In the Guardian, Nathan Coombs reflects on the ascendancy in British politics of “red Toryism,” a new configuration of conservative thinking that derives, in large part, from the “radical orthodox” theology of John Milbank:
For radical orthodoxy, there are specifically theological roots to the current “heretical, immoral, and neopagan political morass“. They trace the fall to a medieval theologian called Duns Scotus, whose crime was to lay the basis for the later Protestant Reformation. Against this, they advocate an understanding of paradox that can be found in the writings of Meister Eckhardt. Only through such a sea change in thinking can the world be re-enchanted, leading to a retreat from the nihilistic gloom and pleasure seeking hedonism that define our age.
Politically what does radical orthodoxy infer from this? Nothing less than the need to return to the church. What is more, this unlikely sounding political programme can considered credible because: “the sort of young person who might once have been Marxist” can now be turned to religion, and, “In the face of the secret alliance of cultural with economic liberalism, we need now to invent a new sort of politics which links egalitarianism to the pursuit of objective values and virtues: a ‘traditionalist socialism’ or a ‘red Toryism’.”
Continue reading “The red Tories’ true colours” here.