Project 2025 is less about governance and more about remaking the state in ways that require large-scale disruption. Doge was the first step. The rapid-fire blunderbuss approach that Steve Bannon mentioned is still happening. Naomi Klein’s book “The Shock Doctrine” had warning signs that match much of current MAGA blueprint. While the citizens are distracted or struggling to survive, leaders implement sweeping neoliberal economic policies — privatisation, deregulation, cuts to social programs — that disproportionately benefit corporate elites. Once the shock passes, the changes are so embedded that rolling them back becomes politically or economically nearly impossible. If your long-term political project is to convince voters that “government doesn’t work,” creating a chaotic economy under your watch can paradoxically strengthen your argument as long as you can spin the blame onto your opponents, the media, or foreign actors, like Canada or Mexico.
The Roman empire gave the plebs “bread and circuses” to keep them distracted. Entrenched loyalty to the “dear leader” became the norm, rather than to the democratic institutions. While the mob was busy cheering in the Colosseum, they weren’t rioting over lost freedoms, economic inequality, or military overreach. Project 2025’s cultural agenda, like the Roman spectacles, acts as a constant source of emotional engagement and identity reinforcement, distracting from economic instability or democratic backsliding. All media coverage now is hyperbole and a constant cycle of outrage.
It’s not unreasonable for you to suspect that parts of Project 2025 could have economic consequences that are more than just “collateral damage”. I think harm to the economy is seen by those behind Project 2025 as an acceptable price the country will have to pay, rather than a deliberate policy to wreck it.
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