her own way.

John Derbyshire is a writer, journalist, and mathematician. He was one of the last paleoconservatives at National Review; he’s written extensively against mass immigration at the now-suspended website VDARE, among other places.

Nate Fischer is the founder and chief executive of New Founding, a venture capital company focused on building institutions to support the American right. He co-founded the conservative Protestant magazine American Reformer, as well as a real estate investment firm that grew to more than $1 billion in assets.

Tom Klingenstein is the chairman of the Claremont Institute, a conservative think tank based in Upland, California, which publishes the Claremont Review of Books, The American Mind, and other publications.

Daniel McCarthy is a political commentator, the editor of Modern Age magazine, and a contributing editor at The American Conservative.

Scott McConnell co-founded The American Conservative magazine with Patrick Buchanan and Taki Theodoracopulos.

Michael Rectenwald is a former Marxist and New York University professor, now a paleolibertarian author and member of the Mises Caucus of the U.S. Libertarian Party.

Amy Wax is the Robert Mundheim Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she teaches a course in conservative political and legal thought. 

We hope you enjoy this symposium, and thank you for supporting Chronicles.