Read President Johnny Burtka's latest article in The American Mind

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In a recent article for The American Mind, ISI president Johnny Burtka urges conservatives to reclaim a “politics of transcendence” focused on the common good of all Americans by rediscovering and applying the wisdom of great statesmen of the past.

The following article by John A. Burtka IV was published on December 13, 2024.

Great nations need and deserve great leadership.

Editors' Note: This essay was originally published in December of 2023 and has been updated for recent events.

In light of the commanding victory by Donald Trump and J.D. Vance in November’s election, conservatives are optimistic about the prospects for restoring American greatness. While I share this hope, it’s important to understand the true state of the regime and the character required to heal our nation’s wounds and unite the country around a shared political vision.

The American regime is ill, and everyone feels it. Yet few can agree on the diagnosis and fewer still on the cure. On the Right, some blame

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the alien germ of European progressivism that captured the imaginations of John Dewey and Woodrow Wilson, others Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal

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, Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society

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, or the Supreme Court’s Engle v. Vitale

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decision banning school prayer—the list could go on. There’s some truth to all these narratives, but they elide more fundamental realities.

Around the turn of the twentieth century, America became an empire. We annexed Hawaii and the Philippines, acquired control of the Panama Canal Zone, and sent the Great White Fleet of the American Navy around the world. Our industrial base eclipsed Great Britain’s, and we became a great power—and eventually a global hegemon—as America emerged victorious from two world wars. The benefits of this triumph are manifest and helped to create the most prosperous middle class on earth.

But it’s difficult for a democratic republic based on the principle of separation of powers to sustain a global empire abroad without revolutionizing its constitutional structure at home. Moreover, against the backdrop of the Great Depression, Americans began to want things from their burgeoning imperial government that the Founders’ Constitution had forbidden. In response, Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal vastly expanded the scope of executive power and created a patchwork of federal agencies to circumvent the separation of powers and deliver relief for the American people.

Roosevelt himself delighted in his newfound authority and trolled his critics by dressing up as Caesar for his 52nd birthday party at the White House in 1934. America had followed the path of many other great powers and transitioned from republic to empire. The Constitution had not been formally amended, but the nature of the government had been transformed. This has been the status quo for nearly a century, more than a third of American history.

Today’s administrative state is the result of the haphazard creation and multiplication of federal agencies over the decades. Congress knows that the Constitution doesn’t allow for such delegation of authority, but they delegate it anyway to meet the demands of constituents—who clamor for government relief in emergencies—and corporate donors whose industries want to capture government regulations and contracts. The checks and balances secured by the separation of powers are overcome in the most inefficient, duplicative, and bureaucratic manner possible because it’s easier to create new federal agencies and throw money at them than it is to either defund an existing agency or amend the Constitution.

Whatever meaningful support Social Security and Medicare provide to the middle class, the principal beneficiaries of the regime are the wealthy and well-connected. The administrative state today does less to aid a president in office as it permanently supports the ideology, power, and material flourishing of a new American oligarchy.

This oligarchic class exists within a variety of elite sectors including the corporate media, finance, academia, big philanthropy, think tanks, technology companies, and defense contractors, among others, that have integrated into the fabric of the regime. Members of this group move between positions in government, business, and philanthropy, using the full power of the imperium to advance their interests and implement their ideological agenda.

The path to returning our nation to the system of government established in 1789 is arduous. The cancer in the regime has metastasized to such a degree that attempting to destroy it could kill the patient—not merely the federal government, but the entire network of economic, cultural, and security actors that live off it, yet sustain our modern American way of life, for now.

This reality brings us to an impasse. America’s Cold Civil War is between one side that has near complete control of the imperium and another that has just won a landslide Electoral College victory, yet retains slim majorities in the U.S. Congress. Under such circumstances, how do we save the regime in a peaceful and democratic manner without destroying it in the process?



Rediscovering Mirrors-for-Princes



One possible cure lies in a forgotten genre of literature called “mirrors-for-princes” that existed among all cultures, creeds, and civilizations. It offered practical and moral advice for rising statesmen who had to deal with the age-old problem of oligarchy. These texts functioned like self-help manuals for embattled leaders fighting corrupt aristocratic classes. The genre represents the political wisdom of mankind, and it has helped inspire and instill courage, prudence, and charisma in countless leaders who have heeded its counsels.

Some of its most famous authors include Xenophon, Cicero, Han Fei, Al-Farabi, Thomas Aquinas, Christine de Pizan, Machiavelli, Erasmus, and Thomas More. While not every piece of advice in the tradition is worth following—some of it is quite diabolical—overall, it’s a testament to the fact that previous generations paid serious attention to the qualities that they wanted to cultivate in political leaders and the education required to do so.

