As a conservative member of Gen Z, I have come of age in an era of political division. Social scientists have labeled my cohort the “anxious generation.” Authorities in media, medicine, social science, and art talk about Gen Z as a kind of broken generation — the guinea pigs for remarkable social innovation from social media to AI. But that commentary is missing a key point: Gen Z is not apathetic.
My peers and I often ask whether, amid all of this progress, we are truly happier and more secure than past generations. We hear that gross domestic product has never been higher, technology will make life so much easier, and social progress will unite us. Yet this very progress, which promised us a new era of human growth, has ushered in a deep social divide. Young men and young women have never been more politically divided, making relationships tumultuous; social media places unrealistic expectations of success or beauty on us, and talking heads provide scapegoats for us to marginalize. For me, I discovered truly fulfilling answers to my questions in the wisdom of the past in philosophy and theology. I identify as a conservative, not as a Republican in the modern sense, because if the Republican party seeks to maintain relevance, it must acknowledge the pressing problems of now.
The Republican Party encapsulates a large, divided ideological spectrum: Everyone from libertarians to evangelical Christian nationalists fit under the tent. Now, a growing group of Gen Z populists is pushing back against the Republican Party of yesterday, making up one of the most crucial voting blocs of the 2024 election.
Conservatives under Trump need to champion policies that inspire Gen Z while still appealing to established interest groups and independents. In the wake of Trump’s victory in the Republican primaries, this new populism has finally defeated the last Hail Mary from old-school Republicans, Nikki Haley. Now that Trump is the uncontested Republican nominee, the party needs to craft a new conservative agenda to usher in the next generation of “American Greatness.” Critically, it must ensure a future for Gen Z and the generations that follow.
Generation Z can potentially be one of the most consequential generations in American history. For Republicans to win it, they need to unite around a muscular, pragmatic ideology. Gen Z men flock to conservatism, but it is not the conservatism we have grown up with. This new conservatism is a revival, returning to the idea that the country is in constant evolution, but anchored with reason, morality, and natural law. Conservatism must be progressive in that it recognizes the strength and forward mobility of a united populace, and it must remain conservative in the sense that it recognizes the state’s role is to enforce the rule of law, promulgate virtuous action, and uplift the unfortunate. Gen Z has seen a profound social change in our very short lives. Americans are battling huge income inequality and wage stagnation. We can’t tolerate the free-market orthodoxy that created these conditions.
Gen Z Republicans will helm the Republican Coalition Of Life. This coalition, which will unite Republicans and independents, will support increased border protection, decreased cost of living, and proactive community action. Central to this new Republican vision for freedom is the recognition that liberty is not simply an idea but a state of life that can only come to fruition if every American has safety and financial security. Rather than slicing government programs or increasing our ever-growing debt, this faction will focus on addressing local programs through local solutions. Gen Z is not unconscious of social ills; Republicans must demonstrate how these reforms will demonstrably impact their lives specifically and place us on a trajectory of growth.
The next generation is experiencing one of humanity’s most significant social transformations ever. We have entered a new renaissance of AI, which places the future of the vast majority of American white-collar work at risk. Republicans must focus on protecting American jobs at all costs because a job provides meaning and produces productive, well-adjusted citizens. The potential of productive, well-adjusted citizens is limitless.
The Republican party must focus on facilitating a stable transition towards AI by keeping American jobs at the forefront of AI-related legislation and focusing on seamless adoption rather than mass layoffs.
As the world continues to reel from massive international relations conflicts and disputes, the Republican Party must now be the party of economic protectionism. The United States has long been involved in the affairs of other nations; Americans overwhelmingly look back at conflicts like Vietnam and Afghanistan as failed colonial experiments. The United States must abandon its colonial past and handle foreign affairs pragmatically, as our first and only ideal should be prevention. Domestically, the United States struggles with hundreds of social problems — these cannot be ignored or set aside. The Republican party must put American domestic issues at the forefront of the conversation. As conservatives, we must strive for domestic social victories echoing past successes.
Conservatives under Trump want to preserve our country’s strengths, so it is a win for conservatives when modern successes happen due to the application of past wisdom. Neoliberalism has been the norm in recent decades, an ideology that stresses foreign intervention, deregulated markets, and a synchronicity of corporate and government interests. Americans are tired of an endless culture war stemming from the consequences of a neoliberal social order and misguided and corrupt federal leadership. Republicans must strive to embody and promote moral virtue and transparency in all aspects of leadership, not simply divisive cultural battles.
The Republican Party must synthesize the ideals of liberty into a concrete electoral promise that can resonate with a diverse coalition of voters. This promise must include economic stability, proactive pacifist international diplomacy, and the empowerment of American communities against existential domestic threats such as crime and drug abuse. The last four years have shown that reckless inflationary spending does not solve America’s problems. Only by restoring American financial stability and reducing the cost of living can we break the poisonous cycle of American poverty and violence that has defined life at the beginning of the 21st century.
