A Winter of Discontent

Episode 6: The National Populist Revolt! Nat Con Ideological Grievances

Join Jackson and Muhammad as they explore national conservative ideological grievances. They will investigate the national conservative stance on post-WW2 liberal hegemony, their ideological critiques of modern liberalism, uncover liberal counter-arguments, and end with a discussion analysis of the merits of those national conservative grievances and the postwar liberal order. At (32:00) Muhammad argues that the first few decades of liberal ascendancy, from 1945 to around 1970-1980 is less liberal and more conservative than commonly understood because of high participation in communal institutions like unions. Participation in unions is rightly not thought of as conservative. What he meant by this is that society was relatively collectivist and conformist-- identity was formed through participation and belonging in common/collective institutions and not through individual self-expression, in that sense being more "conservative." Timestamps: Introduction (00:00) Postwar Liberal Order (01:00) National Conservative Ideological Critiques/Grievances (03:40) Liberal Responses to Nat Con Critiques (14:10) Discussion Analysis of Nat Con Grievances (21:55) Discussion Analysis of Postwar Liberal Order (28:30) Discussion Analysis of Liberal Critiques of Nat Cons (34:25) Sources: National Conservative Ideological Grievances: Return of the Strong Gods: Nationalism, Populism, and the Future of the West by R. R. Reno Why Liberalism Failed by Patrick Deneen Liberal Responses: https://www.persuasion.community/p/liberalism-and-its-discontent Liberalism and Its Discontents by Francis Fukuyama Postwar Liberal Ascendency: Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 by Tony Judt Return of the Strong Gods, R. R. Reno The End of Liberal International Order? G. John Ikenberry: https://www.gmfus.org/news/what-liberal-international-order Interracial Marriage Statistics: https://news.gallup.com/poll/354638/approval-interracial-marriage-new-high.aspx

Episode 5: National Conservative Political Positions Part 2

Join Jackson and Muhammad as they explore national conservative foreign policy positions and their view on governance, especially liberal democracy. They end with a discussion analysis of national conservatism's break with American pluralism and focus on limiting government power, and what national conservatism's tendency towards illiberal democracy and democratic backsliding means for America. TIMESTAMPS: Introduction (00:00) National Conservative Foreign Policy (01:00) National Conservative Governance and Illiberal Democracy (10:36) Discussion of National Conservatism's Statism (16:02) Discussion of whether Nat Con's Nativism & Identitarianism is compatible with American Pluralism (21:30) Discussion of what Nat Con's Democratic Backsliding portends for Liberal Democracy (27:30) Sources: National Conservative "Civilizational" Foreign Policy: https://www.politico.eu/article/melonis-western-nationalism/ https://www.governo.it/en/articolo/president-meloni-s-speech-atlantic-council-global-citizen-awards/26632 2025 National Security Strategy speaks of concern for "civilizational erasure" in Europe and sees reversing that as a priority (25-27). Nationalist Internationalist Foreign Policy: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-dawn-of-international-nationalism/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-National-Security-Strategy.pdf?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email https://securityconference.org/assets/user_upload/MSC_Speeches_2025_Vol2_Ansicht.pdf (Vance speech at 2025 Munich Security Conference) https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-National-Security-Strategy.pdf?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email (2025 National Security Strategy) Administration calls for "Cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" (27). National Conservative Transactional, Realist, and/or Isolationist/Western Hemisphere-focused Foreign Policy: https://rollcall.com/2024/07/17/vances-ascension-solidifies-isolationist-faction-of-gop/ https://ethz.ch/content/dam/ethz/special-interest/gess/cis/center-for-securities-studies/pdfs/CSSAnalyse369-EN.pdf 2025 National Security Strategy: Its renewed focus on the Western Hemisphere, its emphasis on non-intervention, the balance of power, and burden sharing, and the minimal attention given to great power competition with Russia and China

Episode 4: National Conservative Political Positions (Part 1)

Join Jackson and Muhammad as they explore National Conservative political positions! In this episode, they will explore national conservative positions on trade, industry, labor, immigration, antitrust, culture, the family, and natalism. TIMESTAMPS: Introduction (00:00) Trade (02:27) Industry/Manufacturing (05:35) Labor (09:22) Immigration (12:26) Antitrust (19:35) Culture and Culture War (23:20) Family and Natalism (27:15) Sources: Nat Cons on labor unions: https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trumps-labor-pick-signals-potential-opening-to-unions-5cea1de8 https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/trump-labor-policy-working-class-voters-923e8861?mod=article_inline https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-introduces-bipartisan-bicameral-know-your-labor-rights-act/ Vance Childless Cat Ladies (he was not referencing Taylor Swift, Muhammad mispoke) https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jd-vance-childless-cat-ladies-comment-backlash/ Hungary spending 5% of GDP on pro-family policies: https://www.pop.org/hungary-doubles-down-on-pro-family-policy/ Pro-antitrust: https://www.hawley.senate.gov/senator-hawleys-trust-busting-agenda/ https://www.legaldive.com/news/jd-vances-regulatory-romance-with-the-biden-ftc/723236/ Trump Immigration Crackdown: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8wd8938e8o https://www.cato.org/blog/trump-has-cut-legal-immigration-more-illegal-immigration

Episode 3: What is National Conservatism? The Ideology Behind MAGA

Join Jackson and Muhammad as they begin their dive into National Conservatism! In this episode, they will explore the ideology and worldview of national conservatism and end with a discussion of national conservatism’s practicality in a liberal age and its compatibility with liberal democracy. TIMESTAMPS: Introduction (00:00) Worldview and Ideology of National Conservatism (03:06) Good Life Conception of Politics (13:24) Liberal Conception of Politics (21:52) Nat Con Critique of Liberal Conception of Politics (26:46) Discussion of Liberal Democracy and Nat Con Compatibility (37:52) Practicality of National Conservatism Today (43:32) Sources: Yoram Hazony, The Virtues of Nationalism Trump doll quote: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2025/05/06/trump-dolls-pencils-tariffs-kids/83460867007/

Bonus Episode: What Happened to the Tea Party? Interviewing a Libertarian Populist

Join Muhammad and Jackson as they interview a libertarian conservative populist and Tea Party supporter, Sam. In this interview they discuss what happened to the Tea Party, the future of libertarian populism, and the view from within the movement. Sam is a libertarian conservative populist and political science graduate from the University of Washington.