The Virtue of Restraint

Among many quarters of the Dissident Right, criticism of the Far Left is aimed at their “puritanical” dogmatism, which often rises to the level of religious zealotry. Indeed, many parallels can be drawn to the practices of the 17th century New England Puritans, while at the same time, there are also many contrasts and contradictions that can’t be overlooked.

Not everything about Puritanism was “bad,” despite the opinions of some within the Southern Nationalist movement believe. It is my opinion that the Puritans had quite a lot right. In this essay, I want to focus on the virtue of restraint, or moderation. I also want to call attention to the fact that modern liberalism and “free market capitalism” are antithetical to the “puritanical” ideals of restraint and moderation. After all, liberalism and unrestrained markets, when left to supplant moderation as the mores of a society, will ultimately succumb to debauchery, gluttony, greed, and degeneracy. Is that not the current state of the West under the guidance of the American Empire?

The virtue of restraint is not solely a puritanical value. Most Christian institutions, up until relatively recently, have traditionally emphasized moderation (as well as abstinence) as a spiritual ethic that builds character.

Like a muddied spring or a polluted well are the righteous who give way to the wicked. It is not good to eat too much honey, nor is it honorable to search out matters that are too deep. Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.

Proverbs 25: 26-28

Be you a religious person or not, this quote from Proverbs holds eternal wisdom, wisdom that can be gleaned from most cultures, philosophies, and religions around the world. This is wisdom that has been shared since men first etched their thoughts on clay tablets. Likewise, imbedded in the Genesis story of Adam and Eve is the lesson that the fall of man from grace was due to lack of restraint, the consequence of the masculine ideals of hierarchy and authority giving way to the feminine tendency to indulge and desire, to challenge and defy authority.

Unrestrained free markets open the flood gates for greed and gluttony. It is inevitable. It has been said that John D. Rockefeller, when asked “How much is enough?” he answered simply, “One more dollar.” While this quote attributed to him is probably an urban myth, there can be no doubt that since the peak of the Industrial Age in the early 20th century, the trajectory of Western economies have reflected that sentiment. And, just when the middle-class began to benefit from the affluence that the Industrial Age was creating, (let’s say for argument’s sake around the 1950s), the elites at the top of the economic pyramid started tinkering with our social customs, norms, and even our immigration laws, in order to deflate that middle-class and weaken their standing.

It is simply objectively true that the events of the 1960s were not so much a “revolution” as they were a “correction” designed to create the outcomes that we now face. The “unrestrained” and “unleashed” forces of liberalism and free market capitalism have produced a Western culture that is riddled with drug addiction, obesity, broken families, unhealthy degenerate lifestyles, homosexuality, suicide, crime, and an endless list of negative byproducts that a renaissance in Christian restraint would help alleviate.

Materialism and excessive consumption are the bane of a healthy society and community. You don’t have to be a pinko communist or a Marxist egalitarian (ideals which ultimately produce similar outcomes) to see the truth in that fact. After all, the vapid atheism of communism encouraged the same spiritual voids that Western liberalism has created.

The truth lies somewhere in the middle of these two systems, and that truth will be characterized by restraint and moderation. I’m not sure that we’ll ever see this ideal system. I can only hope. In the mean time, every Dixian worth his salt should incorporate this little aspect of “Puritanism” into their lives in hopes that it will spread.

It all starts with you.

-By Dixie Anon

One comment

  1. The puritans were bad. They murdered and oppressed my nonwhite Irish ancestors because of their faith, in violation of the first amendment, which being an inalienable human right, was in effect retroactively through time, before it was established by muh Ronald Reagan in the 80’s.

    The Puritan hate is as silly as the anti-masonic conspiracy theory stuff that pervades these circles.

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