V. S. Naipaul and the American Right
VS Naipaul’s career developed at a time when Western reactionary intellectuals could still be formidable, dynamic, and unpredictable.
V.S. Naipaul, seen here in 1968, once told NPR, “It’s important to avoid the wallow. It repels the reader.”John Minihan/Evening Standard/Getty Images
I’ve often wondered why the American right has been so quiet about V. S. Naipaul. He’s easily the most talented reactionary writer in the English language — maybe the only living talent left in the right-wing zombiesphere. The American right devotes an insane amount of resources into manufacturing hagiographies on anyone whom they believe makes them look good — even the Soviets couldn’t compete with them when it comes to glorifying their pantheon of degenerate cretins like Ayn Rand, Phyllis Schlafly, and Friedrich von Hayek.
But I found a few passages that I think explain why they never liked Naipaul much. Basically, it comes down to this: The American right only needs “team players” — shameless, cynical hacks who can be counted on to churn out whatever rank propaganda ordered up by the Heritage Foundation. For that, you need a Rotary Club nihilist like Dinesh D’Souza, someone totally devoid of a literary ego, intellectual curiosity, or a gag reflex.
I was just reading Patrick French’s brilliant biography of Naipaul, The World Is What It Is, and came across this interesting scene from Naipaul’s visit to America in 1969. Naipaul had already started developing a reputation at that point as one of the rare examples of a dark-skinned reactionary Tory from a Third World colony, making him one of the most despised literary figures among the trendy-left.
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