The far-right’s war on creativity

Unlike traditional conservatism, which aims to preserve values while leaving room for dialogue, the far-right adopts a rigid, uncompromising stance that inherently resists new ideas and change. This rigidity not only stifles social progress but also suffocates creativity, which requires freedom and flexibility to thrive. Creativity demands exploration of the unknown, the pursuit of the new, and a willingness to question the status quo. It tends to flourish in environments where the mind is open to unexplored possibilities, where curiosity and the drive to experiment are encouraged. However, to the far-right mindset, these characteristics are seen as threats to stability and order, preferring the security of familiar and proven ideas. But that’s just the beginning.

Why the shift to the right?

Let’s start from the top. With the growing dominance of far-right thinking on the global stage—especially in times of financial uncertainty—people seem to be seeking refuge in the guarantees that this movement promises. When money and jobs are scarce, people tend to become more rigid and self-centered, trying to protect what they have and avoiding any kind of risk, including the risk of change. I attribute this phenomenon to the 2008 financial crisis, but that’s another story. This rigid mindset doesn’t just affect economics, it spills into all areas of human life, including the sacrifice of creativity in the name of security.

By clinging to rigid moral concepts and beliefs, the far-right sees the world in black and white. “I’m right, and the other is wrong. Period.” They even love the word “period,” especially when offering a shallow analysis of complex issues. What far-right extremists don’t realize is that being “right” is just an illusion.

This moral and ideological rigidity inevitably affects professional behavior and decision-making in creative fields. When we talk about morality, we’re referring to the core concepts and beliefs that shape our worldview—what we consider right and wrong—which are fundamental to our psychological balance and even our societal framework. Far-right extremists refuse to question their beliefs for the greater good because doing so would be seen as betrayal to their worldview. And it’s not just about disagreement—those who don’t align with their ideas need to be erased, eliminated, wiped off the map. To understand this behavior better, let’s consider it from an evolutionary perspective.

Darwin speaks

From an evolutionary standpoint, extremist behavior reflects survival strategies that our species developed over millennia. The survival of any species is directly tied to the tools it creates to protect itself from the unknown, and one of the main tools is caution in the face of new things. In the animal kingdom, when encountering something unfamiliar, the default response is alertness and defense—very close to fear. The new, by default, represents a potential threat to a group’s physical integrity or status quo. Naturally, humans tend to react cautiously to the unfamiliar, at least at first.

However, humanity has only managed to prosper and evolve because we learned to interpret this response more sophisticatedly. We discovered that, in many cases, we not only need to accept the new, but we must provoke and promote change. Human social evolution has also given us the ability to interact in large groups through civility, learning to recognize and embrace differences. This is a fundamental advancement that allowed the formation of complex and collaborative societies.

Far-right individuals, however, choose to abandon this evolutionary advantage and regress to irrational behavior, much like our distant ancestors who lived in small groups and saw any other group as the enemy simply for being different. Rejecting civility and mutual understanding, far-right extremists repeat this primitive logic, fighting in a tribal and savage manner against those who don’t share their beliefs or origins, refusing to acknowledge the benefits of peaceful and cooperative coexistence. This backward step not only sabotages civilization’s progress but also disregards the evolutionary tools that allow us to think freely and creatively—essential for innovation and improving quality of life for everyone.

Creativity and morality are connected

But is it possible to separate someone’s moral beliefs from their professional ones to the point that there’s no mutual influence? No, it’s not. If the core logic driving a person’s life is to avoid change, this mindset—whether consciously or not—will influence all their thoughts and actions. Whether they like it or not, whether they realize it or not.

Let’s be fair, though. A person can be sexist, racist, homophobic, nationalist, climate-change skeptic, a defender of the so-called traditional family, and still have good ideas. Of course, they can. Creativity is an innate human trait—even in those intolerant and lacking empathy. But they will never reach their full creative potential. A repressed and repressive mind will make sure of that.

Ideas? only if they don’t bother me

Right-wing extremists often come into conflict over issues that challenge their worldview, such as LGBTQ+ rights, immigration, multiculturalism, vaccines, climate change, and racial and gender equality. These battles stem from an attempt to preserve some supposed cultural, national, and social purity they believe is under threat. And they don’t treat it as a mere dispute—they see it as war. This bellicosity is most intense in the arts. And it’s easy to see why.

Art, by its very nature, is subversive. It questions, provokes, and often destabilizes existing values and norms. Art is where freedom of thought and diversity of perspectives flourish, and its ability to deconstruct established narratives and create new ways of seeing the world is seen as a direct threat to the ideological control the far-right seeks to impose.

