Donald Trump’s resume is quite remarkable. As a real estate developer, he reshaped Manhattan’s skyline and built a global network of hotels and golf courses. For 14 seasons, he hosted The Apprentice, a very successful reality TV show. Then, in 2017, he became the 45th president of the United States. His credentials are impressive. Yet, for over a decade, the media has fixated on his perceived deficiencies—his vulgarity, his moral failings, his combative rhetoric, his unpredictability.
But Donald Trump is no longer the Apprentice. He is now the Master Craftsman. He takes the helm as President for the second time with the benefit of the previous four-years’ experience. His team is better prepared, better aligned to his vision, and more qualified than many critics would care to acknowledge. The time has come to set aside entrenched prejudices and give credit where it is due. Trump’s bold plans for America deserve our attention. His team is about to embark on a political revolution—a reshaping of America’s political landscape.
This revolution is not without risk. Undoubtedly, some initiatives will falter. But there is the potential to reinvigorate American society. Moreover, what unfolds in the U.S. may set a precedent for the rest of the world.
Resistance will come from those who have thrived under the status quo. Expect their objections to be loud and insistent. Expect their opposition to be full of falsehoods and personal attacks, similar to the smear campaign against Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court nomination. (Kavanaugh’s Trial by Ordeal, Peter Murphy, Quadrant, Dec 2018). In contrast, it’s essential that we approach this revolution with discernment and a willingness to look beyond the cacophony.
Barry Jones, writing in The Saturday Paper (November 23, 2024), asked :
“Will Trumpism survive Trump? I expect it will damage the moral and intellectual authority of the US for a generation, perhaps longer. His resurrection demonstrates the insufficiency of reason, which often lacks the psychological carrying power needed to effect far reaching reforms and take people with them”.
In similar vein, Kim Williams, Chairman of the ABC, speaking at the National Press Club, (November 27, 2024) slammed successful podcaster Joe Rogan as “deeply repulsive” and accused him of “preying on people's vulnerabilities, fear, and anxiety”.
Rogan is known for his in-depth, three-hour interviews with prominent figures. His recent interview with Donald Trump attracted over 38 million viewers. Kamala Harris’ team invited Rogan to interview her too, but only for forty-five minutes. Rogan declined. He reasoned that was not long enough to get beyond pre-prepared cliches.
Williams admitted he doesn’t watch Rogan’s show—a telling remark, given the ABC’s shrinking audience across both radio and TV. The ABC could certainly learn from studying Rogan's success. Rogan's three-hour conversation with Trump offered more insight into the man than Australians have gleaned from a decade of ABC programming.
What we learn from these two examples is how easy it is for even clever people like Barry Jones and Kim Williams to get sidetracked by their prejudices and miss the point. Widely held erroneous doctrines dominate our politics making lives miserable. Errors are reality and must be dealt with as such. They cannot be ignored. In coming to grips with Trump, we must acknowledge the errors and be open to the possibility of change.
The criticisms of Trump the man distract us from the deeper issues. Yes, his character is far from perfect. Yes, his comments are often crass. Yes, his speeches are deliberately disjointed and chaotic, crafted to resonate with voters, to galvanize support. But, as I shall explain, there are profound ideas underlying the changes that the Trump Republicans intend.
The problems they are addressing are not unique to America. They are shared by nations across the globe. The time has come for us to confront the challenges, and to learn from the solutions Trump and his team are proposing to implement. This will require shedding long-held beliefs. But if we fail to appreciate what is at stake, we risk perpetuating our misery for years to come.
There’s much to be learned from master performers—even those we may find deeply repulsive!
Sources of Error
The last two generations have seen significant societal changes, many of which, though well-intentioned, have proven counterproductive. Three issues stand out:
1. Individual Responsibility
We have lost the sense that we should be responsible for our own actions; that we should respect the rights of others; and that we should accept that we are not entitled to anything we have not earned.
2. The Family
The role of the family has been diminished. Children can no longer rely on having a mother and a father around to love them, support them and nurture them, to teach them good values, and to prepare them to be good, well-adjusted citizens. The state has usurped the roles that families used to play.
3. Economic Decision-Making
Economic decisions have been transferred from the private and business spheres to the political sphere. Politicians and bureaucrats now make the decisions on energy, on education, on health, on transport, and on private and work relationships. Moreover, they interfere in judicial processes. Fundamental concepts such as the rule-of-law and innocent-until-proven-guilty are violated.
Philosophical Underpinning
At the heart of the Trump revolution lies a fundamental question: are economic and political decisions best made by experts, or by the individuals who are most affected?