While there are countless lessons to be gleaned from this tradition, there are four fundamental insights that can help to guide conservatives in 2025 and beyond:

We must reclaim a politics of transcendence. The ancient world believed that political leaders served as a link between heaven and earth. While our conception of political rule in the modern West differs greatly from antiquity’s, human beings still long for leaders who point them toward ultimate ends. Successful leaders from history often rose above dueling factions of aristocrats and defended the interests of the common people against the abuse of elites, while elevating their hopes toward more permanent realities than politics.

We must champion a vision of the common good that promotes the flourishing of the whole body politic. Great leaders don’t focus primarily on punishing enemies; instead, they reward friends. This should not be confused with special favors for insiders. Rather, the political friendship on offer is an open invitation to people of goodwill regardless of partisan affiliation who share a vision of the common good. Subsidiarity teaches us that the common good will look different in each community, but everywhere its goal is to foster the conditions that allow everyday people to live virtuously in a regime that maintains justice, order, peace, and broad-based prosperity.

We must take aesthetics seriously. People are not often persuaded by logic. Rather, they are enchanted by beauty. Rational arguments follow later as a means of supporting their views and validating decisions. It’s an epic tale, drama, and romance that capture people’s imaginations and move them to follow a leader. Leadership requires painting a beautiful portrait of the world you’d like to inhabit and instilling confidence that you are the best person to make it a reality. In an age where truth and goodness have lost their potency, beauty, as wiser minds have noted, could save the world.

Finally, we need our individual leaders in government, both state and federal, to exhibit character, competence, and a drive for greatness. Because we are a “government of laws and not of men,” as John Adams noted, most Americans feel uncomfortable embracing a “great man” or “great woman” theory of history. While preserving healthy laws and institutions is vital for the flourishing of any regime, it’s not sufficient. A politics of transcendence, the common good, and beauty can only hold together in individuals who not only represent but also embody the people, nation, history, and ideals that they serve.

Throughout modern history, leaders like Theodore Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Charles De Gaulle have arisen in times of crisis with a call to greatness, risen above warring factions, and established new political settlements that shaped their regimes for a generation.

These great leaders understood the politics of transcendence and the common good to such an iconic degree that their images, words, and deeds eventually came to define the West itself. As we approach a second Trump Administration in 2025, it’s incumbent upon conservatives to sketch an image of what it would look like for Trump and Vance to do what T.R., Churchill, and De Gaulle did in their own times. Drawing from the wisdom of great leaders from the past and embracing a leadership style that holds together the hopes of the people rises above partisanship and oligarchy and will renew the American regime.



Toward a Politics of Transcendence



The watchwords for the next administration should be happiness, independence, and greatness. Happiness speaks to our human desire for faith, family, community, and dignified work. Independence signals our emancipation from personal and national debt, a revitalized industrial base, and a prosperous middle class. Greatness speaks to the human need for transcendence and harkens to the heroism of Washington crossing the Delaware, the building of the transcontinental railroad, GI’s storming the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, NASA sending a man to the moon—and forward to the hope of leaving our children a better nation than the one we inhabit now.

Security of Borders: It’s impossible to have a nation without borders. During his first three years in office, President Biden created a humanitarian catastrophe along the Southern border due to non-enforcement of our immigration laws. While the situation improved significantly over the past six months in light of pressure from the electorate, Americans want to restore an orderly and secure system of immigration that serves our cultural and economic interests.

Prosperity for All: Americans want their kids to be better off financially than they were growing up. They want prosperity to be widely shared, economic growth and innovation, wages that rise with company profits, and an end to rampant inflation.

Dignity in Work: Americans are an industrious and entrepreneurial people by nature. They want to have safe and meaningful jobs that complement their unique talents and abilities while allowing enough flexibility to spend time with family and friends.

Peace Through Strength: In an increasingly multipolar and unstable world, Americans want to feel safe from threats both foreign and domestic. They want to have the strongest military in the world for their protection but use it in a prudent and realistic way that puts the interests of American citizens first.

Health of Body: American life expectancies are on the decline. We lag all the developed world on outcomes in healthcare. Americans need to get healthy again and feel confident in their bodies.

Transparency in Healthcare: Healthcare is exorbitantly expensive and bureaucratic. Americans want affordable healthcare, clarity on costs, and a personal relationship with their doctors.

Excellence in Education: Parents want to send their kids to schools that have high and objective standards, equip them with knowledge to be good citizens and community members, prepare them for a respectable career, and eschew radical ideologies.

Public Safety: Americans want to live without fear of crime when they leave their homes. They want justice to be impartially enforced and order restored to our cities.

