Populism can be a source for good, but it can also be a source for bad.
For the most part, populism has railed against the globalists, the nihilists who advocate for world government and the annihilation of national sovereignty. But then there is the downside: protectionism, the economic nationalism, something that we saw last week when President Donald Trump signed a new 25 percent tariff on steel and a 10 percent levy on aluminum.
Many of Trump’s supporters lauded the move, calling it a win for the America First agenda. It fought against the Chinese, the ones who have been supposedly ripping off Americans for so long.
But, like his predecessors, the president defied basic economics.
That’s OK to his base, though: he is protecting America’s interests! The tariffs, unfortunately, will do the exact opposite: lower the nation’s standard of living, destroy jobs, and create unintended consequences.
It was the act that was noble to the president’s base, not the negative effects.
Despite the warnings from conservative and libertarians, the ostensible champions of the free market, Trump loyalists, as well as many Democrats and pro-union voters, are largely in favor of his protectionist moves, according to a new poll.
A Harvard-Harris study found that 83 percent of Americans say they support Trump’s initiatives to level the playing field on trade.
That isn’t all. Ninety-three percent of Republicans endorse the president’s measures to fix bad trade deals and make them fair (make them more protectionist).
When these measures fail, the populists will then run into the arms of other forms of populism, like socialism and Senator Bernie Sanders.
Economic Policy Journal’s Robert Wenzel says it best:
In other words, the split in the masses at present is ping pong ball in style, that has little to do with economic freedom.
Unless the masses have a basic desire for economic and personal freedom, revolutions are often a waste of time and at their worst introduce grave totalitarian threats.
There is no easy way to advance free market policies. Jumping on board a populous movement that has no underpinning for liberty is not going to do it. It is a dangerous move that could lead to major anti-capitalist measures or even serious tyranny. The focus for those in the battle for liberty must, indeed, be focus on advancing liberty always and everywhere. Clinging to an intellectually weak populous revolt is not the answer. It could, in fact, lead to the suffocation of an economy and liberty.
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