At first glance, it seems obvious that one would defer to experts. They will know best. That is what prevails at the moment. Decisions are made by bureaucrats in public agencies in Washington which impact citizens throughout the USA. But is this truly the best approach?
This question was addressed by one of the 20th century’s greatest thinkers, F.A. Hayek, in his scholarly essay The Use of Knowledge in Society (1945). Hayek argued that no central authority, no matter how well-intentioned, can ever possess all the knowledge needed to make sound decisions for a diverse society. Knowledge is not simply about abstract theories; it is local, transient, and dispersed among millions of individuals. Only those closest to the situation—those "on the spot"—can make decisions that account for the unique circumstances at hand.
As part of its 2025 Project, The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, published Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise. Its 30 chapters, written by more than 400 scholars, provide an intellectual basis for governing the USA. In the foreword, Kevin Roberts identifies four moral and foundational goals for America:
1. Family
“Restore the family as the centrepiece of American life and protect our children.”
2. Bureaucracy
“Dismantle the administrative state and return self-governance to the American people.”
3. Sovereignty
“Defend our nation’s sovereignty, borders, and bounty against global threats.”
4. Individual Rights
“Secure our God-given individual rights to live freely – what our Constitution calls the Blessings of Liberty.”
Action on these four fronts, Roberts claims, will decide America’s future. Whilst Trump has not given official recognition to the Heritage Foundation scholarship, it is reasonable to assume that it will have a profound effect on his administration. A similar project in 1971 had a major influence on the policies of Ronald Reagan.
The Consequences of Elite Rule
When we pass responsibility to bureaucratic experts, we create a myriad of problems.
The more the state provides for us, the more it will want to control us.
If the state provides education, then it will want to ensure that its own ideology dominates, that its curriculum is taught. If it supports the media, then it will want to ensure that information is not misleading - that only its views are presented. Satire will be verboten. If it supports the arts, then it will want to control the exhibition of pictures and plays, determining which are pornographic, obscene, or blasphemous. If the state provides health care, then it will want to legislate to restrict behaviours that endanger our health – not only hard drugs but also alcohol, tobacco, and sugar.
During Covid, states mandated vaccination, restricting access to employment and social gatherings for the unvaccinated. In Australia, the government famously stopped world tennis champion Novak Djokovic from competing in the Australian Open. In the USA, the government coerced the social media companies into censoring the Great Barrington Declaration.
This is the reality of modern democracy. Societies are ruled from afar by an elite clerisy. Frequently their rule is accompanied by an irritating assumption of their own intellectual and moral superiority. They are sure that they know what is best for the masses. They create new laws and regulations in such profusion that citizens cannot possibly be fully informed of their obligations. Moreover, influential citizens use the state to impose their views and preferences or gain financial favours in return for political support.
Throughout the world, democracies are failing. So many issues have binary solutions with no possibility for compromise. Governments are finding it impossible to satisfy the irreconcilable differences between their citizens - Brexit in the UK, Abortion in USA, The Voice in Australia. Everyone wants their opinion heard and legislated. Those in the minority are obliged to accept laws and regulations which they regard as anathema. Wide-spread discontent ensues. People on opposite sides of key issues regard their opponents with contempt. This is not a sound basis for a good society.
Subsidiarity
The antidote to these errors is the principle of subsidiarity, a concept embraced by thinkers as diverse as G.K. Chesterton, Alexis de Tocqueville, Pope John-Paul II, and Ludwig von Mises.
Subsidiarity is the principle of devolving decisions to the lowest practical level, that what individuals can do, society should not take over, and what smaller societies can do, larger societies should not take over. We do whatever we can ourselves, with our family, friends, and neighbours. We form voluntary organizations – businesses, clubs, and societies – so that like-minded citizens can achieve their common objectives. We keep government activity as local as possible, jointly funding only those activities that the group agrees to be valuable, keeping citizens closely involved in what is relevant to them.
Subsidiarity facilitates a wider range of solutions, quicker and more informed decision-making, and the personal involvement of more citizens. Because there is a diversity of solutions there is less chance of one bad decision causing a systemic failure. Because there is more responsibility for one’s actions there is less opportunity for moral hazard.
Pope John-Paul II captured the essence of subsidiarity in Centesimus Annus (1991):
“… the principle of subsidiarity must be respected: a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of lower order, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should support it in case of need and help to coordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good.
By intervening directly and depriving society of its responsibility, The Social Assistance State leads to a loss of human energies and an inordinate increase of public agencies, which are dominated more by bureaucratic ways of thinking than by concern for serving their clients, and which are accompanied by an enormous increase in spending.”
