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Trump and Intellectualism
by Elliot Resnick
In a recent interview, conservative personality Ben Shapiro
slammed Trump for – among other things – lacking a firm intellectual basis for
his beliefs. “Trump’s nationalism isn’t
rooted in American philosophy,” he said. “It’s more of a gut-level kind of
patriotism.”
I agree. But so
what? What’s wrong with “gut-level”
patriotism? Most American soldiers who
fight and die for this country are motivated by “gut-level” patriotism.
And it’s this kind of patriotism that animates most
Republican voters as well. Their vote is
instinctual, not intellectual. They want
less government regulation, not because they believe it philosophically
illegitimate, but because they consider it a pain in the neck. They favor lower taxes, not because they
understand trickle-down economics, but because they like keeping the money they
earn. They want to crush ISIS, not
because they necessarily appreciate the ideological threat of radical Islam but
because they grew up knowing that if someone punches you, you punch back twice
as hard.
Do we really wish to write these voters out of the
conservative camp? Is it now our
position that only intellectuals – not taxi drivers – are welcome?
Moreover, intellectualism itself is a mixed bag. There’s a reason, after all, why William
Buckley famously said he would rather be governed by the first 2,000 names in
the Boston telephone directory than the faculty of Harvard University. It’s because common sense and innate morality
often steer people better than intellectualism.
Jean Jacques Rousseau well-encapsulated the dangers of intellectualism
when he wrote that
A murder may with impunity be committed under [a
philosopher’s] window; he has only to put his hands to his ears and argue a
little with himself to prevent nature, which is shocked within him, from
identifying itself with the unfortunate sufferer. Uncivilized man has not this admirable talent
and, for want of reason and wisdom, is always foolishly ready to obey the first
promptings of humanity. It is the
populace that flocks together at riots and street brawls while the wise man
prudently makes off. It is the mob and
the market women who part the combatants and hinder gentle folks from cutting
one another’s throats.
Intellectualism has its place. I personally love the ideology that
undergirds our country and find the Declaration of Independence’s first few
sentences, and the political philosophy it represents, inordinately
inspiring. I also wish public schools
taught children the philosophical basis of our form of government and the
difference between legitimate and illegitimate power.
But should expertise in the writings of John Locke or Milton
Friedman be a sine qua non for supporting a Republican nominee? Did Bush, McCain, or Romney possess such
expertise? And isn’t it rather foolish
to write people out of our movement who share our beliefs for the “wrong”
reasons.
Moreover, Trump’s “gut-level” patriotism, along with his
neophyte political status, might actually work to the benefit of the
conservative agenda. As a New York Times
reporter recently wrote, “[G]etting in on the ground floor of a Trump
administration that is short on policy ideas and disdainful of old Washington
hands amounts to a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity [for conservatives].” I couldn’t agree more.
Trump, we shouldn’t forget, is also a “people person.” He listens to those he trusts. And right now his closest allies – allies
with whom he has aligned to a far greater degree than did previous Republican
nominees – are groups like the NRA and conservative heroes like Sean Hannity,
Laura Ingraham, Michael Savage, Larry Elder, Ann Coulter, Newt Gingrich, and
Rudy Giuliani. Grassroots conservatives
have arguably never had greater access to a Republican presidential
candidate. And never have they had an opportunity
to work with someone so open to new ideas and so willing to buck the
establishment – both Democrat and Republican.
So is Trump an intellectual?
No. But if elected president, he
just might be the conservative movement’s greatest blessing.
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