Trump, Populism, and the End of the Neoliberal Order

Guest host and former LCHP Postdoctoral Associate Ben Zdencanovic welcomes Cambridge historian Gary Gerstle to discuss whether Trump and MAGAism represent the end of the neoliberal order. Gary traces American political systems starting with the transition from the New Deal order, which emphasized government regulation of capitalism in the public interest, to the neoliberal order that prioritized deregulation, free markets, and globalization under Ronald Reagan and later gained bipartisan support during the Clinton administration. Gary argues that the 2008 financial crisis undermined the neoliberal consensus, creating the conditions for the rise of populist movements across the political spectrum and the emergence of Donald Trump’s political project. He examines whether the United States is entering a new political order centered on MAGA and emphasizes the risks of democratic backsliding and authoritarianism. Gary highlights sources of democratic resilience, including civic activism and the possibility of a new progressive political coalition. 

Gary Gerstle is Paul Mellon Professor of American History Emeritus at the University of Cambridge. Gerstle received his MA and PhD from Harvard University. He is currently the Kluge Chair of American Law and Governance at the Library of Congress. Last year he was Joy Foundation Fellow at the Harvard-Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. His works include over ten books, including his most recent book The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: America and the World in the Free Market Era(Oxford, 2022) and his current project Politics in Our Time: Authoritarian Peril and Democratic Hope in the Twenty-First Century(to be published 2027/2028 by Penguin Press)

Ben Zdencanovic is an Assistant Professor of U.S. History at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. His research as a historian looks at the United States in the world, domestic and international politics, and social and economic policy. Ben was the inaugural Postdoctoral Associate at the LCHP. Ben is currently working on two book projects. The first is titled Island of Enterprise: The United States in a World of Welfare, 1940 – 1955 (forthcoming from Princeton University Press). His second book is tentatively entitled The Cold War on Poverty: Race, Labor, and Manpower in the U.S. Warfare/Welfare State.