The Dangerous Emergence of the Neoright in the Era of Trump

By Robert Wenzel

Right out of the gate, I spotted that President Trump would be a boon to socialists.

What I didn't see coming is a new type of statist right.
I am not talking about the neoconservatives, they have been around for a while and are mostly concerned with foreign policy. I am thinking of a neoright that seems to have emerged that has no deep appreciation of free markets or liberty and is focused on the domestic front.

It appears this neoright has adopted Trump's in your face style, principles, free market or otherwise, be damned. They are adopting this Trump non-principled style and are using it, in Trump fashion, however, the hell they want.

Consider Ann Coulter's stunning tweet on Friday calling for higher taxes on the Koch brothers and specifically singling out the extremely damaging wealth tax.

How in any way can this be considered libertarian or conservative?

Her unhappiness with the Koch brothers is likely their pro-immigration stance. And while I consider the Koch position to be essentially correct, I do recognize there is a split within libertarian and conservative communities on the issue. With the neoright decidedly in the anti-immigration camp.

But to call for state action in the form of higher taxes on the Koch brothers for their position on immigration is truly barbaric and certainly not libertarian or old school conservative.

I have previously warned about Tucker Carlson:

When it comes to a non-interventionist foreign policy and dissing political correctness, Tucker Carlson is very good. But when it comes to economics, his foundation appears weak and he has attacked some of the greatest corporations and individuals who have made life better for all of us across the United States.

And Reason reports:

"Tucker Carlson Thinks the Problem With America Is Market Capitalism"

"[Carlson writes:] 'Does anyone still believe that cheaper iPhones or more Amazon deliveries of plastic garbage from China are going to make us happy? They haven't so far.'

"This is a time-worn rhetorical technique of freedom's enemies, who sneer at material standards of living in order to elevate abstract social goals over the needs of actual people.

"[T]o Carlson, economic freedom is disposable — 'a tool[...] created by human beings[...] like a staple gun or a toaster,' which politicians can eliminate if they decide it's 'weaken[ing][...] families.'"

According to Carlson's thesis, "[...] the goal for America is [...] happiness".

 Francisco Torres adds:

 In order to ensure said happiness, government must ensure it, because we are surely not getting it through freely engaging in trade and capital accumulation.

This is just further evidence that Trumpistas are more in tune with Fascism and could not be further away from libertarianism or classical liberalism.

It is simply unthinkable in the era, of say, Ronald Reagan, that anyone on the right would try to pull this type of anti-free market positioning.

Reagan was pretty bad on many, many things (See: Ronald Reagan: An Autopsy) and he slipped in new taxes and there was no Reagan revolution but he never ever appeared to outright display a disregard for free market principles.

Trump has no principles and those feeding off him, including Coulter and Carlson, are taking this cue with the in your face attacks that include attacks on free markets.

Trump is thus not only energizing the socialists but he is responsible for a new kind of right, the neoright, that is not about free market principles but more in favor of banana republic style leadership and steps where any action goes if it promotes a gain for whatever these neorightists desire at the moment.

To the degree these neorightists expand influence, it will cut off even more youth from learning about free markets and liberty.

It now appears that in the age of Trump both the left and right are facing a situation where there are very few sources where they can learn about free market economics and liberty.

Robert Wenzel is Editor & Publisher of

EconomicPolicyJournal.com and Target Liberty.  More about Wenzel here.