"You don’t win a naval war without any ships, and you can’t win a culture war without any culture."
The conservative movement has spent billions of dollars and an incalculable amount of time and energy on stopping the advance of the Left. What is there to show for it? Some battles have been won, but the story of the war has been one of a long retreat through the institutions.
Conservative media has grown rapidly in the digital age, but has so far failed to stop or even slow the advance of Progress. Conservatives today remain in a cycle of reactive demoralization and paranoia, divided by cynical exploitation of understandable anger, desperate pandering, and craven self-censorship.
Meaningful alternatives to the liberal consensus are either ignored or suppressed. Mainstream conservative leaders often repeat Andrew Breitbart's old adage “Politics is downstream from culture,” but never act on it. Their energies are consumed by criticizing art which they find offensive rather than supporting art themselves.
On the rare occasions when conservative institutions set out to to support “right-wing art”, these efforts take the form of naked propaganda, conceived from the point of view of securing immediate political goals. The result is that key truths about human nature are concealed, nuance and subtlety is not acknowledged, and genuine artistic expression not championed.
This is the death of dissent.
Against an enemy which survives on lies, truth remains our strongest weapon. But the main agenda of commercial media enterprises is to make money, not propagate truth. Therefore their content can be controlled by advertisers, distributors, and online platforms, who financially penalize deviations from the approved political discourse. What is needed is the formulation and execution of a long-term strategy for a revitalized Conservative culture beyond the immediate laws of the market.
For this reason, IM—1776 is shifting from a for-profit company into a non-profit foundation. Our publication will continue to articulate new and alternative directions for the conservative movement, but now also with the explicit goal of supporting and incentivizing artists to develop and express themselves without the necessity of having to produce short-term profits.
Our team will be tasked with finding and supporting talented writers, visual artists, sculptors, photographers, content creators, and art projects who are committed to challenging the limits of contemporary consensus. Transgression for the sake of transgression isn't our principle. What's needed is a real vision for a better future with Truth and Beauty at its core.
In addition to supporting individual creators, as well as our writers’ journey and reporting around the world, contributions will also be used to support the development of real-world events and collaboration. Through art exhibitions, summits, book launches, and other events, writers and artists across the West will find an opportunity to showcase their work and connect with the wider public.
Our aim is to support a cultural project that elevates the human spirit, not obeying the laws of corporations, the agendas of bureaucrats, or the crazed demands of ideologues. No single person or organization alone can accomplish this, but we can contribute to the great and invigorating task of leaving a rich legacy for generations to come.
We look forward to starting this new journey together.
"You don’t win a naval war without any ships, and you can’t win a culture war without any culture."
The conservative movement has spent billions of dollars and an incalculable amount of time and energy on stopping the advance of the Left. What is there to show for it? Some battles have been won, but the story of the war has been one of a long retreat through the institutions.
Conservative media has grown rapidly in the digital age, but has so far failed to stop or even slow the advance of Progress. Conservatives today remain in a cycle of reactive demoralization and paranoia, divided by cynical exploitation of understandable anger, desperate pandering, and craven self-censorship.
Meaningful alternatives to the liberal consensus are either ignored or suppressed. Mainstream conservative leaders often repeat Andrew Breitbart's old adage “Politics is downstream from culture,” but never act on it. Their energies are consumed by criticizing art which they find offensive rather than supporting art themselves.
On the rare occasions when conservative institutions set out to to support “right-wing art”, these efforts take the form of naked propaganda, conceived from the point of view of securing immediate political goals. The result is that key truths about human nature are concealed, nuance and subtlety is not acknowledged, and genuine artistic expression not championed.
This is the death of dissent.
Against an enemy which survives on lies, truth remains our strongest weapon. But the main agenda of commercial media enterprises is to make money, not propagate truth. Therefore their content can be controlled by advertisers, distributors, and online platforms, who financially penalize deviations from the approved political discourse. What is needed is the formulation and execution of a long-term strategy for a revitalized Conservative culture beyond the immediate laws of the market.
For this reason, IM—1776 is shifting from a for-profit company into a non-profit foundation. Our publication will continue to articulate new and alternative directions for the conservative movement, but now also with the explicit goal of supporting and incentivizing artists to develop and express themselves without the necessity of having to produce short-term profits.
Our team will be tasked with finding and supporting talented writers, visual artists, sculptors, photographers, content creators, and art projects who are committed to challenging the limits of contemporary consensus. Transgression for the sake of transgression isn't our principle. What's needed is a real vision for a better future with Truth and Beauty at its core.
In addition to supporting individual creators, as well as our writers’ journey and reporting around the world, contributions will also be used to support the development of real-world events and collaboration. Through art exhibitions, summits, book launches, and other events, writers and artists across the West will find an opportunity to showcase their work and connect with the wider public.
Our aim is to support a cultural project that elevates the human spirit, not obeying the laws of corporations, the agendas of bureaucrats, or the crazed demands of ideologues. No single person or organization alone can accomplish this, but we can contribute to the great and invigorating task of leaving a rich legacy for generations to come.
We look forward to starting this new journey together.
