11 The End of Men

The claim here from some parts of the MAGA New Right is that being “woke” somehow destroys manhood.  We have to presume that a testosterone loaded egocentric male is the only kind of male that is to be encouraged and tolerated.  As DIT makes clear, said framing assures chaos and destruction of an economic and social system with needs balance in the ego & empathy (woke), which gives empirical evidence that the End of Men claims that only ego-driven men are to dominate, well, shaky.

Even the Chemicals are Leading to the End of Men

And, it even gets more outrageous, with the claim that somehow industry is putting chemicals into the environment to purposely lower the testosterone level in boys and men.  And, while chemical pollution in theory could actually do so, the claim it is somehow being done on purpose to take-down the “male warrior” is without empirical basis.

Also, the End of Men story claims that DEI is taking opportunity away for young white men, as women and people disadvantaged in the past because of race are now favored.  The Rule of Men claim of the MAGA New Right goes to the “reverse discrimination” frame, again, without limited if any empirical evidence.  Now, if it is borne out to be a fact, naturally the system needs fixing.  It is common in many MAGA New Right claims that an element of truth is present: It tends to exaggerated, in every case, and likely is exaggerated in the case that men --- especially white men --- must act out, and are even justified do so in violent ways to solve the problem that often is not really in play.

Much Make-Believe in the End of Men Story

As Field (2025, p. 257) points out, much of it is make-believe as in “ the hellscape (described in some branches of the MAGA New Right) is the result of secret plots and projects on the part of a globalist cabal determined to weaken and destroy the populace (especially the men), rather than the predictable outcomes of human greed, capitalism, technology…”  Yes, make-believe cargo-cult claims are in play all over the MAGA New Right, and the one about The End of Men is especially hard to see as having much if any validity.  And, as Field (2025, p. 259) also makes clear, many if not all the claims are “ensconced in the world of white supremacy, ethnic nationalism, and neo-fascism.”

All the “manliness” gets attention in the Rufo guidelines:  “… on January 4, 2024 (Rufo) published his own set guidelines for the new movement, called ‘The New Right Activism: A Manifesto for the Counterrevolution,’ in a Hard Right magazine called IM-1776.52 It reads as a blend of Eliade’s fascism, Vermeule and Deneen’s ‘integration from within,’ and the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. Rufo’s manifesto recommended a new activism ‘with the courage and resolve to win back the language, recapture institutions, and reorient the state towards rightful ends’ (Field 2025, p. 268).”  And, young white men are to play a key role in bring it about, perhaps even by violent means.

Field (2025, p. 269) continues:   “For Rufo—since neutrality is an illusion—the government is ultimately always in charge of cultural formation, and this should be made explicit: ‘The chief vectors for the transmission of values—the public school, the public university, and the state—are not marketplaces at all. They are government-run monopolies. In truth, the hand that moves culture is not an ‘invisible hand,’ but an iron clad in velvet—that is, political force.’ To be effective, the right must harness these state forces and seize the cultural levers of power, too.”   Well, show the empirical evidence using the scientific method and testing of null hypotheses about how Classical Liberalism (which frames the American System about which Rufo is railing) does Not lead to better outcomes than MAGA New Right claims as espoused by Rufo et al.  It will be rejected.  Rufo as major representative of the MAGA New Right framing is like the emperor who has not clothes. As Field (2025, p. 270) correctly says it, the Rufo claims, and the claims of  MAGA New Right in general, are mainly about “fascist buffoonery.”  As a learned colleague of mine said a few days after results on the 2024 Election came in: “the fasciste have arrived.”

No Enemies to the Right (NETTR) Ensures Nothing on the Right is Questioned

Also, the notion of NETTR  (Field 2025, p. 271) --- No Enemies to the Right --- does not help.  Internal criticism by people within the MAGA New Right bubble is not to be tolerated. The New Right does not allow self-examination, else said person is cast out. Such framing is neofascist, with the insular “us” in positions of power and totally out to destroy any opposition, as in anything brought to the table from the Left of the extreme MAGA New Right is to be oppressed if not outrightly eliminated, even by violent means if necessary. Field quotes the extreme claims of a Charles Haywood:  “It means the total, permanent elimination of all Left power, and, even more importantly, the total discrediting, both on a moral and practical basis, of all Left ideology.”  And, Authoritarian means with a neofascist twist are to be used as needed.