Critics of Trump typically assert that his political moves are motivated solely by a desire to be a bully, but in reality there’s a fairly complex political ideology behind them. It’s not new and it’s been in the works for decades, as Julius Ruechel points out in this Substack essay. No matter what you think of Trump, it’s important to understand the ideas that motivate him and his supporters. And it’s clear that Trump is not a fan of limited government.

In [Bannon’s] view, the only question was whether the future would be populist nationalism or populist socialism.

The populist nationalist is essentially Trump’s “Make America Great Again” or Putin’s conservative nationalism — state-regulated capitalist nation-states unashamedly acting to defend their national interests and acting for the collective benefit of their own citizens, much as nations have always done, but with both military and corporate might harnessed to an even greater degree to defend national interests and optimize society. Individuals and businesses inside the “national fortress” are largely left in peace to pursue “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” within the confines of the nation’s sandbox as long as their activities don’t impinge on national interests, even as the largest corporations are incentivized and/or coerced to pursue objectives that the political leaders believe will serve the country as a whole…