Left-wing mouthpiece The Economist breathlessly warned of a “growing peril” presented by a strengthening conservative movement across the nation and beyond.
The magazine sounded the call for American liberals to step forward and defeat the “dangerous” MAGA movement. That political momentum is rolling through every persecution Democrats can throw at former President Donald Trump headed toward the November election.
The MAGA Movement scares the hell out of Democrats, and with good reason. We’re witnessing the beginning of an uprising against the global elites! Hang on, it’s going to get bumpy! 💯🇺🇸💪 pic.twitter.com/mekjetliQv
— J Hans (@blackhawkce457) February 19, 2024
The Economist certainly had no love for the era of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s. But dead conservatives can do no harm in their minds, and they are far preferable to the very much living ones attracting a growing following.
Therefore it waxed nostalgic when comparing Reagan and Thatcher to the current world stage occupied by Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
The outlet claimed this pair along with “a motley crew of Western politicians have demolished that orthodoxy, constructing in its place a statist, anti-woke conservatism that puts national sovereignty before the individual.”
It claimed they are “part of a global movement with its own networks of thinkers and leaders bound by a common ideology.”
True, and The Economist added that these leaders “sense that they own conservatism now — and they may be right.”
The cover was headlined “The Right Goes Gaga” and featured an exaggerated red hat with white lettering. It read, “Make America, Hungary, Italy, France, Israel, Germany, The Netherlands [and] Poland great again.”
Argentina, which recently elected a populist president, was notably absent.
The article claimed that populists in 2024 do not perceive the West as “the shining city on the hill.” Rather, it is “Rome before the fall — decadent, depraved, and about to collapse amid a barbarian invasion.”
Not much to argue with there, but the piece went on to assert that national conservatism is rooted in “grievance.” This blatantly ignores the litany of grievances deployed at every turn by the perpetually victimized woke crowd.
Remarkably, the article recognized several fundamental issues national conservatives are concerned over. It conceded the illegal migrant crisis and declining living standards faced by future generations.
And it even granted that higher education and the media are now enclaves of “hostile, illiberal, left-leaning elites.” The Economist then warned that in the face of growing national conservatism, liberalism “is falling behind.”