Everything MAGA gets wrong about economics | The Moynihan Report

This episode of The Moynihan Report features Swedish author Johan Norberg, who joins Moynihan to discuss the shifting global economic and political landscape in 2026. The conversation begins with a critical look at U.S. trade policy, where Norberg argues that recent tariffs act as a "stupid consumption tax" that harms American manufacturing by raising the cost of input materials. Contrary to the America First narrative, he contends that these costs are absorbed by consumers and businesses rather than foreign exporters, fueling inflation that remains higher in the U.S. than in Europe. While the world has avoided a 1930s-style trade collapse so far by not retaliating, Norberg warns that new threats of tariffs on European nations could trigger a more damaging trade war.

Transitioning to his home country, Norberg dispels the myth of Sweden as a socialist paradise, explaining that its wealth was actually built on a century of ruthless free market capitalism before the stagnation caused by 1970s socialist experiments. He notes that while Sweden is a large welfare state, its tax system is less progressive than America's, relying heavily on taxing the middle class and consumption rather than "soaking the rich." The discussion also touches on the geopolitical fallout of U.S. aggression toward Greenland, which Norberg suggests marks the end of the American world order. This instability is driving European nations to rearm and even consider nuclear deterrents, while global markets begin diversifying away from the U.S. dollar due to perceived political risk.

Finally, they address the paradox of capitalism's declining popularity among young people despite creating unprecedented abundance, which Norberg attributes to a deep-seated human bias toward viewing wealth as a zero-sum game.

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