What happens when the enemies of capitalism don’t come from the left? In recent years, a surprising trend has emerged—right-wing groups turning against the very economic system long associated with their ideology. This right-wing anti-capitalism doesn’t oppose markets outright but challenges globalized, consumer-driven capitalism that erodes tradition, culture, and national sovereignty. While often overshadowed by leftist critiques, this strand of thought is gaining traction across the political spectrum. By blending nationalism, cultural preservation, and skepticism of corporate power, modern right-wing movements are forging a distinct and sometimes contradictory economic stance that reshapes political conversations in the 21st century.
What Exactly Is Right-Wing Anti-Capitalism?
Understanding the Term “Right-Wing Anti-Capitalism”
Right-wing anti-capitalism refers to critiques of capitalism rooted in nationalism, tradition, and social hierarchy rather than egalitarianism. It differs from leftist critiques by opposing capitalism not for its inequality, but for undermining cultural, moral, and national integrity. These critics view capitalism’s globalizing tendencies as corrosive to the organic community, eroding shared values and identity. They oppose liberal economics because it promotes individualism at the expense of collective order. This form of anti-capitalism is not anti-market but resists market dominance over every aspect of life. It seeks to protect national sovereignty, traditional roles, and cultural continuity from the forces of corporate liberalism and borderless finance.
Historical Roots of Right-Wing Critiques of Capitalism
Right-wing anti-capitalism has roots in early European reactions against liberalism, industrialism, and cosmopolitan finance. Thinkers like Oswald Spengler, Carl Schmitt, and early fascists critiqued capitalism for fostering moral decay and undermining authority. These ideas also appeared in Catholic social teaching, Romantic nationalism, and 19th-century agrarian populism. Right-wing critiques emphasized that capitalism dissolves bonds of family, faith, and duty by making profit the sole value. Even in Nazi Germany or Vichy France, capital was tolerated only when subordinated to state and nation. This tradition continued into postwar Europe and Cold War-era paleoconservatism, shaping modern movements skeptical of both socialism and neoliberalism.
Core Beliefs Behind Right-Wing Anti-Capitalism
#1. Anti-Globalism
Right-wing anti-capitalists oppose globalization because it dissolves national sovereignty and local economies. They argue that global capitalism prioritizes profit over national identity, allowing foreign corporations and supranational institutions to dictate domestic policies. This view sees trade agreements, outsourcing, and open borders as mechanisms that weaken a country’s self-sufficiency. Globalism, in their eyes, dilutes cultural uniqueness and replaces it with rootless consumerism. They advocate for economic policies that restore control to the nation-state. Tariffs, domestic production incentives, and immigration restrictions are seen as tools to regain autonomy. To them, fighting global capitalism is a way to defend the homeland—not only economically, but culturally and spiritually.
#2. Cultural Preservation Over Profit
Right-wing anti-capitalists believe capitalism threatens traditional values by prioritizing profit over heritage. Mass entertainment, advertising, and corporate culture are seen as promoting hedonism and moral relativism. They argue that capitalism commodifies everything—including religion, family, and identity—stripping these institutions of their sacred meaning. This leads to cultural homogenization and the loss of distinct local customs. For these critics, the free market isn’t neutral; it actively reshapes society according to the lowest common denominator. They favor policies that defend family structures, traditional education, and religious practices from commercial intrusion. Culture must serve as a moral foundation, not as a marketing strategy or consumer category.
#3. Opposition to Consumerism
Consumerism is viewed as a corrosive force that weakens character and civic duty. Right-wing anti-capitalists criticize the endless pursuit of material goods, claiming it distracts from higher goals like honor, discipline, and service to one’s nation. They believe consumerism promotes short-term pleasure, fosters dependency, and undermines responsibility. Constant advertising and planned obsolescence are seen as tools that encourage passivity and spiritual emptiness. This mindset results in weaker communities and disconnected individuals. Rather than celebrating consumption, they call for frugality, simplicity, and purposeful living. They promote cultural and moral education over market-driven entertainment, viewing consumer capitalism as a threat to the soul of the nation.
#4. Distrust of Corporations
Corporations are seen as amoral giants that serve global elites, not the national interest. Right-wing anti-capitalists argue that multinational corporations exploit workers, destroy small businesses, and undermine national cohesion. These critics resent corporate political activism, especially when it supports progressive causes that clash with traditional values. They see “woke capitalism” as a strategy to enforce ideological conformity under the guise of inclusivity. Corporations are also blamed for spreading foreign cultural norms and exploiting local resources. This distrust fuels support for breaking up monopolies, banning corporate lobbying, and enforcing national ownership laws. Economic power, they believe, must be tied to national responsibility.
