Murray Rothbard's Populist Blueprint: Paleo-Libertarianism and the Ascent of the Political Right

In his 1992 pamphlet "Right-Wing Populism: A Strategy for the Paleo Movement," libertarian economist and intellectual Murray Rothbard drafted a strategy that foreshadowed the rise of populist politics that was to come some years later. Central to his populist vision was the idea of a "...

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Main Author: David Bebnowski
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Innsbruck 2024-10-01
Series:Journal of the Austrian Association for American Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://jaaas.eu/jaaas/article/view/209
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author David Bebnowski
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author_sort David Bebnowski
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description In his 1992 pamphlet "Right-Wing Populism: A Strategy for the Paleo Movement," libertarian economist and intellectual Murray Rothbard drafted a strategy that foreshadowed the rise of populist politics that was to come some years later. Central to his populist vision was the idea of a "paleo-coalition" consisting of "paleo-libertarians" and "paleo-conservatives" that he saw coming closer to power by addressing the masses directly. This, Rothbard proclaimed, would be possible if a presidential candidate were able to short-circuit the traditional media and appeal to disgruntled parts of the population, namely the "rednecks" and Middle America. With Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election in 2016, Rothbard's ideas seem to have become reality. This article draws on the concept of flyover to describe this special populist framework by analyzing libertarians' appeals and politicizable connections to an imagined "real people" and by historically tracing populism in US conservatism. Based on a discussion of the social functions of pamphlets as contentious formats that are interwoven into social conflict, a close reading of Rothbard's 1992 pamphlet shows the decisive political edge that populists were able to gain by employing the strategies for the "paleo movement."  
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spelling doaj-art-90c84c223376486a91b268eab88a51fb2025-01-29T12:52:46ZengUniversity of InnsbruckJournal of the Austrian Association for American Studies2616-95332024-10-016110.47060/jaaas.v6i1.209Murray Rothbard's Populist Blueprint: Paleo-Libertarianism and the Ascent of the Political RightDavid Bebnowski0Ludwig-Maximilians-University MunichIn his 1992 pamphlet "Right-Wing Populism: A Strategy for the Paleo Movement," libertarian economist and intellectual Murray Rothbard drafted a strategy that foreshadowed the rise of populist politics that was to come some years later. Central to his populist vision was the idea of a "paleo-coalition" consisting of "paleo-libertarians" and "paleo-conservatives" that he saw coming closer to power by addressing the masses directly. This, Rothbard proclaimed, would be possible if a presidential candidate were able to short-circuit the traditional media and appeal to disgruntled parts of the population, namely the "rednecks" and Middle America. With Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election in 2016, Rothbard's ideas seem to have become reality. This article draws on the concept of flyover to describe this special populist framework by analyzing libertarians' appeals and politicizable connections to an imagined "real people" and by historically tracing populism in US conservatism. Based on a discussion of the social functions of pamphlets as contentious formats that are interwoven into social conflict, a close reading of Rothbard's 1992 pamphlet shows the decisive political edge that populists were able to gain by employing the strategies for the "paleo movement."   https://jaaas.eu/jaaas/article/view/209far-rightnew rightconservatismLudwig von Mises Instituteneoliberalismpaleo-coalition
spellingShingle David Bebnowski
Murray Rothbard's Populist Blueprint: Paleo-Libertarianism and the Ascent of the Political Right
Journal of the Austrian Association for American Studies
far-right
new right
conservatism
Ludwig von Mises Institute
neoliberalism
paleo-coalition
title Murray Rothbard's Populist Blueprint: Paleo-Libertarianism and the Ascent of the Political Right
title_full Murray Rothbard's Populist Blueprint: Paleo-Libertarianism and the Ascent of the Political Right
title_fullStr Murray Rothbard's Populist Blueprint: Paleo-Libertarianism and the Ascent of the Political Right
title_full_unstemmed Murray Rothbard's Populist Blueprint: Paleo-Libertarianism and the Ascent of the Political Right
title_short Murray Rothbard's Populist Blueprint: Paleo-Libertarianism and the Ascent of the Political Right
title_sort murray rothbard s populist blueprint paleo libertarianism and the ascent of the political right
topic far-right
new right
conservatism
Ludwig von Mises Institute
neoliberalism
paleo-coalition
url https://jaaas.eu/jaaas/article/view/209
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