Thomas Carlyle is not, at least as far as I have seen, a figure that the modern right usually looks to as a guide for revitalization of society. The example of Rod Dreher’s Benedict Option and its derivatives are more typical examples of this, but Carlyle interesting has insights on the topic of strong societal leadership which serve as inspiration for those seeking to build strong, healthy communities away from the cultural chokehold of the left. New Founding, a venture capital entity founded by Nate Fischer, has cultivated those ideas especially in its newest endeavor: the Highland Rim Project.
Thomas Carlyle, born in 1795, was a Scottish essayist, historian, and general man of letters. As a historian, Carlyle has often frustrated modern academics for his distinctly hagiographical, “hero-worship” approach to the subject, emphasizing history more as great events wrought by great men than as a timeline of cold facts moved along by ideologies.
Congruent with his notions of historical hero-worship are his strong opinions about what kind of men should lead society: competent, great-spirited men who do not merely look to empty profit but who build community and industry with a care to the well-being of those they guide.
In April of 1843, Carlyle published Past and Present, a work of historical analysis and social criticism. It is worth looking at for guidance on what Carlyle thinks community can be. Carlyle, disgusted with the abuses of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, criticizes the weak leadership of the nation and the failure of the aristocracy to properly nourish and lead as they are called to do. He also expresses disdain for the vapid businessmen who esteem money above all else and disregard genuine prosperity for their people and their country. He contrasts this with the strong spiritual and temporal leadership of the Abbot Samson in the then-recently published medieval account Chronicle of the Abbey at St. Edmund’s Bury. Samson had set himself apart, not by any great feats, but in that he had walked a prudent middle way, refusing to intentionally draw attention to himself and eschewing the flattery of men. For this he was elected Abbot. Carlyle, though he sometimes belittles the monks in the Chronicle as superstitious due to their medieval sensibilities, praises those among the monks who display magnanimous, industrious leadership.
Carlyle, a Calvinist and strong believer in the “protestant work ethic,” praises “the way labor is honorable, that labor alone is honorable” in a letter to James Garth Marshall, a Liberal Party politician and son of an industrialist. He does not reject the industry of men and believes work is important in the cultivation of virtue. It is little wonder that he admires the Benedictine monks in the chronicle, given their focus on a complementary relationship between prayer and work. He contrasts this with the growing obsession with money that came with the industrial revolution in his time, which he detests as “midas-eared mammonism.”
Though socialist thinkers, including Engels, have tried to claim him as a fellow traveler because of his social criticisms of the obsession with capital in industrialism, Carlyle held onto the concept of hierarchy, believing in an “Aristocracy of Talent” which should guide the building up of communities. These are men who are neither money-grubbing tycoons nor an idle, noble peerage who have vacated their traditional duties towards those under them. Instead he extols “captains of industry” who cultivate this Aristocracy of Talent. He wrote about the neglect of responsibility he saw not only in higher classes but also in the working people who put their faith in “quacks” in industrial England. He believed that the people themselves must cultivate virtue so that they may recognize it in those who would presume to lead, rather than idolizing frauds and tyrants.
America does not have even a diminished aristocracy of the blood as does Great Britain. There are different demographics put forward as candidates for an informal elite class: college degree holders, the wealthy, or some combination of the two. In our time, the people who are closest to being nobles are those who cultivate a truly aristocratic spirit, one of bold leadership, personal virtue, and competence which inspires others.
Perhaps it is too much to hope that conservative venture capitalists could serve such an example to the future communities. But New Founding, a venture capital firm opposed to DEI/ESG and other woke policies, has, through its talent network, made efforts to promote and fund the work of politically aligned Americans as well as provide an outlet for such people to find talented employees. Whether this is conscious or not, its leadership seems interested in promoting the success of competent and spirited individuals who wish to guide others and put in the work of reinvigorating American Society.
The Highland Rim Project is an explicit example of this. On January 1st, 2024, Joshua Abbotoy, a managing partner at New Founding, formally announced the project, a real estate development building aligned communities in Appalachia. The project will see development in the eastern Highland Rim region of Kentucky and Tennessee.
Per New Founding’s website, the project is “in partnership with business owners, pastors and other community leaders,” and is “investing to build thick communities that are conducive to a natural, human and uniquely American way of life.” Abbotoy has stated that the community will be led by “mostly Protestant Christians.” It is not unreasonable to wonder if this explicitly forms how Abbotoy seeks to run and influence the community. On his X account, he has regularly mused on the history and traditions of Evangelical Christians, including the unique development of hymn-singing in Appalachian congregations. Whether the project will become some sort of “Protestant Benedict Option” remains to be seen. Such endeavors already do exist, as seen in Rod Dreher’s own work, but a project of that sort with backing from a venture capital entity is pretty novel. Any kind of Benedict Option community has, until now, been almost entirely grassroots.
New Founding is making the land of the development available through an LLC called Kentucky Ridgerunner, of which Abbotoy and his father are partners. A number of buyers have already materialized, indicating that there is an interest in moving to this sort of community.
As of February 2024, there has been development of a new middle school and renovation of an old elementary school in the area.
Is this an aristocracy of talent? It seems they have the drive and the competence. If Joshua Abbotoy wishes to find success with the Highland Rim Project, it would behoove him to always serve as a strong example to those he directs and leads. Evidently, he already has people willing to move to the area, seeking the kind of leadership Carlyle envisioned. New Founding, as well as any group, through its different projects could serve to build up an aristocracy of talent. Venture Capital has sometimes been viewed skeptically: however, if New Founding’s leaders wish to pursue these ideals, there is no reason they can’t be successful. These captains of industry who, as conservatives, are more likely to believe in the concept of traditional virtuous leadership can serve to build up businesses and communities which can move Americans toward a renewal of real society.
