01.04.2025
Journal article

Steve Bannon on ‘productive capitalism’: investigating the economic ideology of the American populist right

Abstract:

In this article we explore the economic thinking of the American populist right and the reservoir of ideological tropes that it draws on. We start with Steve Bannon and show how he narrates a binary distinction between a healthy, productive capitalism and a perverted, speculative capitalism. While speculative capitalism is attributed to globalist elites and parasitic minorities in the US, productive capitalism is defined as the home-grown American variety that once benefited workers and entrepreneurs alike. In a comparative ideological analysis, we document that Bannon’s move of ‘othering’ has a long history in writings of the extreme right in the US. In the 1920s and 30s, Henry Ford and Charles Coughlin grounded their antisemitism in a dichotomy of productive and speculative capitalism. Lawrence Dennis developed an Americanized version of fascism using a similar distinction. More recent thinkers of the American Alt-Right revived the critique of capitalism along such lines, as we show with reference to the writings of Samuel Francis. This article contributes to the study of populist ideology by showing how economic theorizing is grafted upon its core distinction of the sane people and corrupt elites.

News from the research center

Event
14.07.2025 | Frankfurt

Utopie und Aufbruch der 1968er – Was von politischer Rebellion und individueller Selbstbefreiung geblieben ist

Panel Discussion

Die Diskussionsrunde mit Rainer Langhans, Christa Ritter, die seit 1978 zur Selbsterfahrungsgruppe um Langhans gehört, und dem Sozialphilosophen Martin Saar widmet sich utopischen Vorstellungen, die von der 1968er Bewegung ausgingen, und beleuchtet deren Ideale, Impulse, individuelle und gesellschaftspolitische Nachwirkungen.

more information ›
Event
10.07.2025 | Frankfurt am Main

Territorial Justice by Lea Ypi

Workshop

Workshop on the new book by Lea Ypi (LSE). With, among others: Andrea Sangiovanni and Ayelet Shachar.

more information ›
Event
01.07.2025 | Brussels

Europa in einer multipolaren Welt – Wie kann die EU den Herausforderungen gegenüber Großmächten begegnen?

Crisis Talk

Impuls von Prof. Dr. Nicole Deitelhoff mit anschließender Podiumsdiskussion

more information ›
News
22.05.2025

Does deliberative democracy have a future in the age of oligarchs, autocrats and patriarchs?

On June 3, Prof. Simone Chambers will give a lecture on the value of democracies and the future of the form of government.

more information ›
News
19.05.2025

What can a baroque tapestry tell us about colonial iconography?

Lecture by Cécile Fromone on May 21. The professor at the Department of the History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University, director of the Cooper Gallery at the Hutchins Center and author will talk about the long-forgotten African origins of iconography and its colonial dimension.

more information ›
News
05.05.2025

Normative Orders Newsletter 01/25 published

The newsletter from Research Centre Normative Orders collects information on current events, reports, news and publications several times a year. Read the first issue 2025 here.

more information ›
News
05.05.2025

"Hitler. History of a Dictator" by Sybille Steinbacher will be published on May 15, 2025

The historian's new book deals with Hitler's origins, the roots of his anti-Semitism and his rise to power.

more information ›
News
29.04.2025

Public lecture series “Racism in the police” begins on May 13, 2025

Racism in the police has various dimensions. In the lecture series “Racism in the police - empirical findings, methodological approaches and controversies”, three empirical studies on police work will be presented.

more information ›