Beauty in the Environment: Beginning with public buildings and outdoor spaces, the beautification and conservation of America must be a national priority. So much of modern life is ugly and utilitarian. Americans long for public architecture that inspires and nature to explore.

Kindness in Culture: Americans want to live in a society where everyone is treated with respect. An appreciation of variety and healthy respect for human freedom doesn’t preclude shared moral norms or imply that the views of a minority must be imposed on society. Rather, Americans want a culture of dignity for all citizens.

Justice for the Lawless: There are two standards of justice in our system. Elites plunder with impunity, yet seldon face any consequences, and violent criminals are allowed to wreak havoc on innocent civilians and businesses. Meanwhile, ordinary people bear the brunt of the justice system and suffer under an endless number of confusing laws and regulations. The rule of law must be restored in America.

Wholeness in Society: Americans crave real community, but friendship, family, and romance are difficult to find. Addiction to alcohol, gambling, drugs, and pornography are rampant, but we don’t have the tools to establish our freedom and independence. We need to restore a sense of wholeness and wholesomeness to American life to foster pride in ourselves and our nation.

By painting a sweeping vision of happiness, independence, and greatness—and captivating people with transcendent themes that impact their daily lives—the next administration could speak to a strong majority of Americans who want the same fundamental things for their families and their country.



Blueprint for Victory



At the inauguration, President Trump should make it a priority to tackle three immediate threats facing the nation today:

1. Mass immigration

2. Economic Stagnation

3. Peaceful Resolution to the War in Ukraine

America has numerous problems, but these stand out as the most urgent because they touch on the basic needs of human beings for protection, shelter and sustenance, security, and peace. Without these foundations, it’s impossible to address more complex policy issues. In the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency, meaningful progress must be made in these core areas. The result will be an immediate improvement in people’s lives based on tangible actions taken by the nation’s chief executive. After winning the confidence of the people in small, yet important matters of concern, the president can now turn Congress’s attention to the three great structural challenges facing the country: the administrative state, education, and defense.

Congress should collaborate with the newly established Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to dismantle as much of the administrative state as possible. Conservative have talked about slashing waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government for decades, yet it only seems to grow. Even worse, bureaucrats within these federal agencies often work to undermine the very priorities set by the president. Even a 10% reduction of staff and expenditures combined with decentralizing agency headquarters around the country would be a tangible victory in the fight to restore self-government to the American people. Whatever remains of the administrative state should be redirected to more fertile and productive ends within the confines of the Constitution. Higher standards for career employees, including bringing back civil service exams, and more direct presidential authority over agencies would help to restore confidence and competence in
the federal government.

The education system must be transformed to make it more excellent, accessible, and localized. Our current, college-for-all model is bankrupting the nation and not preparing young people morally or professionally for flourishing lives. Trade schools and apprenticeship programs (for blue-collar and white-collar jobs alike) should be made widely available to high school students so that they can graduate with practical skills and good paying jobs—while avoiding tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. Bloated educational bureaucracies must be put on a strict diet. Money should follow students, not failing systems.

The federal Department of Education—and funding for student loans—must be abolished, and the savings reallocated to providing funding for trade schools and apprenticeship programs across the country. A new tax on university endowments over $2 billion would be used to forgive student loans for new public service workers like teachers, police officers, and firefighters who serve more than five years, attracting top talent to these vital professions.

Americans have been complaining about the military-industrial complex since President Eisenhower’s prophetic farewell address

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in 1961, but the situation has only gotten more dire. The industry has consolidated

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into the hands of a few monopolies, and it is increasingly corrupt, inefficient, and inadequate to address twenty-first century security concerns.

Apart from instituting a ten-year ban on lobbying after service in the federal government, we should acknowledge the system for what it is and use it to serve our national interests. The military-industrial complex—and leading technology companies—should be put to the task of rebuilding America’s defense industrial base, infrastructure, energy, and conservation needs. From space rockets and nuclear energy to public parks, preserves, museums, libraries, and high-speed rail, the task of making America secure, dynamic, and beautiful will inspire national pride in a new generation.

The Path Forward

Decline is not inevitable. We may never fully return to the glory days of the American Founding in terms of constitutional governance or to the industrial capacity and military hegemony of the post-World War II era, but we can make America the greatest cultural, political, and technological force of the twenty-first century.

The path forward for conservatives during a second Trump Administration requires an honest assessment of American empire and indictment of its oligarchy; a rediscovery and application of the wisdom from great statesmen of the past; the courage to rise to the challenge in moments of crisis; and most importantly, the imagination to conceive of a new paradigm for politics that transcends the status quo and secures the common good for all Americans.

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