As they prepare to reduce the influence, scope and spending of the Washington bureaucracy, one can imagine Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy nodding in agreement with the Pope’s prescient remarks.
By freeing ourselves from the government controls that constrain us and giving our citizens the autonomy to make decisions themselves, we can release the energy that will deliver an era of prosperity and liberty and create a moral society.
Coming to Grips with Trump
Trump’s ambitious reforms aim to change the political landscape significantly. Major changes can be expected to include:
1. Devolution of Power
Power will revert to the elected President and Congress.
The federal bureaucracy will be scaled back. Some departments may be abolished, and others will be reduced to their Congress approved roles. Many responsibilities currently handled by the federal government will be transferred to the states.
Where feasible, decision-making will be devolved to lower levels—states, communities, families, and individuals. Abortion laws will remain determined at the state level. Parents will gain more influence over their children's education, particularly concerning curriculum and values. Overall, decisions will be made rationally and locally, not ideologically and remotely.
International bodies will have less influence. The U.S. will resist rules and regulations that infringe on its sovereignty. It will withdraw from the Paris Agreement and may reduce its support for the United Nations and its agencies. The influence of other supranational bodies may also decline.
Military power will be strengthened, not for aggression but as a deterrent. The U.S. will eschew involvement in wars, particularly other people’s wars. Provision of military aid to friendly nations will be by way of trade, not benevolence. Allies will be expected to pay their own way.
2. Economic reform
There will be reduced government intervention and regulation. Crony capitalism will be curbed, with fewer benefits going to elite friends of government. Regulatory agencies will no longer be funded by, and under the thrall of, the industries they are supposed to regulate.
Taxes will be lowered, putting more resources in the hands of individuals, families, and successful businesses.
Businesses will thrive as red tape is minimized, allowing them to provide products and services more quickly and efficiently for their customers. Similarly, there will be less green tape; projects will be allowed to proceed expeditiously, not delayed by contrived complaints.
International trade will not be to the detriment of American citizens. U.S. firms will be persuaded by taxes and tariffs to make goods locally. Of course this is a change that will take time. You cannot build factories, train a workforce and establish a supply chain overnight. But eventually local manufacture will provide jobs and have other positive social effects in the communities in which they operate.
3. Energy Production and Agriculture
Energy production, particularly oil and gas, will increase. Subsidies for renewable energy will be phased out. Consequently, energy will become cheaper for American businesses and that will facilitate more domestic manufacturing. Europe and Japan will be able to source energy from the U.S., reducing their reliance on suppliers like Iran and Russia.
Agricultural practices will be reformed. Regenerative farming will reduce carbon emissions. Less use of chemicals, herbicides, insecticides and concentrated monocrops will improve the health of agricultural soil and water. Robert Kennedy Jr. hopes to make children’s food healthier by stripping additives such as fats, starches, sugars, and food dyes out of processed foods.
4. Social and Cultural changes
The First Amendment will be upheld, ensuring that everyone’s right to free speech and religious freedom is respected. The truth of ideas will be determined through public debate, not dictated by experts or a majority consensus. The government will not interfere with individuals’ free speech or their ability to express contentious opinions. The censorship cartel of the social media giants will be dismantled.
Women's rights will be protected. Access to woman’s sport will be restricted to natal women. Men will not be allowed in women’s toilets, changing rooms, or other private spaces.
Immigration will be restricted to individuals who embrace American values and contribute positively to society. Citizenship will be highly valued. Illegal immigrants will be deported.
The justice and policing systems will be reformed. There will be a focus on reducing violent crime and eliminating the drug cartels. The political misuse of the judicial system will cease.
Family formation will be promoted through family-friendly tax policies, welfare support, and opportunities for stable, long-term employment. Strengthening family life will help address social issues such as fatherless households - currently a cause of violence and dysfunction in many American communities. (See Faust & Manning, Them Before Us.) Parents will regain the authority to determine what can be done to their children.
A Time for Joy
The political changes underway in the U.S. signal not just political transformation but a cultural shift as well. The decline of the woke obsessions, DEI, affirmative action, and cancel culture indicates a move towards a more just, free, and prosperous society.
By embracing a smaller, more accountable government and empowering individuals and local communities, Trump’s revolution promises to restore autonomy, strengthen families, and reinvigorate the nation’s economy. This new direction offers a cause for optimism and renewal, one that could pave the way for a brighter future for all.
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This essay was published in Quadrant Online on January 19, 2025.
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