Why a “Libertarian-Nationalist Alliance” Makes No Sense
Earlier today, former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy made some waves by calling for “a libertarian-nationalist alliance.” This is far from a new idea. “Paleo-libertarians” like Lew Rockwell advocated much the same thing for many years. But it remains as wrong as ever. Nationalism is deeply antithetical to libertarianism, and liberal values more generally. An ideology based on liberty, free markets, and universal human rights can’t be squared with one based on collectivism, ethnic particularism, and government control over much of the economy. Cato Institute scholar Alex Nowrasteh and I elaborated on this in greater detail in “The Case Against Nationalism,” published in National Affairs earlier this year. Here is an excerpt from the introduction:
Nationalism has become a dominant ideology on the American political right and has gained ground in many European countries over the last decade. This has happened without sufficient attention to the dangers inherent in nationalism — dangers evident in theory and in practice in this latest iteration of nationalism as well as prior ones.
Nationalism is particularly dangerous in a diverse nation like the United States, where it is likely to exacerbate conflict. The ideology is virtually impossible to separate from harmful ethnic and racial discrimination of a kind conservatives would readily condemn in other contexts. Like socialism, with which it has important similarities, nationalism encourages harmful government control over the economy. Nationalism also poses a threat to democratic institutions. Finally, nationalist ideology is at odds with America’s foundational principles, which are based on universal natural rights, not ethnic particularism.
In crucial ways, nationalism is just socialism with different flags and more ethnic chauvinism. All Americans, but especially traditional conservatives, classical liberals, and libertarians, should recognize nationalism’s dangers and recommit instead to the core principles of our founding.
Eric Boehm of Reason offers an additional critique of Ramaswamy’s idea:
There are many factions of libertarians, of course, but the one belief that unites the movement is an understanding that individuals are best suited to make their own decisions about how to live. Nationalism, at its root, is a fundamentally collectivist idea that prioritizes the needs of the state over the choices of individuals…
The current wave of nationalism sweeping the right wing of American politics is not about innocent-sounding things like restoring national pride.
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