Ron DeSantis and the new era of conservative economics
Jack Elbaum
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On Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) gave a major speech on economic policy in New Hampshire that declared our “economic independence” from “the failed ruling class,” “reckless government spending,” “the Chinese Communist Party,” “central planners,” and “progressive corporations.”
It was a nice crystallization of the new type of economic thinking that is becoming standard in certain conservative circles. It is one that does not reject the free market but does not believe it has all the answers. It is one that sees central planners and market interventionists as inimical to a free society and economy yet also understands the role economic policy plays in the cultural sphere. In short, it attempts to strike a balance between the doctrinaire free marketeers and those who are explicit about their desire to intervene in the economy to achieve particular social ends.
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This tension — and I should note that the word “tension” is not necessarily a pejorative in this context — was on full display in DeSantis’s speech.
Yes, the speech featured familiar enemies. It is no surprise to hear a Republican candidate for president lament out-of-control spending, faceless bureaucrats, the Federal Reserve, or excessive regulation. More than half of his outlined plans focus on unleashing the power of the free market for the well-being of America, including both residents and families. Achieving stable growth, expanding energy production, reining in the Federal Reserve, reducing spending, and instituting work requirements for welfare all fall into that category. To the extent this characterizes DeSantis’s economic program, it can be considered a standard platform not unlike those who predated former President Donald Trump.
However, it also featured some new enemies, such as big “progressive” corporations, income inequality, and trade deficits. He wants to “reverse” our trade deficits and “kneecap” both environmental, social, and governance standards and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives using the power of the state. In the speech, he even suggested the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on affirmative action should be interpreted to mean most DEI initiatives are unconstitutional. Additionally, his plan is one with a simple slogan: “We win. They lose.” It is strikingly zero-sum, considering one of the premises of the free market is that it is not a zero-sum game — but rather one in which free cooperation between individual actors produces additional wealth.
This is not to say some of the rhetoric cannot be reconciled with those who represent the old guard of conservative economic thinking. In a 1970 essay, for example, Milton Friedman wrote that “the doctrine of [corporate] ‘social responsibility’ taken seriously would extend the scope of the political mechanism to every human activity. It does not differ in philosophy from the most explicitly collectivist doctrine.” The hostility is palpable. The idea that calling out “woke” corporations is somehow anti-market does not even pass the smell test. But taking the extra step to use the power of government to curtail it is certainly new.
It is also just as important to note, though, that DeSantis does not extend this view nearly as far as a market-skeptical conservative group such as American Compass, which I criticized earlier this year, would like to see. DeSantis does not seem to endorse forcibly reducing the trade deficit through absurdly high tariffs, for example, nor does he seem to think needlessly intervening in the internal affairs of private business is a good idea. Rather, the intervention DeSantis advocates is far more narrow. It focuses on correcting for excesses where he sees them and mandating “sanity” where he believes certain corporations have “gone mad.”
This is consistent with the actions he has taken as the governor of Florida, where he made mask mandates illegal, for example, and removed Disney’s special tax status. He operates in the gray area of intervention, making those who are more disposed to pure free market policy uncomfortable while also stopping far short of where those truly dedicated to widespread intervention would actually like. It utilizes the rhetoric of both while promoting policy that walks a tightrope between them.
What this amounts to, then, is not on-the-fly musings about economic or social policy, but rather an emergence of a new type of conservative economic philosophy that is a direct response to the unique challenges of our era. Whether or not the policy itself is the best way forward for our country is a question that will have to be duked out. I am sympathetic to certain ideas while quite critical of others. But it is crucial to first understand phenomena before weighing their merits and demerits.
In the 2024 election, economic policy will matter a lot. Not only does intuition suggest it, but polls show it, too. That DeSantis decided to make such a speech is a welcome development not only because it is interesting to consider how shifting intellectual currents among conservatives translate into policy, but also because it injects much-needed substance into the competition between him and Trump — something it seems only DeSantis is interested in at this point.
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Jack Elbaum is a summer 2023 Washington Examiner fellow.