#5. Economic Nationalism
Economic nationalism demands that the state prioritize its citizens over global economic efficiency. Right-wing anti-capitalists reject the idea that markets should be borderless and profit should be blind to nationhood. Instead, they argue for policies that protect domestic industries, maintain full employment, and preserve economic self-reliance. Free trade is criticized for decimating local jobs and empowering hostile foreign powers. They support tariffs, subsidies, and local procurement laws to rebuild national economies. This isn’t socialism—it’s capitalism subordinated to the nation’s welfare. They believe a country should control its own supply chains and resist becoming a pawn in the global capitalist system.
#6. Hierarchical Social Order
Right-wing anti-capitalists support a natural hierarchy and see capitalism as disrupting social order. They believe societies thrive when roles are clearly defined and respect for authority is maintained. Capitalism, especially in its liberal form, erodes traditional hierarchies by elevating profit over virtue and status over service. They argue that it enables unworthy individuals—those without moral or cultural excellence—to gain power purely through wealth. This undermines social cohesion and moral authority. For them, a healthy society must honor soldiers, priests, educators, and parents, not just entrepreneurs and influencers. They view social inequality not as injustice, but as necessary for order and purpose.
#7. State as Guardian of the Nation
Right-wing anti-capitalists believe the state should protect cultural, moral, and economic integrity from market excesses. They reject both libertarian minimalism and socialist central planning. Instead, they envision a strong, sovereign state that defends tradition, regulates harmful market forces, and upholds the common good. This includes limiting corporate influence, controlling media narratives, and promoting national values in schools and institutions. They support state intervention not for egalitarian redistribution but to preserve national identity and prevent decay. In this view, the market must serve the nation—not the other way around. The state is not just a referee but a protector of heritage.
Modern Right-Wing Anti-Capitalism Movements
#1. The New Right in Europe
The New Right in Europe blends nationalism, cultural identity, and anti-capitalist skepticism of global finance. Originating in France with thinkers like Alain de Benoist, this movement opposes liberal capitalism for eroding Europe’s unique civilizations. It criticizes American cultural imperialism and defends ethnic and regional identity against globalization. While not socialist, the New Right promotes social solidarity, local economies, and state-protected traditions. It values rootedness over cosmopolitanism and hierarchy over egalitarianism. These ideas influence populist parties and intellectual circles across Europe. The movement views capitalism as useful only when it respects the community’s cultural fabric. Otherwise, they see it as destructive and morally corrosive.
#2. American Paleoconservatives
American paleoconservatives reject global capitalism in favor of tradition, religion, and economic nationalism. Influenced by thinkers like Pat Buchanan, they oppose free trade, mass immigration, and multinational corporations. They argue these forces destroy the working class, undermine Christianity, and weaken national sovereignty. Paleoconservatives advocate for tariffs, secure borders, and a moral economy rooted in local communities. Their critique of capitalism focuses on cultural degradation rather than economic inequality. They distrust both Wall Street and Silicon Valley, viewing them as disconnected from Middle America. While defending private property, they insist markets must serve cultural and national values—not libertarian individualism or profit maximization.
#3. Post-Liberal Thinkers
Post-liberal thinkers call for replacing liberal capitalism with a system rooted in the common good and moral order. Writers like Patrick Deneen and Adrian Vermeule argue that liberalism—economic and political—has failed. They say capitalism dissolves communities, hollows out public virtue, and breeds cultural nihilism. Post-liberals reject libertarian economics in favor of “common good constitutionalism,” family-first policy, and strategic state intervention. They don’t support socialism, but want markets restrained by moral authority. Their vision includes state-enforced norms, protection for traditional institutions, and limits on corporate autonomy. They believe the future lies in ordered liberty, not unrestrained choice. Capitalism must be disciplined by culture and law.
#4. National Conservatism Movement
The National Conservatism movement seeks to align capitalism with nationalism, tradition, and moral responsibility. Backed by figures like Yoram Hazony and supported by many right-leaning academics and politicians, this movement critiques neoliberal economics for undermining national cohesion. It promotes an economy that supports strong families, local businesses, and national industries. National conservatives are wary of big tech and corporate activism, especially when it opposes traditional values. They call for policy tools to regulate harmful corporate behavior, encourage patriotic enterprise, and restore national self-reliance. For them, capitalism must be tied to cultural continuity, not abstract markets or global competition.
#5. Right-Wing Populist Parties
Right-wing populist parties in Europe and the U.S. criticize capitalism when it serves elites and harms the nation. These parties—like France’s National Rally, Italy’s Brothers of Italy, and Trump’s America First movement—attack globalism, outsourcing, and financialization. They advocate protectionism, immigration controls, and support for domestic industries. Their economic nationalism is not anti-market but anti-elite. They rally working-class voters by blaming corporate interests for job losses, cultural decline, and political betrayal. While ideologically diverse, they share a belief that capitalism must be reoriented toward national strength and social cohesion. They frame their struggle as one between rooted citizens and cosmopolitan oligarchs.
