Introduction
THE WAY OF MEN is a 192-page book by Jack Donovan to answer the question “What is masculinity?” and “What is the way of men?”.
I will go through each chapter within this book to give you the big picture of each chapter. This doesn’t mean that it won’t be worth reading yourself, as Donovan has a way of dropping a lot of truth bombs in a sentence or two only to move on from it, and going through and examining each one will make this post longer than it already is.
Now if you’d like to purchase his book and read it yourself you can buy it on Amazon by clicking right (no this isn’t an affiliate link and I’m not being paid to write this) here.
Mr. Donovan is a very interesting fellow, therefore in the next section I will give you a quick introduction to the man himself.
About the Author
Jack Donovan is a writer, he’s best known for his writings on topics about masculinity and his website jack-donovan.com. He’s also the host of the podcast Start The World which you can watch by clicking here.
Richard Spencer once said this about Jack Donovan
” While others in the “Man-centric” blogosphere prefer to critique crazy feminists or theorize about the best way to pick up unstable women at bars, Jack Donovan has taken up the more important, anthropological task of asking who “the Man” really is.”
Richard Spencer
Anyone who has received praise from Richard Spencer is someone you know will be very controversial and yes, this book does deliver in that but not for the sake of being politically incorrect. You’ll notice he has thought through and researched many of the points he’s making and he’s very good at being descriptive without wasting your time. He has a point to prove and he’ll do so in the way he sees fit.
After that brief introduction let’s now get into the book THE WAY OF MEN.
THE WAY OF MEN IS THE WAY OF THE GANG
“A man is not merely a man but a man among men, in a world of men.”
Donovan, Jack, THE WAY OF MEN, Dissonant Hum, April 10, 2012
We start off with an understanding that “masculinity is about what men want from each other” and that is because we must work together as a group to gain certain things.
To be in this group you must act a certain way. Let’s say that we’re living in a time in history when food is scarce, we would heavily discourage people to overeat and people that don’t work for their food.
Within groups, we make two categories Male and Female. If you are going to have the privileges of being a male you must act a certain way to be considered a male. this way is the way of the gang.
THE PERIMETER
Men are the ones that will set the perimeter of their territory. This is because women are the ones that will get pregnant, once they are pregnant the group that they are a part of will want them to be focusing on raising the children rather than out hunting and fishing or fighting with other groups.
In other words, it’s more efficient for the group to have the mothers focus on raising and bonding with the kids rather than the men who don’t have the body type to get pregnant.
Men will choose to organize their groups by what is efficient, especially when it comes to if they live or die. If food is scarce for example, you don’t want anything in your hunting group to interfere with hunting because that is a waste of resources.
THE PARTY-GANG
Donovan continues this thought in the next section of this chapter. He asks what is the most efficient group size for men to operate.
He suggests that the most efficient group size for men to operate in is what he says is the size of the “gang”. Gang sizes are groups of 2 to 15, the smaller the size of the gang the more loyal they are to each other.
The next question he answers is that gangs can cooperate with other gangs and this can form a tribe. He claims that the most optimal tribe size is 100-150 men. everything outside of the immediate 100-150 number tribe starts to become a ” them” rather than “us” mentality.
DRAWING THE PERIMETER
Once he’s established what the ideal group size is, he goes on to finish answering questions about how we might go about DRAWING THE PERIMETER.
The perimeter is what you can see and the people you can trust, everything else is the “them”. This is further reinforced when you are competing for resources. on page 14 he says “It has always been the job of men to draw the perimeter, to establish a safe space, to separate us from them and create a circle of trust.”
He uses the example of the old American West when settlers were going westward fighting against the elements and the Native Americans. They had to know who to trust and who was their enemy otherwise they would have died.
A ROLE APART
Men value and respect other men based on their roles and their ability at performing that role.
On page 15 he writes “Men who are good at this job – men who are good at being men – will earn the respect and trust of the group”
Men will naturally look for the virtues of what makes a great man in other men. What are these virtues that we look for in other men? This will be answered in the next chapter.
THE TACTICAL VIRTUES
There are four Virtues that every man must possess to be seen by other men as being good at being a man. They are Strength, Courage, Mastery, and Honor.
These virtues will make you valuable to other men. This is because when things get really bad. They will see you as someone they can trust and that you will have their backs.
Men within groups will try and test you to see if you possess these virtues. This is what competition within a group is all about. Those who are at the top will possess these virtues more so when compared to everyone else. Competition acts as a filter for who can be the alpha within a gang.
