MAGA is a populist, nationalist-inflected version of American conservatism that keeps many conservative principles (life, judges, guns, low taxes, strong borders) but reshuffles priorities toward working‑class economics, immigration enforcement, cultural combativeness, and skepticism of elite institutions. Ordinary (pre‑2016) conservatism emphasized free markets and free trade, limited government, entitlement reform, and Reaganite internationalism; MAGA emphasizes America First trade, border security, industrial policy, and a more confrontational style aimed at realigning the GOP coalition. [6].
Key overlaps
- Shared goals: originalism in the courts, deregulation, tax relief, energy production, Second Amendment protections, religious liberty, law and order, and respect for the Constitution and federalism. [7][6].
Where ordinary conservatism (pre‑2016 “fusionism”) leaned
- Economics: free trade/globalization, pro‑market policy, entitlement reform, and “limited government” as the north star. [5].
- Foreign policy: hawkish but internationalist—promoting American leadership abroad, alliances, and democracy promotion; skeptical of tariffs and industrial policy. [3].
- Immigration: enforcement plus legal immigration/guest‑worker flexibility; business‑friendly posture. [5].
- Tone and institutions: emphasis on civility, process, and working within established norms and institutions. [3].
What MAGA changes or elevates
- America First economics: willingness to use tariffs, targeted industrial policy, Buy American, reshoring, and skepticism toward multinational corporations and ESG. Growth and jobs are prioritized even if it means breaking with free‑trade orthodoxy. [1][4].
- Immigration and sovereignty: hard line on illegal immigration (wall, Remain‑in‑Mexico, asylum tightening, E‑Verify) and a shift toward merit‑based legal immigration—treating border security as foundational to citizenship and the rule of law. [2][8].
- Foreign policy: assertive but restrained—no more nation‑building; pressuring NATO allies to pay their share; economic confrontation with China; transactional deal‑making over multilateral process. [4][3].
- Institutions and the administrative state: skepticism toward entrenched bureaucracies, corporate media, and tech platforms; emphasis on reining in the administrative state and returning power to elected officials. [6][5].
- Culture and education: openly combative on “woke” ideology, parental rights, free speech, religious freedom, and law‑and‑order—less deference to elite gatekeepers and more mobilization through grassroots activism. [7][8].
- Coalition shift: strengthens support among working‑class, rural, and non‑college voters (including more Hispanic and some Black voters), while trading off some support among managerial/professional suburbanites—realigning the party around class and place rather than just ideology. [1][5].
- Style and leadership: movement‑centric and combative—direct, rally‑driven communication; less patience for process, greater focus on visible results; willing to challenge norms to confront what supporters view as failed elites. [4][6].
Convergence and divergence in practice
- Convergence: judges, deregulation, tax cuts, energy expansion, law‑and‑order federal support. [6][7].
- Divergence: tariffs vs. free trade; industrial policy vs. laissez‑faire; restraint/transactional foreign policy vs. democracy‑promotion; maximal border enforcement vs. employer‑driven immigration; combative posture toward media/agency elites vs. process‑oriented institutionalism. [1][3][4][8].
How a conservative might weigh the trade‑offs
- Strengths of MAGA: re‑centers politics on borders, sovereignty, industry, families, and community; confronts China; broadens the GOP’s working‑class appeal; and is willing to fight cultural battles many Republicans long avoided. [1][7].
- Risks/cautions: tariffs and industrial policy can raise costs; combative style can alienate swing voters; debt and deficits remain unresolved; institutional conflict can create turbulence that distracts from policy wins. [5][6].
Bottom line
- Ordinary conservatism is the ideology; MAGA is a populist, America First application of it—reordering priorities (border, industry, culture) and methods (combative, anti‑elite) to meet current challenges, while retaining core right‑of‑center commitments to liberty, order, and national strength. [6][4].