When a work of art criticizes, ridicules, or simply offers an alternative worldview, it exposes the flaws in rigid conservative ideologies. That’s why authoritarian regimes and extremist movements throughout history have repressed art and culture that challenges their values. Art’s power to generate reflection and questioning can destabilize the ideological foundations these movements defend, revealing that the world is far more complex, fluid, and diverse than far-right extremists are willing to accept.

Freedom, freedom

Freedom of expression is one of the fundamental pillars of creativity, as it allows new ideas to emerge and be openly discussed. However, the far-right often distorts this concept, equating freedom of opinion with the spread of lies, defamation, and the intentional destruction of reputations. This deliberate confusion between freedom of expression and the freedom to attack leads to falsehoods, slander, and personal attacks being justified as “just opinions.”

But they get so much engagement…

Yes, they do. What happens, however, is that the success of far-right actions is often tied to a lack of morality and ethics, a willingness to break the rules in harmful ways, using aggression and violence. That’s easy. Even I could do it. Offending is easy—and effective. According to the study “A Multi-Platform Investigation of Hate Speech Dissemination across the Online Social Ecosystem” by Founta et al. (2018), polarizing content, such as hate speech, generates more engagement in terms of shares, comments, and emotional reactions on social media. This happens because such content captures users’ attention and encourages quick, emotional responses, increasing its reach and visibility.

We can’t deny that fake news is, in a way, creative—it distorts reality in clever ways, turning well-crafted fiction into tools of manipulation. But let’s not forget that the creative minds behind extremist movements use these tools without any guilt or conscience. After all, the civilizational progress of humanity is an abstraction they either don’t understand or simply don’t care about.

We should also recognize that many people jumped on this bandwagon out of opportunism, not ideological conviction. And believe me, criminals are often the most creative individuals out there. Regardless of ideology, some people or groups always find ways to break the rules. And they often succeed. After all, those who don’t follow the rules are usually at an advantage.

Repression san also inspire creativity

There’s an interesting paradox here: a lack of freedom of expression—so essential to democracy—can also stimulate creativity. In Brazil, during the military dictatorship, many artists created masterpieces filled with metaphors and symbols to circumvent censorship. The song “Cálice,” a collaboration between Chico Buarque and Gilberto Gil, is a striking example. The need to avoid repression forced artists from various fields to become even more inventive in their creations, exploring subtle and creative ways to criticize the regime. So, although repressive control limits expression, it can also fuel deeper, more complex artistic forms, as creators are driven to find new ways to communicate their messages without being directly censored.

Mona Lisa’s smile

Yes, the fight against censorship and repression can, in some cases, inspire creativity by forcing artists and thinkers to find ingenious ways to bypass oppression. But it is in periods of freedom and support for new ideas that creativity truly thrives. A striking example is the Renaissance, one of the most prolific periods in human history when the wind blew in favor of art, science, and innovation.

In this context of intellectual freedom and cultural patronage, figures like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Galileo Galilei were able to develop their ideas and creations without the shackles of political or ideological repression. The support of patrons and a society open to new discoveries led to an explosion of creativity, showing that when there’s room for experimentation and the valorization of critical thinking, innovation emerges in abundance and transformative ways.

Surrounded by enemies

Far-right extremists are quite democratic when it comes to spreading their frustration across various fields of human endeavor. Coincidentally or not, their venom is often directed at sectors tied to intelligence and creativity.

Science and academic research: Far-right extremism often rejects scientific evidence that contradicts its worldview, which can deeply affect the production and acceptance of scientific knowledge—knowledge that is inherently linked to creative thinking, as new ideas are its main source of nourishment.

Technology and innovation: Technological innovation relies on the freedom to experiment and fail, to question and challenge the status quo. Historically, however, authoritarian far-right regimes have stifled creativity in fields like technological development, censoring divergent ideas and slowing down crucial innovations for progress. They defend traditional industries, like fossil fuels, instead of supporting technological innovation focused on sustainability.

Brain drain: Under far-right regimes, scientists and intellectuals are often persecuted or forced to emigrate, depriving the country of great minds that could have driven all kinds of innovation—technological, social, educational, and more.

Education and creativity: Far-right extremism can have a significant impact on the educational system by imposing a narrow worldview. In many cases, there are efforts to remove or revise content from textbooks that address topics like gender diversity, multiculturalism, colonial history, or human rights. This limits access to critical thinking, which is crucial for students’ creative development.

