Donald Trump's acquisition of a 10% federal government stake in Intel, a major electronics firm, is an example of the dangerous similarities between right-wing nationalist and left-wing socialist economic policies. Both favor extensive government control, direction, and - as in this case - even ownership of industry. As Reason's Eric Boehm points out, the idea of US government ownership of major computer chip manufacturers was previously advanced by socialist Senator Bernie Sanders. More generally, Steven Greenhut notes, "MAGA's 'right-wing' policies sometimes seem indistinguishable from left-wing ones." Government control of the economy is central to Trump's massive imposition of new tariffs, his immigration restrictions, and more.
In our 2024 article "The Case Against Nationalism," my Cato Institute colleague Alex Nowrasteh outline a wide range of similarities between nationalist and socialist economic policies, and also explained how they have common flaws:
