Some speakers at the Budapest forum referred to the present crisis as an “interregnum,” but that implies a regnum to follow, which seems presumptuous. I see little reason to believe that a “new mode and order,” to use Machiavelli’s phrase, is being born. And if we do get a global system comprising petits nationalismes competing one against another, there’s a fair chance it’ll feature great-power wars, a resurgence of suppressed ethnic hatreds, and the demise of both dollar hegemony and stable trade regimes. In other words, our children could be less safe and much poorer than we were under liberal hegemony.

One European political scientist suggested to me that Trump himself has the spirit of a Machiavellian founder, as his White House renovations and plans to build an Arc de Triomphe reveal. And he displays an almost preternatural ability to find the weaknesses of liberalism and exploit them for political gain. But Trump increasingly appears sui generis, and one begins to ask how much of the death of liberalism has resulted from his uniquely combative and charismatic persona rather than structural factors. The White House will be bigger and golder after he leaves it, but will America be great again?

If post-liberalism fails, or fails to arise, one obvious possibility is reversion to liberalism, perhaps of a more formidable, albeit subtler, kind. Just as Bad Bunny jettisoned explicit wokeness and instead subliminally insinuated anti-white, anti-American ideas, liberal technocrats have learned that overt hostility to white majorities and to basic common sense plays poorly in the political realm. Over time, the liberals will find chances to resume their frontal assault. If you want a picture of the future, imagine Bad Bunny in a dress waving some Latin American flag in your face—forever.

Original article:  theamericanconservative.com