Rise of the Alpha Return of the Tribe

They say that Lysander the Spartan, whom I have mentioned before, used to remark that Sparta was the most dignified home for old age; for that nowhere was more respect paid to years, nowhere was old age held in higher honour. Nay, the story is told of how when a man of advanced years came into the theatre at Athens when the games were going on, no place was given him anywhere in that large assembly by his own countrymen; but when he came near the Lacedæmonians, who as ambassadors had a fixed place assigned to them, they rose as one man out of respect for him, and gave the veteran a seat. When they were greeted with rounds of applause from the whole audience, one of them remarked: “The Athenians know what is right, but will not do it.” – Cicero 

Are you an Athenian or a Spartan? Choose.

“Sat srī akāl”. I said as I reached out and took the hand of the Sikh elder standing in front of me. His partner, a large looking Indian in a turban and beard stood next to him quietly watching us interact.

We chatted for a bit more and then moved towards my office. His companion followed quietly as we spoke. “How are your children?” he asked me as we settled in the area outside my office door.

“They’re well Harjit, thank you. How is business?” I replied. Harjit is an older man and an established entrepreneur in the region. He owns a number of businesses and is well known not just amongst his own people but to the rest of the city as well. He is a leader in his community and the head of a large family. He frequents our business only once or twice a year but the rest of his clan, which is extensive, are here regularly.

“Business is good Francis. I see new faces here. Things must be well for you too?” he asked.

“They are steady, thank you.” I replied. This is a good, neutral answer. Sikhs, like many others, love to negotiate. If things are going too swimmingly they expect more of me. If things are simply steady they will not press as hard. They want me to do well and be successful but will always push for more if they think I can afford it. Coming to middle ground has not always been easy because we are from different tribes but we are both business men and alphas so there is honour and respect between us and as such doing business together has become easier with time. It is a good and honourable relationship that I have come to value and appreciate.

“Francis, this is my cousin’s son, Raj.” I shook the big man’s hand. I guessed he was about twenty five to thirty years old or so and about 6’4″ tall. “He needs your help with a few things. I trust you will take care of him.”

“Of course.” I replied.

Over the years I have lost track of how many of Harjit’s friends and family have become my clients. One of my favourite customers was one of his nephews. When he walked through my door for the first time he could not have been much older than nineteen or twenty. He introduced himself to me and told me who his uncle was. He followed it up with: “If you could give me a bit of a deal I’d appreciate it. My uncle says I’m not allowed to go anywhere else.” I laughed and took care of him as was expected. Their honour and mine demanded no less.

As the fourth turning progresses and our nation states further deteriorate I believe that men such as Harjit will find themselves cast in an ever evolving roll in regions such as ours. Whether they realize it or not as political borders falter, whether due to economics or social instability, those with the strongest bonds in terms of clan and tribe are the most likely to weather the coming storm. Those at the head of these clans and tribes will emerge as new political leaders, the old guard having been cast aside as the result of fall out in a sociopolitical environment turned upside down.

The importance of the clan in the Sikh’s success in our region cannot be overstated. They have done well in their new environment because they rely on one another. In a sense they are all family, much in the same way my community was as a child growing up in the mid west. They take care of one another through business and community and they do not compromise their identity or deny the natural order of the world.

Unlike too many of their ‘European’ counterparts they do not suffer foolishness. From my observations the beta male is rare in their culture. They pay him and his corresponding social structures and philosophy little mind. For the Sikh weakness is not a virtue and they do not confuse it with mercy. It was not that long ago that our culture did the same.

Indeed, our nations and our culture are failing because marxism, the battle standard of the beta and what I call ‘vile alpha’, has been allowed to creep into every aspect of our lives unchecked and unchallenged. It is a trend which, with regards to our political states, I believe no man can reverse. As such we have arrived at a cross roads in our political and social structure with the trend towards tribalism accelerating. In his excellent essay on this subject entitled “Tribes“, Robert Gore writes: “Resurgent tribalism represents a huge step backwards and comes at the expense of the smallest tribe: the individual.”

