Keith Preston Speaks to the National Policy Institute on the Question of U.S. Imperialism

Keith Preston

10 years ago

“But discussions of this type necessarily become complicated when we get into “the other” as in Carl Schmitt’s friend/enemy relation. Different thinkers may list different “others” in telling us who are hostile to their communities. The conference I attended was no different in that respect—but it focused largely on the danger posed by the American Empire and its cult of “diversity.” Most of the presentations, for example, Keith Preston’s criticism of American liberal internationalist imperialism, and Sam Dickson’s remarks on the Confederate Battle Flag, approached the theme of “being who we are” by stressing who we are not.

Dickson, an extremely eloquent lawyer from Atlanta, observed that the slogan of well-meaning Southern whites that their flag is “about heritage, not hate” is a pitiful defense. As Dickson pointed out, since the “Southern heritage” has now been defined by the MSM and public educators as “hate”, someone who contrasts the “Southern heritage” to “hate” will be seen as talking nonsense.

Like Preston, Dickson considered his principal enemy, or that of the “Southern nation,” to be “American imperialism.” Southerners were early victims of this evil, even before it was turned into a means of delivering the rest of the world from who they are.

Preston, Dickson, and some of the other participants identified “American imperialism” with political and ideological centralization from the left together with a neoconservative foreign policy. Explicitly or implicitly these critics lean toward a secessionist solution, presuming they can find a critical mass to join their resistance.

Needless to say, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Page staff would not have felt comfortable in such company.”

Claus Brinker

“Keith Preston, an anarchist, spoke third. His presentation framed the situation of ethnically aware Europeans in the same light as other ethnic groups that are pitted against the destructive force of American imperialism. Preston stated that unlike past imperial models similar to the Roman Empire in which ethnic and cultural identities of conquered peoples were allow to remain intact so long as proper tribute was paid to the empire, in American imperialism there is a quasi-religious perspective in that all who are conquered must convert to the American cultural model, which is actually anti-cultural.

The most relevant aspect of Preston’s talk to the theme of the conference was a description of the three identities allowed to a person under the American imperialist system. First, every individual is a subject of the state. This is non-negotiable. Second, individuals may be workers or professionals who contribute to the economy of the state, in which case their identity is defined by how they contribute. Third, individuals may be consumers of what the state economy provides, in which case their identity is defined by what they consume. Any unique identity that conflicts with these three identities allowed by the state must be eradicated. And this is why any separatist movement, including racial separatism, is viewed as an enemy of the state.”

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