The Hidden Costs of a World Without Anything Worth Fighting For | Rusty Reno

American Thought Leaders · Sep 11, 2026 · 1h 11m

Rusty Reno is the editor-in-chief of First Things Magazine and author of “Return of the Strong Gods: Nationalism, Populism, and the Future of the West.”

In his book, Reno argues that after the World Wars, Western intellectual elites concluded that the “strong gods”—nationalism and intense ideological loyalty, to name a few—were the root causes of violence. In response, figures like Karl Popper promoted an “open society” framework, aimed at diluting strong loyalties.

Decades later, Reno argues, we live in an age when the frameworks that gave human beings stability, purpose, and a sense of…