Demography also comes down to the mind

Thirteen years of right-wing government have not changed the leftist-liberal hegemony of the consciousness industry.

Fotó: Mirkó István

Demography is an increasingly frequent topic at conferences of the European right, with at least as much weight as migration or the rise of the woke movement. It is right that we report on Hungarian successes, that we inspire others, and it is also right that we highlight in the domestic media the successes achieved at enormous cost and against enormous media backlash. But let us be realistic: every demographic policy has two pillars, while ours has only one. This pillar, which is a financial one, can be washed away by an economic downturn or a change of government, because the survival of the nation is not a national minimum in Hungary. But demography is also a matter of the mind, with cultural context and trends having more influence than material factors.

Thirteen years of right-wing government have not even managed to crack the liberal hegemony of the consciousness industry, let alone offer young people an attractive intellectual alternative. This is not about holding anyone accountable, because we know how difficult it is. We have achieved so much in the culture wars that Hungarian radio stations are now playing songs that are at least not hostile, they are not about people being depressed, with the singer being misunderstood even by her hamster. This is an important milestone we have reached in thirteen years. But to produce works that captivate the viewer, that make a young person feel that it is cool to be Hungarian is a different thing entirely. The Irish have created a high-budget film epic about Michael Collins that millions have identified with, the Poles about the Battle of Warsaw, the Russians have created the iconic figure of Danila Bagrov, and today the young men who grew up on Balabanov's films are defying the united Western forces on the front line in Luhansk. What have we done in this respect? We made a pathetic animation of the middle age battle of Bratislava. 

The intellectual pillar of the Hungarian demographic rebirth is missing, and I do not say this at any international event. Not a single work has been produced since the change of regime with which we can identify, which gives us strength and faith. There are no patterns, there are no men, there are liberal-leaning kids constantly playing with their phones, whose creativity stops at wearing their baseball caps backwards. Despite appearances, these are very real factors in a demographic process - to deny this is to deny the importance of the spiritual dimension of our lives.

Of course, there is an explanation: en bloc, this is the Hungarian art world, Comrade Aczel bought them by the kilo, and these are their children. The director with nationalist sentiments is like a white raven, our writers are dissecting their own wretched, wounded little souls with a cultural Marxist spin and a lot of self-hatred. It's all true. And yet: without art, i.e. without powerful symbols and behavioral patterns, there is no identity, and a weak Hungarian identity will not become a growing, strengthening nation.

The government's directive is right: it is the Hungarian government's job to help young people so that there are no financial obstacles to having the children they want. I would add quietly: for centuries, there have generally been financial obstacles to having children, and there has generally been no government support. Now there is. What more do we need? The rule of law?

The author is the foreign affairs coordinator at the Center for Fundamental Rights

Cover photo: an event for families with children (Photo: Istvan Mirko)