The Cosmopolitan Reactionary

We all look to the East now

In post-war Germany, investigations into the psychological nature of Nazism found that travelling correlated with anti-regime views. Researcher David Levy discovered that ‘having travelled and lived abroad for at least six months decreased the chances that a subject was a Nazi.’ (Presumably being part of an invading army did not count as travelling in this instance).

‘Travel improves the mind wonderfully,’ in the words of a character in Oscar Wilde’s fairytale The Remarkable Rocket, ‘and does away with all one’s prejudices.’ While recently away on my own travels, perhaps even sitting on a beach scrolling on Twitter, I saw a viral tweet which argued that ‘The more you travel, the less politically extreme you become.’ Just recently, German public media produced yet another one of those strange cartoons, arguing that travel generates more ‘empathy’ with other cultures, as well as trust and tolerance.

While travel may have become more female-coded, it is even more overtly liberal-coded. Openness to experience, one of the big five personality traits, correlates with political liberalism and the brains of liberals seem to crave more novelty than those of conservative peers. Although one can think of exceptions – Sayyid Qutb’s trip to America famously didn’t make him more moderate – the rule seems broadly true that travel is associated with a more open worldview.

Even if you visit someone’s house today, and see visible domestic mementoes of foreign travel, whether guidebooks, fridge magnets, indigenous masks or whatever, this at least points to the likelihood that they are more likely to be politically liberal.

Yet, conversely, seeing the world may well reduce the appeal of universalist liberalism, even when those experiences are enjoyable. There are plenty of cosmopolitan reactionaries out there: I’m probably one, maybe you are, too. For one thing, many conservatives rightly argue that visiting non-western countries brings home how unique our own society and culture is, how unlike the rest of the world. It also illustrates how fragile our own inheritance is.

Although Sri Lanka was filled with gorgeous scenery and wildlife, none of this would make for an enjoyable experience were it not for the immense kindness of the people, gentle, civilised and welcoming.