The rise of “neo-monarchy”: Trump’s plan to transform US political landscape Will corporations rule, and democracy fade away?

The right-wing conservative movement that has surged in the US, culminating in Donald Trump’s rise to power, is far from uniform. It is made up of various factions, including influential libertarians like Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel, who advocate for a completely deregulated capitalist system; isolationists yearning for a return to a more self-focused America that avoids foreign entanglements; extreme far-right racists who support white supremacy; and Catholic ultraconservatives such as Leonard Leo.

While Leonard Leo is consumed with the goal of banning abortions and played a key role in helping Trump select conservative Supreme Court judges during his first term, other figures like Elon Musk and over 50 other billionaires are pushing for aggressive deregulation of corporations. Their agenda involves removing any legislative restrictions on business operations, abolishing taxes, and allowing large corporations to assume most of the social functions traditionally carried out by the state.

These groups may ultimately align around the necessity of creating a strong, authoritarian regime.

If these proposed policies are put into effect, it’s hard to imagine the result as a “republic” by any standard definition. Today, people like Peter Thiel, his intellectual patron Curtis Guy Yarvin, Elon Musk, and possibly other billionaires who funded Trump’s election campaign hold significant sway. Their argument is that simply lifting taxes and regulatory constraints on corporations and transferring control of the US budget to private companies—or more precisely, to their oligarchic owners—would spark public outrage unless it’s accompanied by measures to silence dissent.

In their view, the solution is an autocratic system that suppresses any opposition — a “neo-monarchy,” as Thiel has described it.

Yarvin argues that the solution to inefficient, wasteful governments is simple: replace them with private corporations, whose owners would choose an executive director — the leader of the country — with absolute authority. He finds inspiration in figures who pioneered scientific and industrial modernization, such as autocrats like Deng Xiaoping and Lee Kuan Yew, admiring their ability to centralize power and drive progress.

Leo shares a similar sentiment but takes it further. He believes that conservative measures, such as banning abortions, are impossible in a system where the public elects leaders every few years. To make such drastic changes, he argues, a top-down approach is necessary. These policies must be enacted through the courts and lobbied for in Congress, bypassing the will of the people.

This vision aligns more closely with monarchy than a republic — a system Trump himself doesn’t reject, though it doesn’t mean an immediate dismantling of democratic institutions. Instead, he believes their importance will slowly diminish over time. Curtis, reflecting on this shift, refers to it as "Dark Enlightenment," a transformation that is far from the democratic ideals Americans once cherished. Jack London, in his own words, called this type of social and political order "The Iron Heel."

Yet, a large portion of Trump’s supporters, fiercely protective of their gun rights, state sovereignty, and the independence of local militias, yearn for a return to the days of the founding fathers. These are the voices that call for smaller government and a less centralized approach. But will America truly revert to its past? Probably not.

The structure of the early United States was radically different from today. The country back then was a collection of countless small, self-sufficient communities, both urban and rural, where all men were armed and belonged to militias that kept the peace. The population consisted primarily of independent farmers, traders, and craftsmen. Local governments were powerful, making decisions on taxes, justice, and governance without much interference from a weak central state. That model, though it may seem appealing to some, bears little resemblance to the complex nation America has become today.

Modern America is a world dominated by megacities, massive corporations, and a labour force largely dependent on bosses and owners. It features a centralized government with a powerful military and extensive law enforcement structures. This setup results in a concentration of power within the central government and large corporations, which in turn influence political decisions through lobbying. These are the fundamental realities of the United States, regardless of whether the president is Joe Biden or Donald Trump. In today’s environment, returning to the world envisioned by the Founding Fathers is not a feasible option, and the space for democracy is increasingly limited.

Now, focusing on Trump’s politics, the agenda is not about returning to the ancient communities of the past, but about consolidating power in the hands of the president. This would involve replacing bureaucrats with his own loyalists, limiting Congress's authority, reducing the importance of electoral institutions, and pushing conservative values such as family norms into the education and justice systems. Additionally, it would lead to strengthening the powers of law enforcement agencies. These are the core tenets of the "Project 2025" proposed by Trump’s associates. The vision is to turn the US into a nationalist, Christian state, with aspects of autocracy. In the economic sphere, the agenda calls for deregulation and drastic tax reductions. At the same time, large private companies would take control over major areas of public life.

Another significant portion of Trump’s supporters, particularly the white working-class residents of the "Rust Belt" (the former industrial heartland, which saw factories and jobs move to China and Mexico), yearns for a revival of the 1950s America. During this time, the economy was thriving, nearly everyone had secure employment, and men went off to work in factories each morning, returning home in the evening to find their wives waiting with an apple pie.

However, even this dream is unlikely to materialize. Instead, what is more probable is the emergence of an autocratic system based on nationalist and religious principles, while at the same time, the largest private corporations will consolidate their power. These companies, which already operate with little regulation, will continue to absorb more public functions, as envisioned by figures like Elon Musk. The resulting society will likely feature widening inequality, job insecurity, and diminishing access to social services. Big businesses will dictate their own rules and impose harsh penalties on those who violate them.

Meanwhile, the reindustrialization that Trump supporters hope for is theoretically possible, should some factories return to the US and conditions be created for new ones to open.

For Trump’s ordinary voters, some of these promises will likely be fulfilled. For example, there may be an expansion of gun rights. It’s also likely that schools will eliminate the promotion of non-traditional relationships in favour of advocating for patriotic and religious values. While these shifts might feel like a return to past norms, the structural changes in America over the last few centuries suggest that the country is headed for something entirely different.

As historian Ernst Nolte observed, reversing the historical flow is impossible, but such a reverse movement creates a kind of whirlpool, out of which new forms inevitably emerge.