New White Nationalism in America

by Carol M. Swain

Book Overview

Over the past decade, a new white nationalist movement has gained strength in America, bringing with it the potential to disrupt already fragile race relations. Eschewing violence, this movement seeks to expand its influence mainly through argument and persuasion targeted at white Americans aggrieved over racial double standards, race-based affirmative action policies, high black-on-white crime rates, and liberal immigration policies. The movement...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521808863
• ISBN13: 9780521808866
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 556 Pages
• Weight: 2.08 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.3" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A must read for anyone concerned about race in America

Carol Swain's book is a wonderfully thorough and in depth look at current race relations in America. Although some of the content is disturbing, she argues that we should not be silent on the issue of race, but rather discuss what is often uncomfortable. The most persuasive part of the book is her section on policy suggestions as she brings unique and new ideas to light. Even if you think that these issues do not effect you, it is a must read as silence and lack of information fuels the white nationalists' discourse and overall pursuasiveness.

The theory of racism is, paradoxically, totalitarian

As an Englishman (a Geordie to be precise) and admirer of America, this book is a welcome discussion of the problem of race in the States, a problem which runs far deeper than in Britain. The simple fact is that the epithet "racist" has become a profoundly effective weapon in propagating the slave morality which Nietzsche so despised. No one suggests that America is "white" because that particular demographic happened to be the most powerful, therefore the most deserving - a self-evident trait. No, instead the missionaries of the underclasses rant and rave about the "fact" that whites "cheated" to become dominant - as if they were possessed of some demonic power. The fact is, I abhor people who have disgust for other races than their own, but i abhor equally the acceptable face of anti-Nordicism. The fact is that whites dominated the earth because of simultaneous developments in their culture around the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries - notably the evolution of capitalism. Whomever suggests that whites overcame undeservedly is clearly jealous of this master morality (cf. the Greeks, the Romans, the French and British Empires, etc) which was also a feature of non-white peoples like the Arabs and the Chinese; and yet they have no reason to be - historical dialecticism is not the goal of humanity, contrary to the assertions of the Hegelian-Marxists.

Whistling Past the Graveyard

DNA is destiny, my multicultural friends, and there is no denying it. The Liliputians may finally succeed in destroying America and remaking it in the image of the Third World... and it will be a crying shame if they do. "America" may not have been perfect, but it was pretty darned good. What a shame it will be to ruin it out of a stupid desire to ignore an obvious point of objective reality--that races are races for a reason: they *are* different.

A timely and seminal work with an ominous warning message

The New White Nationalism In America: It's Challenge To Integration by Carol M. Swain (Professor of Political Science and Professor of Law, Vanderbilt University) is a clarion call of warning, regarding the building solidarity of a non-violent, "white nationalist" movement in contemporary America. Rather than rely on force and terrorism, this movement seeks to advance its agenda through persuasion of its target white audience, embraces separation, undercuts the civil rights era vision of an integrated America of true equality -- that what is separate cannot be evil. A timely and seminal work with an ominous warning message, The New White Nationalism In America is very strongly recommended for Political Science and Social Issues reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

A Timely and Important Examination

Black Political Scientist Carol Swain has produced a very important work which not only examines the growth of the new white nationalist movement in America, but also its sources. Swain notes that in the last ten years or so, a new, non-violent type of white nationalism has been growing in America, one that seeks to win people over through logic and argumentation. These groups vary from moderate to radical, but underlying them all is the same message: America is being undermined by minorities and immigrants. Perhaps the most important of these groups is "American Renaissance" led by Jared Taylor. Taylor is highly educated as are most his followers. They are against multiculturalism and seek to change the demographic balance in the country. But Swain's examination of the various groups and their messages is only the begining. She then examines the three main issues that are fueling the rise of these groups appeal to mainstream white Americans: Immigration, Crime, and Affirmative-Action. Swain argues that current immigration policy is not sensitive to local needs and a discussion on reform is needed. Unfortunately, no such discussion exists at this moment. Similiarly, high black crime rates are a taboo subject which no mainstream politician will discuss, leaving the issue to be framed by the white nationalists who argue that blacks are criminal by nature. Again, the lack of an open discussion is the greatest problem in confronting this issue. Swain offers no solution on how to lower black crime, however. But the fact that she acknowledges black crime rates are indeed higher is a brave break from the past. The third major issue feeding the movement is affirmative action, seen by many whites as discrimination. More than any other issue, it contributes to the appeal of white nationalism. Swain makes a strong case for the elimination of race-based policies, in favor of class-based policies instead. Swain also delivers a scathing indictment of the black leadership, which she believes does not serve its communities interests. Since Swain herself is black, perhaps her words will have some resonance within the black community to reasses their leaders.In sum, it seems that censorship is our greatest enemy. When we cannot talk about issues honestly and openly, those with radical agendas will take over since there is no other side to balance it out. At first glance, one might think of this book as a typical liberal attack on the radical right, simply denouncing them without offering solutions. Swain does no such thing. She is a conservative, one who understands that difference between the mainstream and radical right, and who offers us solutions on how to improve race relations for the future. Our efforts can no longer focus on minorities, but on all Americans, if we are to reach our ideal of a color-blind society.