STRENGTH
“Without strength, masculinity becomes something else – a different concept” pg 25
Strength is foundational to the virtues a man must possess. Getting stronger means the ability to do what you want, to have freedom.
With this freedom, you’ll be able to exercise the remaining three virtues. If you’re weak you can’t be courageous, you’ll have mastery over nothing and you are unable to possess a sense of honor. Weakness makes you vulnerable and by extension makes your tribe vulnerable.
This means the stronger you are, the more valuable you are to other males, and the more valuable you are, means the better you are at being a man. Strength is essential to the male experience.
COURAGE
Donovan on page 41 defines courage as follows ” Courage is the will to risk harm in order to benefit oneself or others. In its most basic amoral form, courage is a willingness or passionate desire to fight or hold ground at any cost (gameness, heart, spirit, thumos). In its most developed, civilized and moral form courage is the considered and decisive willingness to risk harm to ensure the success or survival of a group or another person (courage, virtus, andreia).”
With this definition of courage, you can see why any group of men would want every member to have courage. If you’re not brave enough to defend the group then you don’t really have a group.
Even on the individual level if you don’t have the courage to progress in life then you will hold yourself back.
MASTERY
“Mastery is a man’s desire and ability to cultivate and demonstrate proficiency and expertise in technics that aid in the exertion of will over himself, over nature, over women, and over other men.” page 48
Donovan, Jack, THE WAY OF MEN, Dissonant Hum, April 10, 2012
The ability to develop skills and technology to gain mastery of the world (himself, nature, and other people) is a human virtue according to Donovan. He compares it to having the ability of “carrying one’s weight” in a group. If you haven’t mastered a skill then you can’t bring value to the group, if you can’t bring value back to the group in exchange for the benefits of being in the group, then why should you be a part of the group?
Having the virtue of mastery also enables you to be less dependent on other people. This is because the more mastery you have over an area means the less dependent you are on someone else in that area that you have now mastered.
HONOR
Honor as Donovan defines it is ” concern for one’s reputation for strength, courage and mastery within the context of an honor group” on page 57. This concern that honor brings is what can help develop reverence and respect for both the members and the rules that make up the group.
Without this basic sense of respect and honor then your group is undefinable. It’s also worth pointing out that honor is also meaningless if it’s not hierarchical. Otherwise, you won’t be able to decipher what is deserving of more or less honor.
UNDERSTANDING DISHONOR
Now Donovan talks about the opposite of honor which is dishonor. If you do not have any honor for yourself or the group of people you’re with then you can’t be trusted.
If you have no reverence for the group and are just there for the benefits it provides then once things get tough you will leave without defending your brothers.
On the other hand, if no one honors you, it means that you are deficient in masculinity. Donovan says ” Deficient masculinity is simply a lack of strength, courage or mastery.” when comparing this to what he says about strength being the foundational virtue. This makes honor the virtue that you receive after you’ve got the other three.
FLAMBOYANT DISHONOR
” Flamboyant dishonor is an openly expressed lack of concern for one’s reputation for strength, courage and mastery withing the context of an honor group comprised primarily of other men.” pg 60
Donovan, Jack, THE WAY OF MEN, Dissonant Hum, April 10, 2012
Flamboyancy isn’t something that male groups should strive for. It can even lead a man and his comrades into danger.
For example, if you don’t worry about your strength then you will leave yourself vulnerable to being taken advantage of by other men.
Flamboyancy can also be seen as being overly submissive. In a gang context, you can see how this will leave you and your group easily crushed by another group because there is a lack of willingness to stand up for yourselves.
ON BEING A GOOD MAN
” There is a difference between being a good man and being good at being a man… Being a good man has to do with ideas about morality, ethics, religion, and behaving productitvely within a given civilizational structure.” pg 78.
Donovan, Jack, THE WAY OF MEN, Dissonant Hum, April 10, 2012
There are many ways that one can be a good man depending on his culture. If you live in a Christian culture then you’ll have Christian ideas of what a good man is. Being a good man is a statement of someone’s morality.
Being good at being a man is another thing entirely. Donovan says on page 79 that ” Being good at being a man is about being willing and able to fulfill the natural role of men in a survival scenario.”
Being good at being a man means that you must possess the virtues we discussed earlier. Being strong, having mastery over something, having a sense of honor, and being courageous will make you good at being good at being a man.
THUG LIFE THE STORY OF ROME
” The story of Rome is the story of men and civilization.” pg 92.