In a sense this is true. But at this stage I believe it is a trend that cannot be reversed. Moreover, it is a trend that does not necessarily carry negative consequences.

Tribalism is a natural human defense against a deteriorating sociopolitical environment. If the nation is unstable or the tribes within it begin to feel attacked or threatened then they tend to withdraw and form enclaves. Originally, the purpose of the state in western societies was to protect the individual through contract and law. But that has changed. Today, in the eyes of the state, the individual is now the enemy, his rights little more than a quaint myth, a distant memory and an object of scorn to be gotten around.

Additionally, the state now pits one tribe against another. Election cycles are now little more than opportunities for each tribe to seize more power, thus hastening the deterioration of state neutrality in a self fulfilling prophecy of political degradation. People respond to these actions by “tribing up” even more. “Tribing up” is a natural social defense mechanism intended to protect groups of individuals who bare similar cultural characteristics from attacks by other tribes or the very state that was originally intended to protect them in the first place. It is by and large an automatic response similar to ducking that is ignored at the tribes peril.

Mr. Gore continues:  “A manifestation of reciprocal individual responsibilities—mutually enforceable promises between equals—did not become the foundation of contract law until the nineteenth century.”

This is also true. From the ancient Greeks to modern America the idea of the individual as sovereign has evolved and grown from an inkling of a seed to a grand old oak. It has been carried forward from each corner and generation of our civilization to the next over a period of millennia. But there is a catch. As Dutch politician, Geert Wilders recently lamented, freedom sometimes requires that we actually defend it. In this duty we have failed and in doing so we have allowed marxist rot to enter the root system of our tree. As a result the entire organism is now in danger of being destroyed. As such, the critters that dwell within are jumping ship and forming tribes.

In light of this I find myself wondering; what has happened to our virtuous alphas, the stewards of this tree of liberty? Where are our leaders?

They are here of course. They are busy raising families, building businesses and going to work every day. But that is no longer sufficient in this turning. It is time for our alphas to step up and reclaim their places in OUR tribes. Not because other tribes like the Sikhs are a threat but because it is the natural and right thing to do and because virtuous alpha males are the last line of defense that classic liberalism has against the machinations and poison of marxism and its beta henchmen. If your clan and your way of life matters to you, and it should, then it is time to rethink their importance not just to you but to the future of your people and the thousands of years of intellectual thought and growth that they and our societies represent.

To be clear, concern for your tribe does not equal a disdain or hate of others. If it did then my Sikh customers would do business elsewhere. Tribalism is not to be feared because it does not exist in a vacuum. Different tribes can (and do) coexist in close proximity but only if strong, moral alphas are prepared to take the reigns as leaders and diplomats. As the dust settles and our corporate/marxist super state and it’s mandates are left to the dustbins of history those tribes will find common ground. But only so long as they are left to their own devices and only so long as there are good, honorable and strong men to shine the light. The irony being, that in order to save classic liberalism and individual liberty we must let the states that were originally born to carry them into the future, fail. Although the body will perish, the spirit can and will survive through the clan and its natural extension – the tribe. It must, if for no other reason than the western nation state is poisoned and beyond repair.

In the end the marxist’s philosophy of economic, cultural and moral relativism is dying and taking our countries with it. The contradictions, the corruption and the debt that they have created are too deep to be rooted out. Mathematically and socially speaking this experiment in empire and socialism cannot go on forever, nor will it. Thus, in a twist of ironic fate, the tribe must be reborn to save the individual. The clan and the tribe, being the foundation of the nation, must be rebuilt. If they are then the philosophy of freedom that our ancestors have fashioned for us over thousands of years of intellectual and physical trials, tribulations and growth will be preserved through this unfortunate but inevitable turning.

So rebuild your clans and tribal leaders will arise. Choose wisdom over strength and strength over weakness. Remember mercy. Embrace virtue. Reject relativism. Preserve your intellectual and social roots and make no apologies for any of it. Like the Lacedaemonians visiting in ancient Athens, speak the truth and do the right thing.

The clock is ticking.

“Day by day, what you choose, what you think and what you do is who you become.” – Heraclitus

-30-