Business nationalism

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Business nationalism is an economic nationalist ideology held by a sector of the political right in the United States.^[1]

Business nationalists are

In the past, business nationalism has also been the main sector in the US from which radical anti-communism and union busting has emerged. There have also been sectors of business nationalism, particularly the leadership of the Nazi Party in Germany, and Fascism in general, that have promoted the Red Scares, nativism, and allegations of Jewish banking conspiracies.^[1]

History

Ultraconservative business and industrial leaders who felt that the New Deal implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936 was proof of a sinister alliance by international finance capital and communist-controlled labor unions to destroy free enterprise became known as "business nationalists".^[2][3]

In the middle of the 1930s, Gerald L. K. Smith carried the banner for business nationalists, many of them isolationists who would later oppose the entry of the United States into World War II. Smith received public and financial support from wealthy businessmen who were concentrated in "nationalist-oriented industries".

These included the heads of

The John Birch Society, founded in 1959, incorporated many themes from pre-World War II right-wing groups opposed to the New Deal and had its base in business nationalist circles. The society heavily disseminated an ultraconservative business nationalist critique of corporate internationalists networked through groups such as the Council on Foreign Relations.^[1][5]

As of 2007^[update] business nationalism was represented by ultraconservative political figures such as Pat Buchanan.^[4]

Criticism

According to progressive scholar Mark Rupert, the right-wing anti-globalist worldview of business nationalists "envisions a world in which Americans are uniquely privileged, inheritors of a divinely inspired socio-political order which must at all costs be defended against external intrusions and internal subversion.”

Rupert argues that this

Investigative reporter Chip Berlet argues:

When populist consumer groups, such as those led by Ralph Nader, forge uncritical alliances with business nationalists to rally against GATT and NAFTA, an opportunity emerges for the anti-elite rhetoric of right-wing populism to piggyback onto a legitimate progressive critique. Why is this a problem? Business nationalism carries with it its right-wing baggage. Pat Buchanan’s rhetoric is an example of this baggage. His racist, antisemitic and xenophobic inclinations reflect business nationalism's right-wing national chauvinism. At the core of the right wing, populism is the "producerist narrative" where the main scapegoats are people of color, especially Blacks. This narrative diverts attention from the White supremacist subtext. It uses coded language to mobilize resentment against people of color through attacks on issues immediately relevant to them, such as welfare, immigration, tax, or education policies. Women, gay men and lesbians, abortion providers, youth, students, and environmentalists are also frequently scapegoated in this manner.^[1]

See also

References

Bibliography