A French version of the Figaro interview was published on February 26, 2025. The original English version is found below, for paid subscribers to Postliberal Order.
Figaro: In a recent interview with the New York Times, Steve Bannon strongly distanced himself from neocapitalists like Elon Musk. As Elon Musk explained on X, we see a deep divide between "two factions," the "tech right and the far right.” How would you characterize these two political lines? Can we say that, on one side, there is a statist, anti-immigration populism, and on the other, an "anarcho-capitalism" with technological development as its sole guiding principle?
Deneen: In pure philosophical terms, the core principles of populist conservatism and technological libertarianism are indeed opposites. The first (as you note) is strongly nationalist regarding borders – seeking to restrict immigration and defend the values of the native population – and protectionist in economic terms – favoring public support for domestic manufacturing. It is also more traditionalist in the moral domain, supporting the core form of the traditional family and the centrality of the Judeo-Christian religions as formative of the character of the West. The second favors a much more fluid global (and even multi-planetary) set of arrangements, favoring progress and transformation over tradition; supporting more porous borders at least with respect to those who can advance technological progress; and (as Musk’s own lifestyle indicates), eschewing the traditional form of the family.
However…,
