Trump’s Advisers and the War of Ideas

Recent media coverage has focused on the battle of conservative philosophies within the Trump Administration and in conservative circles. In the darker corners of the Internet, radical commentators, so-called “influencers,” are gaining the attention of the rich and powerful and Administration insiders. It’s actually rather fascinating. 

The Wall Street Journal recently published an important article entitled, “The Ideological Gurus Battling for the Soul of Trump World.” (Check it out here: https://tinyurl.com/WSJMagaIdeals)

These competing ideologies are between the tech bro utopians and conservative Catholics who yearn for the good old days. Here are the key points of the article: 

“The techies envision a libertarian world in which great men like Musk can build a utopian future unfettered by government bureaucrats and regulation. Their dark prince is Curtis Yarvin, a blogger-philosopher who has called for American democracy to be replaced by a king who would run the nation like a tech CEO.

“The conservative Catholics [Patrick Deneen], in contrast, want to return America to a bygone era. They venerate local communities, small producers and those who work with their hands. This ‘common good’ conservatism, as they call it, is bound together by tradition and religious morality. Unlike Musk, with his many baby mamas and his zeal to colonize Mars, they believe in limits and personal restraint.”

The New York Times recently had long interviews with both Deneen and Yarvin which I read to gain an understanding of their beliefs. Both of them are wrong. 

Deneen and Yarvin have impressive academic credentials, but their ideas reveal a flawed understanding of intellectual history and their consequences. Yarvin especially has rejected the basic ideals of the Enlightenment upon which our country was founded. Deneen sees government and bigness failing the working class. They see the world darkly, harmed by failed social and political systems. You’ve heard the term “junk science,” the ideas proposed by these influencers are “junk philosophies.” 

History clearly shows which ideas have worked best for mankind. For 6,000 years poverty was the lot of the masses, and life expectancy hovered around 30 to 35 years until 1900. Starting in 1900 something wonderful happened: lifespan began to skyrocket to 70 years in that century. Why? The ideas of the Enlightenment had gained ground and freedom, capitalism, and limited government spawned the creation of enough wealth to build public health systems and discover medications that eradicated many diseases. It wasn’t monarchies or socialism that got us there. It took freedom and money.

Although Yarvin is labeled a libertarian, this is incorrect. True libertarianism aligns more closely with classical liberalism – the philosophy of America’s founders. Monarchies are what they fought against. Yarvin echoes the classical conservatism of Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) who believed that the masses were incapable of governing themselves and advocated rule by a monarch or powerful central authority. Substitute “monarch” for “tech bro” and you see where he is going. 

Yarvin’s longing for a monarchy is not rooted in reality. A technological utopia ruled by the omniscient and wise is a dead end. Utopias have never worked, and its advocates fail to understand human nature. It’s an absurd childish fantasy.

Deneen, a Catholic intellectual, sees billionaire business leaders as self-serving oligarchs whose who sole pursuit is power and money. His “common good” conservatism targets globalism, free trade, large corporations, and universities – symbols of a modern order that, in his view, has failed working-class families. Deneen praises “‘the many’ – ordinary people who are pious and rooted and know how to fix their own cars.” Vice President J. D. Vance is one of Deneen’s most
prominent supporters.

Both Vance and Deneen see tariffs as a cure for the plight of blue-collar workers. But foreign trade has been a boon for America. Protecting us from foreign competition with tariffs won’t bring back the Rust Belt. It will just make us poorer. Yearning for simpler life and attacking big successful companies is just nostalgia for an imagined past. Successful entrepreneurs like Musk are the ones who drive prosperity for all of us. Kill the prosperity machine and we will have nowhere to go but down. 

The problem with Deneen and Yarvin is that their worldviews are skewed by an ideological lens rather than a clear-eyed understanding of reality. Though their visions differ, both ultimately seek to control our lives.

I could not find any Trump insider who would admit to admiring Yarvin, but some have. J. D. Vance openly admires Deneen’s “common good” ideas and decries “bigness.” Musk? He thinks he’s the smartest guy in the world but he’s happier changing our world for the better, not running it. 

Where these ideas will lead is anyone’s guess, but they are swirling around Trump’s administration and among various conservative circles. They are all dead ends. What should be swirling around Washington are the ideas that truly made America great.