Several examples come to mind. Nazis were only able to gain power when the middle class came to support them in opposition (i.e., reaction) to the leftist working class. This is common wherever authoritarianism, or at least fascism, comes to power.
If you look at US militia groups, they tend to be middle class. It makes sense, since someone has to have enough wealth to heavily arm themselves and organize such a group. It's not only having the means and capacity but also the motivation.
Extremist movements, specifically on the right-wing, tend to be driven by...
The problem I have with reactionary thought, neo- or otherwise, is the selectivity bias and half-informed nature of so much of it. The above commenter, araneae, referencing the post-agricultural Stonehenge as an example of pre-agricultural war is an example of that.
They tend use evidence rather loosely and carelessly. But their arguments seem strong to anyone who isn't widely read and capable of critical thinking. Sadly, that profile represents a large part of the American population that is intellectually vulnerable to persuasion.
Also, the reactionary right tends toward nostalgic fantasies and invented traditions. The fence might not be as old as it seems. It might even be quite recently put into place but made to look old or look like what some think an old fence looks like. And even if there were original reasons (though there may not have been), the reasons claimed for the supposed old fence might be modern inventions or else highly skewed. The past is treated as serving the present and so the past can be altered as needed.
The non-reactionary left, on the other hand, tends to th... (read more)