Slobodian Speaks on the Uniting of Libertarians and Cultural Conservatives in New Interview
Quinn Slobodian, Professor of International History at the Pardee School, was interviewed for Socialter in an article by Fabien Benoit titled Quinn Slobodian : Autour de Trump, un nouvel eugénisme supprime les politiques à destination des plus pauvres, published October 21, 2025. In this interview, Slobodian traces the intellectual roots of today’s far right in a wide-ranging interview tied to his recent work, Hayek’s Bastards. The conversation builds on themes from his earlier book, Crack-Up Capitalism, examining how radical libertarians and cultural conservatives—often portrayed as ideological opposites—have forged a mutually reinforcing alliance over the past three decades.
Slobodian challenges the popular narrative that Trump-era politics represent a revolt against capitalism, arguing instead that many of its leading figures are committed to deepening market rule while constraining democracy. At the center of this alliance, is what he calls a “new fusionism”: a convergence of libertarianism, conservatism, and neoliberalism grounded not in religion, but in claims drawn from genetics, evolutionary psychology, and IQ research. This “pseudo-science of inequality,” he notes, is used to naturalize hierarchy and justify rolling back welfare states and egalitarian politics. As Slobodian puts it,
This pseudo-science of inequality, which posits that the value of individuals can be measured by their IQ, made a comeback in the 1960s in reaction to the civil rights movement, decolonization, and the feminist movement.
Figures such as Charles Murray and Murray Rothbard loom large in this history, as does the growing influence of techno-libertarian elites who see the state not as an enemy to abolish, but as a tool to reshape in capitalism’s favor.
Ultimately, Slobodian argues that what unites these disparate actors is a shared hostility to democracy itself. The appeal to biology and “hard science,” he suggests, offers a common language for opposing equality while legitimizing exclusionary policies on immigration, social spending, and political participation. “To understand this shift,” Slobodian observes, “it is crucial to ask who their common enemy is. I think it is primarily an opposition to democracy.” Together, his analysis offers a stark counter-history of the post–Cold War era and a sobering account of how ideas once considered fringe have moved closer to the centers of power.
The full interview can be read here.
To learn more about Prof. Quinn Slobodian’s work and achievements, visit his faculty profile.