How Right-Wing Anti-Capitalism Differs from Left-Wing Anti-Capitalism
#1. Emphasis on Tradition vs. Emphasis on Equality
Right-wing anti-capitalists aim to protect tradition, while left-wing critics fight for economic equality. The former defends long-standing cultural, religious, and national values that they believe capitalism erodes. They view social stability and heritage as more important than wealth distribution. In contrast, left-wing anti-capitalists emphasize redistributing resources and dismantling oppressive class structures. They see capitalism as inherently unjust due to its exploitation of labor and concentration of wealth. While both criticize capitalism, their goals are different—one seeks to restore a perceived golden age, the other to create a radically new and just future. One defends order; the other demands transformation.
#2. Nationalism vs. Internationalism
Right-wing anti-capitalism is rooted in nationalism, while the left promotes international solidarity. The right rejects global capitalism because it undermines national sovereignty and cultural identity. They favor borders, tariffs, and economic self-reliance. The left, by contrast, opposes capitalism for fostering imperialism and global inequality. It calls for worker solidarity across borders and supports international institutions that challenge capitalist dominance. Where the right champions the nation-state as the moral unit, the left sees humanity itself as the base for justice. This difference shapes their strategies—patriotic production versus global cooperation, national renewal versus international revolution.
#3. Moral Order vs. Social Liberation
Right-wing critics of capitalism want to restore moral order, while the left seeks to liberate individuals from oppressive systems. Conservatives blame capitalism for promoting cultural decay, permissiveness, and the breakdown of traditional norms. They demand a return to virtue, family values, and discipline. Leftists, however, argue that capitalism restricts human freedom through economic dependency and social repression. They seek to empower individuals—especially marginalized groups—by breaking down economic, gender, and racial hierarchies. While both distrust the market’s cultural effects, one sees freedom in restraint, the other in liberation. One calls for control; the other calls for emancipation.
#4. Hierarchy vs. Class Struggle
Right-wing anti-capitalists defend natural hierarchy, while left-wingers call for class struggle. For the right, hierarchy reflects tradition, responsibility, and social function. They believe inequality is not only inevitable but necessary for order. They oppose capitalism when it disrupts these traditional roles and elevates unworthy elites. Left-wing critics, on the other hand, see capitalism as a system of class oppression. They fight for workers to overthrow capitalist power and establish equality. While both oppose current elites, the right wants to replace them with a moral aristocracy; the left wants to eliminate structural domination altogether.
#5. Cultural Preservation vs. Cultural Progressivism
Right-wing critics resist capitalism for undermining traditional culture, while the left sees capitalism as a barrier to cultural progress. Conservatives argue that market forces commodify and dilute heritage, faith, and language. They seek to shield these from mass production and global homogenization. Progressives, by contrast, blame capitalism for reinforcing outdated norms and suppressing marginalized voices. They want a culture that evolves freely—free from both state and market-imposed norms. While both oppose cultural manipulation, the right protects the past; the left reimagines the future. One wants to conserve identity, the other to diversify and liberate it.
#6. State as Protector of Heritage vs. State as Tool for Redistribution
Right-wing anti-capitalists view the state as guardian of heritage, while the left sees it as an agent of economic justice. Conservatives believe the state must enforce moral order, defend cultural continuity, and restrain market excesses. They don’t support a welfare state, but want national institutions to promote tradition and discipline. In contrast, leftists demand the state intervene to correct capitalist inequality—through welfare programs, labor protections, and wealth redistribution. While both accept state power, their visions diverge: one wants to mold citizens into loyal heirs of tradition; the other wants to empower individuals with economic security and autonomy.
#7. Critique of Corporations for Moral Decay vs. Critique for Economic Exploitation
Right-wing anti-capitalists condemn corporations for moral decay, while left-wing critics attack them for exploiting labor. Conservatives resent “woke” corporations that undermine traditional values and push progressive ideologies. They believe corporations fuel decadence and undermine national identity. Leftists, however, criticize corporations for low wages, poor working conditions, and wealth concentration. They see them as tools of systemic oppression. Both agree corporations have outsized power—but disagree on why it’s harmful. One sees a cultural threat; the other sees an economic one. One demands moral accountability; the other demands economic justice.
Final Thoughts on the Future of Right-Wing Anti-Capitalism
Right-wing anti-capitalism reveals a complex and growing rejection of globalized market systems from an unexpected ideological direction. Unlike leftist critiques, it centers on tradition, nationalism, and cultural survival rather than equality or social justice. As global instability, corporate overreach, and cultural shifts intensify, this worldview may gain more political influence. Its future will likely depend on how effectively it can balance economic control with moral authority—without sliding into authoritarianism or protectionist excess. As left and right both confront capitalism, the political terrain is shifting toward a new, uncertain alignment that challenges long-standing assumptions across the ideological spectrum.