Reactionary

A Reactionary is a political actor and philosophical position that advocates for returning to a previous societal state which is perceived to have desirable characteristics absent in contemporary society.

• AKA: Reactionist, Counter-Progressive, Traditionalist Radical.
• Context:
  • It can typically oppose Social Transformation through traditionalist values and historical precedents.
  • It can typically reject Progressive Policy through restoration advocacy and conservative principles.
  • It can typically advocate for Status Quo Ante through political opposition to current systems.
  • It can typically criticize Modern Condition as inferior to past arrangements and traditional orders.
  • It can typically differentiate from Conservative Positions by seeking active restoration rather than merely preserving present.
  • ...
  • It can often derive from Right-Wing Ideology through traditionalist principles and hierarchical values.
  • It can often express Political Opposition to social change deemed destructive to social fabric.
  • It can often employ Historical Narratives to justify return to previous conditions.
  • It can often view Modern Developments as moral decline rather than social progress.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Moderate Reactionary to being a Radical Reactionary, depending on its implementation intensity.
  • It can range from being a Political Reactionary to being a Philosophical Reactionary, depending on its domain emphasis.
  • It can range from being a Religious Reactionary to being a Secular Reactionary, depending on its foundational worldview.
  • It can range from being a Cultural Reactionary to being an Economic Reactionary, depending on its primary focus.
  • ...
  • It can have Historical Roots in counter-revolutionary thought and anti-enlightenment traditions.
  • It can maintain Ideological Distance from conservative positions that merely seek to preserve status quo.
  • It can promote Social Hierarchy as a natural order preferable to egalitarian systems.
  • ...
• Examples:
  • Reactionary Political Types, such as:
    • Monarchist Reactionarys, such as:
      • Legitimist Movement for royal restoration.
      • Carlism for traditional monarchy revival.
    • Religious Reactionarys, such as:
      • Integralism for church-state unity.
      • Fundamentalist Movement for religious law implementation.
  • Reactionary Philosophical Expressions, such as:
    • Counter-Enlightenment Philosophys, such as:
      • Traditionalist School for perennial truth restoration.
      • Dark Enlightenment Movement for anti-democratic governance.
    • Anti-Modern Philosophys, such as:
      • Perennialist Thought for traditional wisdom revival.
      • Radical Orthodoxy for pre-modern theological recovery.
  • Reactionary Historical Movements, such as:
    • 19th Century Reactionary Movements, such as:
      • Holy Alliance for monarchical restoration.
      • Counter-Revolutionary Movement for ancien régime support.
    • 20th Century Reactionary Movements, such as:
      • Falangism for traditional hierarchy enforcement.
      • Neo-Fascist Movement for authoritarian order restoration.
  • ...
• Counter-Examples:
  • Conservatives, which seek to preserve current orders rather than restore past systems.
  • Progressives, which advocate for social advancement rather than return to tradition.
  • Revolutionarys, which pursue new social orders rather than restoration of past orders.
  • Reform Movements, which aim to improve existing systems rather than replace them with historical models.
  • Status Quo Advocates, which defend present conditions rather than advocating for return to past.
• See: John Lukacs, Political Science, Wikt:Status Quo Ante, Left–Right Political Spectrum, Ideology, Right-Wing Politics, Social Transformation, Conservatives, Traditionalist Conservative, Extremism, Peter King (American Politician), Erik Von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, Reactionary Philosophical Movement, Counter-Revolutionary, Traditionalism, Political Theology.
• References:

2025

• (Wikipedia, 2025) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactionary Retrieved:2025-3-16.
  • NOTE: Defines a reactionary as "a person who holds political views that favor a return to the status quo ante—the previous political state of society—which the person believes possessed positive characteristics that are absent from contemporary society."

2012

• (King, 2012) ⇒ Peter King. "Reaction: Against the Modern World." Andrews UK Limited, 2012.

  * NOTE: Observes that the term "reactionary" carries negative connotations and is "an unsought-for label, used as a torment rather than a badge of honor" despite being adopted by some political thinkers.

1999

• (The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought, 1999) ⇒ "The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought" Third Edition, p. 729.

  * NOTE: Defines reactionary in the context of the left-right political spectrum and distinguishes reactionism as a tradition in right-wing politics from conservatism.

1943

• (Campbell, 1943) ⇒ Francis Stuart Campbell [Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn]. "Credo of a Reactionary." The American Mercury.

  * NOTE: Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, writing under his alias, presents a philosophical defense of reactionary politics as a legitimate intellectual position opposed to modern progressive trends.

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References

2025

• (Wikipedia, 2025) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactionary Retrieved:2025-3-16.
  • In political science, a reactionary or a reactionist is a person who holds political views that favor a return to the status quo ante—the previous political state of society—which the person believes possessed positive characteristics that are absent from contemporary society. As a descriptor term, reactionary derives from the ideological context of the left–right political spectrum. As an adjective, the word reactionary describes points of view and policies meant to restore a status quo ante.

    As an ideology, reactionism is a tradition in right-wing politics; the reactionary stance opposes policies for the social transformation of society, whereas conservatives seek to preserve the socio-economic structure and order that exists in the present. In popular usage, reactionary refers to a strong traditionalist conservative political perspective of a person opposed to social, political, and economic change. Reactionary ideologies can be radical in the sense of political extremism in service to re-establishing past conditions. To some writers, the term reactionary carries negative connotations—Peter King observed that it is "an unsought-for label, used as a torment rather than a badge of honor." Despite this, the descriptor "political reactionary" has been adopted by writers such as the Austrian monarchist Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, the Scottish journalist Gerald Warner of Craigenmaddie, the Colombian political theologian Nicolás Gómez Dávila, and the American historian John Lukacs.

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