It’s a very interesting article and I do agree with some of it, but this part I would push back on:
>*Périphéria* is not only the soul of people, it also represents the future, at a time when the *Metropolia* model, based on finance and globalisation, is becoming fragile. In the new multipolar world, the countries that matter are those that have been able to preserve and develop an industrial base in *Périphéria*. *Périphéria* is the world of producers, the world of power.
I don’t agree with this when it comes to Western Europe. Rural areas and small towns are [dying out](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/08/25/what-depopulation-looks-like-my-home-town-warning-west/). They largely do not accept immigration, but just like the rest of the country, they have low fertility rates. Due to Boomers, they have immense political power, and in countries like the UK, they’re revolting by voting for Brexit and Nigel Farage, but that won’t last.
Then, you’ve got countries like Australia. The Liberals effectively attacked cities and the public sector and lost. Why? Because 60% of Australia lives in its 5 biggest cities. Plus, due to compulsory voting, there were enough Gen Z and Millennials to overpower Boomers (who are electorally far more important in other Anglosphere countries) which helped Labor win a second term.
Of course, there is rising right-wing populism among young people in countries like Sweden, Germany, France, etc. Conversely, there is also rising left-wing populism among young people in countries like France, the UK, Ireland etc.
Unless the Boomers really do elect proper fascist governments and remove all the ethnic minorities, diverse Gen Z and Millennials who are far more likely to live in “*Metropolia*” are the future. They’re just electorally irrelevant (unless you have compulsory voting and you’re an incredibly urbanised country like Australia)
Of course, this depends on the country, but I’m thinking from the perspective of the UK, and I know NFP was the most popular party among young people in France in their last legislative elections, but RN were second most popular.
>The return to *Périphéria* isn’t a choice, but a necessity. An opportunity to close the Thatcherist chapter of “there is no such thing as society” and to leave behind the neoliberal barbarism embodied in *Metropolia* – striving towards popular demand, towards civilisation.
I would say parties like Reform UK and AfD as well as Bardella’s rule over RN (if he takes over) would still implement Thatcherite policies. Alice Weidel says Thatcher is her idol.
>*Périphéria*’s social and cultural opposition is indestructible, no power can stop a long-term existential movement; a movement which is not borne from sadness, but from reason, and the dignity of ordinary life.
Well, I think their collapsing populations will destroy that.
hibikir_40k on
Calling good old St Chuck a small town in the heart of the midwest is to be so detached from the facts I wonder about the rest of the [piece.In](http://piece.In) the real it’s just a suburb of St Louis, filled in by white flight, but still voting for more democrats than 10 years ago, as people keep going towards the outer rings for cheap-ish homes with “good schools” (ie, where poor black people just don’t live). You might as well then tell me that St Peters and Wentzville are other small towns, distinguishable only from a political map, because if you look at a satellite image, it’s all a big blob.
They might as well tell us about the small town feel of Burbank, CA, and how different it is from the big metropolis of Los Angeles.
FrostyArctic47 on
It’s an interesting piece but I can’t help but think we should focus on the US. We’re about to see conflict and strife, unlike ever before
3 Comments
It’s a very interesting article and I do agree with some of it, but this part I would push back on:
>*Périphéria* is not only the soul of people, it also represents the future, at a time when the *Metropolia* model, based on finance and globalisation, is becoming fragile. In the new multipolar world, the countries that matter are those that have been able to preserve and develop an industrial base in *Périphéria*. *Périphéria* is the world of producers, the world of power.
I don’t agree with this when it comes to Western Europe. Rural areas and small towns are [dying out](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/08/25/what-depopulation-looks-like-my-home-town-warning-west/). They largely do not accept immigration, but just like the rest of the country, they have low fertility rates. Due to Boomers, they have immense political power, and in countries like the UK, they’re revolting by voting for Brexit and Nigel Farage, but that won’t last.
Then, you’ve got countries like Australia. The Liberals effectively attacked cities and the public sector and lost. Why? Because 60% of Australia lives in its 5 biggest cities. Plus, due to compulsory voting, there were enough Gen Z and Millennials to overpower Boomers (who are electorally far more important in other Anglosphere countries) which helped Labor win a second term.
Of course, there is rising right-wing populism among young people in countries like Sweden, Germany, France, etc. Conversely, there is also rising left-wing populism among young people in countries like France, the UK, Ireland etc.
Unless the Boomers really do elect proper fascist governments and remove all the ethnic minorities, diverse Gen Z and Millennials who are far more likely to live in “*Metropolia*” are the future. They’re just electorally irrelevant (unless you have compulsory voting and you’re an incredibly urbanised country like Australia)
Of course, this depends on the country, but I’m thinking from the perspective of the UK, and I know NFP was the most popular party among young people in France in their last legislative elections, but RN were second most popular.
>The return to *Périphéria* isn’t a choice, but a necessity. An opportunity to close the Thatcherist chapter of “there is no such thing as society” and to leave behind the neoliberal barbarism embodied in *Metropolia* – striving towards popular demand, towards civilisation.
I would say parties like Reform UK and AfD as well as Bardella’s rule over RN (if he takes over) would still implement Thatcherite policies. Alice Weidel says Thatcher is her idol.
>*Périphéria*’s social and cultural opposition is indestructible, no power can stop a long-term existential movement; a movement which is not borne from sadness, but from reason, and the dignity of ordinary life.
Well, I think their collapsing populations will destroy that.
Calling good old St Chuck a small town in the heart of the midwest is to be so detached from the facts I wonder about the rest of the [piece.In](http://piece.In) the real it’s just a suburb of St Louis, filled in by white flight, but still voting for more democrats than 10 years ago, as people keep going towards the outer rings for cheap-ish homes with “good schools” (ie, where poor black people just don’t live). You might as well then tell me that St Peters and Wentzville are other small towns, distinguishable only from a political map, because if you look at a satellite image, it’s all a big blob.
They might as well tell us about the small town feel of Burbank, CA, and how different it is from the big metropolis of Los Angeles.
It’s an interesting piece but I can’t help but think we should focus on the US. We’re about to see conflict and strife, unlike ever before