Sources
1 Vindicating the Founders: Race, Sex, Class, and Justice in the Origins of America by Thomas G. West
2 Broke by Glen Beck
3 The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution enlarged edited by Bernard Bailyn
4 The Political Theory of the American Founding: Natural Rights, Public Policy, and the Moral Conditions of Freedom by Thomas G. West
5 Arguing With Idiots by Glen Beck
6 Hamilton's Curse by Thomas J. Dilorenzo
7 How the Left Was Won by Richard Mgrdechian
8 The Federalist Papers In Modern Language edited by Mary E. Webster
In addition:
Here’s more depth, from a conservative perspective, on how “ordinary conservatism” (the pre‑2016 Reagan/Buckley fusionist mainstream) compares with MAGA’s America First conservatism—where they align, where they diverge, and what that means in practice. [1][6]
What they share (the durable conservative core)
- Constitutionalism and originalist judges; defense of religious liberty and the Second Amendment; lower taxes; deregulation; energy abundance; strong law-and-order; and respect for federalism and local control. [6]
- Skepticism of centralized bureaucratic power and a preference for accountable, elected decision-makers rather than technocratic rulemaking. [6]
Where priorities differ most
- Economics and trade
- Ordinary conservatism: free markets, free trade, limited industrial policy, entitlement reform as a long-run fiscal anchor. [5]
- MAGA: tariffs as leverage, selective industrial policy/reshoring, Buy American, tougher stance on China, and greater tolerance for using federal power to bolster strategic industries and working-class jobs. [1][4]
- Immigration and sovereignty
- Ordinary conservatism: enforcement plus legal immigration calibrated to labor markets; business-friendly guest-worker flexibility. [5]
- MAGA: border security as a first principle (wall, remain-in-Mexico, tighter asylum), E‑Verify, and a shift toward merit-based legal immigration—treating sovereignty and rule of law as prerequisites to any broader reform. [2]
- Foreign policy
- The administrative state
- Culture and institutions
- Entitlements and spending
- Ordinary conservatism: long-term entitlement reform is central to fiscal conservatism. [5]
- MAGA: protect earned benefits for current retirees; pursue savings through growth, fraud control, and administrative efficiency; more willingness to run fiscal policy through the lens of national strength and family formation. [1][6]
Concrete examples from the Trump era (illustrative, not exhaustive)
- Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and historic deregulation—a point of convergence with traditional conservatism. [6]
- USMCA replacing NAFTA; Section 232 steel/aluminum tariffs; China tariffs used to force negotiations—departing from free-trade orthodoxy. [4]
- Border: over 450 miles of new and replacement barrier, Remain-in-Mexico, Title 42 pandemic expulsions, tightened asylum rules—embodying “enforcement first.” [2]
- Judiciary: three Supreme Court justices and hundreds of Article III judges—cementing originalism and religious liberty protections. [6]
- NATO burden-sharing pressure and a shift from open-ended interventions to targeted pressure campaigns—“no more nation‑building.” [3][4]
- Energy: aggressive support for domestic oil, gas, and pipelines; rollback of regulations seen as anti‑growth—common ground with, but prioritized more visibly by, MAGA. [1]
Coalition and strategy
- Ordinary conservatism historically drew from business-class, suburban, and religious conservative voters under a “fusionist” umbrella. [5]
- MAGA adds a populist, working‑class edge—growing support among non‑college voters (including notable gains with Hispanic working‑class communities) while losing some managerial/professional suburbanites; politics realigns more by class and place than by old ideological labels. [1][5]
Governing style and communication
- Ordinary conservatism: institution‑minded, policy white papers, think‑tank driven. [3]
- MAGA: outcome‑oriented, rally‑driven, direct-to-voter communication; fewer deference instincts toward media, bureaucracies, or multilateral forums. [4][6]
How a conservative might weigh the trade‑offs
- Strengths of MAGA: re-centers sovereignty, borders, industry, and cultural stability; forces overdue reckoning with China; broadens the party’s reach into working‑class America; and is willing to confront hostile institutions rather than manage decline. [1][4]
- Cautions: tariffs and industrial policy can raise costs if misapplied; the combative style can alienate some swing voters; fiscal consolidation remains a challenge without structural reforms. [5][6]
Bottom line
- Ordinary conservatism is the ideology of limited government, markets, strong defense, and ordered liberty; MAGA is a populist, America First implementation that keeps the core but reorders priorities—border security, strategic industry, cultural pushback, and institutional accountability—aimed at restoring national strength for working families. [6][1]
Sources
1 The Political Theory of the American Founding: Natural Rights, Public Policy, and the Moral Conditions of Freedom by Thomas G. West
2 Vindicating the Founders: Race, Sex, Class, and Justice in the Origins of America by Thomas G. West
3 Broke by Glen Beck
4 Arguing With Idiots by Glen Beck
5 The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution enlarged edited by Bernard Bailyn
6 Hamilton's Curse by Thomas J. Dilorenzo
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