Media and culture: Far-right extremism frequently attacks press freedom and cultural diversity. Censorship and narrative control in the media are common practices in authoritarian regimes. This directly affects creativity in cultural industries like cinema, music, and literature, which rely on freedom of expression and diverse ideas.

Social exclusion: Far-right extremism tends to promote the exclusion of minorities and reject cultural diversity, which is a rich source of creative inspiration. The presence of different cultures, ethnicities, and worldviews enriches society and provides new forms of art, science, and creative thought.

Security and comfort

But not everything is negative in the far-right narrative. The existence of a rigid worldview offers a level of stability that can, at times, be useful. We all need—extremists, moderates, and progressives alike—solid, consistent belief systems to support our lives.

In a world where changes happen faster and more unpredictably, this fierce resistance can also serve as a stabilizing point, offering mental security and comfort in the midst of apparent chaos.

The human brain wasn’t designed to handle constant and rapid change effectively. To feel confident and comfortable, it needs patterns, certainty, stability, and time to process new information. The transfer of information from short-term memory to long-term memory, or permanent memory, requires a specific amount of time. In a fast-changing environment, information doesn’t have enough time to complete this process. Before the brain can fully assimilate one piece of information, a new one emerges to challenge it, interrupting the necessary process of consolidation. This mental juggling naturally generates uncertainty, insecurity, and anxiety, and the brain reacts with apprehension, discomfort, and fear—emotions that, ironically, are linked to creativity, though most people desperately try to avoid confronting them.

So, since the human brain seeks patterns and certainty to feel secure, far-right ideology may, in some ways, satisfy that need. Let’s explore how.

The far-right as a wake-up call

The truth is that the far-right resists change because it has less emotional tolerance for the discomfort that change brings, in a clearly childish reaction to life’s challenges. However, despite this apparent cowardice in avoiding the challenges inherent to existence, despite their lack of empathy and disregard for the harm they cause to societal evolution, far-right extremists may actually be playing a crucial role in maintaining social balance—especially by waking society up to debates that might otherwise fall into complacency.

Without opposition, any idea or movement tends to become complacent, losing the vigor needed to strengthen its arguments and improve. The far-right has effectively prompted the strengthening of progressive ideas, forcing society to reevaluate and improve its positions. This provocative role, although often destructive and aggressive, can paradoxically serve as a catalyst for societal improvement as it seeks to overcome the obstacles imposed by this kind of mindset.

When there’s no resistance, the evolution of thought becomes slow, lazy, and uninterested in self-improvement. In the same way, creativity needs to be challenged, provoked, and pushed to reach higher levels. The clash of ideas and the tension between opposing worldviews can serve as stimuli for new ways of thinking and creating, pushing society toward innovation and transformation. It’s a cyclical movement in human history—sometimes we take a step back, only to move two steps forward.

Evidence

Empirical evidence suggests that far-right ideologies, through mechanisms like censorship, repression, the promotion of cultural homogeneity, and restrictions on freedom of expression, can have a significant negative impact on creativity and innovation. Eberhardt et al. (2019) concluded that the lack of freedom of expression and the imposition of rigid norms stifle both innovation and creative expression. Additionally, studies by the Pew Research Center (2021) and UNESCO (2018) reinforce the importance of diversity and freedom of thought in fostering creative and innovative environments.

Extremely unfair

Before wrapping up this article, though, I must confess that I’ve used the far-right as a scapegoat to discuss creativity’s challenges. But the truth is that any extremist ideology—whether from the right or left, religious or geopolitical, even soccer fan clubs—shares these same stifling, retrograde traits. Any movement that clings to rigid, inflexible views and rejects opposing opinions in the name of some absolute truth tends to stifle creativity.

In conclusion, the entire civilizational movement of the world, ever since we climbed down from the trees, has been based on some people’s ability to think differently in the pursuit of improving our quality of life. Most of them took a beating for confronting the dominant thinking, but their ideas eventually prevailed. In other words, extremism always loses in the end.

References

• Founta, A., et al. (2018). “A Multi-Platform Investigation of Hate Speech Dissemination across the Online Social Ecosystem.” Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 2(CSCW), 1-19.
• Eberhardt, P., et al. (2019). “The Impact of Authoritarianism on Creativity.” Journal of Political Psychology.
• Pew Research Center. (2021). “Creativity and Freedom: How Political Freedom Influences Creative Output.”
• UNESCO. (2018). “Cultural Censorship and Artistic Freedom.”