Donovan, Jack, THE WAY OF MEN, Dissonant Hum, April 10, 2012
Within this chapter, Donovan tells us the history and mythological founding of Rome. Which is the story of two brothers, Remus, and Romulus. They were two orphaned brothers who were raised in the countryside by as the story goes, a wolf.
This Rough living made them strong and wild but virile and masculine. As they got older they formed a “gang” to conquer and establish the city of Rome.
This story is an eternal masculine truth even if it’s a myth. It’s interesting to note that even within our myths and legends we are given these examples of how to be a man, through struggle.
A CHECK ON CIVILIZATION
Men have evolved to exist in primitive society and not in modern “civilized” society.
” As opputonities for men to do what they evolved to do decrease, greater emphasis is placed on simulated, vicarious, and intellectualiezed channels of masculinity to maintain order and cultural unity” pg 100
Donovan, Jack, THE WAY OF MEN, Dissonant Hum, April 10, 2012
Within this “civilized” society it has found ways to simulate masculinity through sports, politics, and economics to keep the “dangerous” males that threaten the current system in a more relaxed state rather than becoming more like their ancestors to a more primitive and masculine state.
This is because men are an inherent “threat” to any society because the “gang” will start its own society to compete within the one it’s in.
Within male societies, there are four main ways men interact in “gang” activities.
One is through the simulation of masculinity, this will be through sports and the military/police.
Two, vicarious masculinity which means it’s done through watching and reading about the men who participated in masculine activities.
The Third would be by participating in intellectualized masculinity. This is masculinity being exercised through economics, politics/ideology, and the religious realms like becoming a priest.
The fourth and final way is through Asceticism which means it’s done through self-mastery and self-discipline.
THE BONOBO MASTURBATION SOCIETY
” Chimps follow the way of men. Bonobos follow the way of women. ” pg 112
Donovan, Jack, THE WAY OF MEN, Dissonant Hum, April 10, 2012
In this section, he makes a very interesting observation on the societies of chimps and bonobos. On page 118 he even shows a table that compares and contrasts the lifestyles of the two.
Something interesting to note is that the society of the chimps has scarcer resources but also is the more masculine between the two.
He argues that our abundance of resources in modern society has now feminized our society. It has made us like bonobos. This leaves life for men unfulfilling and without meaning.
WHAT IS BEST IN LIFE?
” Civilization comes at a cost of manliness.” pg139
Donovan, Jack, THE WAY OF MEN, Dissonant Hum, April 10, 2012
The story of Gilgamesh is the example Donovan uses to demonstrate what a lot of modern men are recognizing as the “crisis of masculinity”.
Gilgamesh experiences a ” restlessness” from the ease and lack of challenge within his city and civilization. This is a warning to tell us that we need to find a balance between the wilderness and civilization.
Civilization will make your life easier but at the expense of your masculinity, a proper balance must be found between the two.
START THE WORLD
” In the chaos that follows disappointment, gangs of men can restart the world.” pg 157
Donovan, Jack, THE WAY OF MEN, Dissonant Hum, April 10, 2012
When the system breaks down is when the way of men will become the only way forward.
Corporations/Governments are encouraging the feminization of society because the way of men is a threat to their ability to make more money. Anything that makes you more than just a “cog in their machine” slows down their ability to make more money.
When they make everyone weak then the system will break down.
HOW TO START A GANG
” gangs form out of necessity, or to exploit oppurtunities.” pg 161
Donovan, Jack, THE WAY OF MEN, Dissonant Hum, April 10, 2012
Donovan gives us three main ways how to start a gang or a hierarchy of men.
Create proximity, this would be people around you, like coworkers or people in your neighborhood.
Choose your US, who do you have to be in the gang? do you have to be in the same religion? or maybe you have to be a football player to be able to join the football team.
Create Fraternity, you must go do things together. A football team must train with each other and compete against other teams to create more of a fraternity within a group of men. This helps build trust and to know where everyone’s skills are within the group. It will also help identify who within the group is really devoted to what the group has formed itself around.
Conclusion
Jack Donovan’s book, THE WAY OF MEN is a great book. Easily readable and digestible with only 166 pages. The cover art is great and the paper quality isn’t bad.
As said earlier in my introduction there is a lot in between these pages, when writing this summary I had to cut out a lot of side ideas that weren’t essential to the main idea he was getting across. I would highly recommend you go buy and read it yourself.
Thank you for reading!