MAGA Is Dragging America Backwards While Europe Sprints Ahead

America is a nation eating itself alive, and the culprit is the so-called MAGA movement. “Make America Great Again” has become a cruel joke – a backwards-looking, reality-denying crusade.

America is a nation eating itself alive, and the culprit is the so-called MAGA movement. “Make America Great Again” has become a cruel joke – a backward-looking, reality-denying crusade that is both cause and effect of the United States’ accelerating decline. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic (and in other advanced democracies), the rest of the developed world is charging forward – embracing progress, investing in their people, and reaping the rewards. The contrast is stark: Europe and its global allies are confidently building the future, while MAGA drags the U.S. further into the past. This isn’t just hyperbole; it’s playing out in everything from living standards and technology to global influence and financial stability. And the most bitter irony? The MAGA crowd’s own lives are being made worse by the very ideology they cling to. It’s a vicious cycle: America’s struggles gave rise to MAGA, and MAGA, in turn, deepens those struggles. Let’s break down how we got here and why Europe (along with like-minded nations) is leaving America in the dust.

The Vicious Cycle of MAGA Decline

The MAGA movement rose on a wave of discontent – people feeling left behind, nostalgic for an idealised past. But instead of offering real solutions, MAGA doubles down on anger, racism, and denial. It feeds on America’s problems and then makes them worse, locking us in a self-destructive loop. Nowhere is this clearer than in the movement’s blatant rejection of reality. From climate change to election results, MAGA world lives in an alternate universe. Donald Trump infamously claimed that global warming was a hoax “created by and for the Chinese”, and to this day, many MAGA devotees dismiss climate science outright. The result? America delays action on green technology while Europe and Asia race ahead in clean energy. Likewise, MAGA’s refusal to accept electoral defeat – the “Big Lie” that the 2020 election was stolen – led to the darkest day in modern American democracy: a mob assaulting the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 in a violent attempt to overturn the vote. That shocking insurrection, incited by lies, illustrated how far detached from reality the movement had become.

MAGA’s brand of patriotism is perversely anti-American in practice. Its adherents wrap themselves in the flag but trample on core values and institutions. They preach “law and order” yet celebrated when an armed mob stormed Congress. They scream “freedom” while venerating authoritarians and attacking the free press. The movement glorifies an America of yesteryear – one that was more white, more Christian, less educated – and regards expanding equality and knowledge as threats. By elevating grievances and conspiracies over facts, MAGA actively undermines the very greatness it claims to champion. It drives talent away, alienates allies, and sabotages our ability to tackle real issues. Racism and xenophobia are not side effects of MAGA; they’re features. From day one, Trump set the tone: “Mexico is sending people that have lots of problems… They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists,” he ranted in his 2015 campaign kickoff. This wasn’t a slip of the tongue – it was a rallying cry. MAGA rallies have embraced open bigotry, whether it’s chants of “Build the wall!”, attempts to ban Muslims from entering the country, or the coddling of white nationalist groups. By stoking fear of immigrants, minorities, and “globalists,” MAGA fosters division and hate, dragging social progress backward.

And here’s the vicious cycle kicker: MAGA thrives on the fallout of its own failures. The more the U.S. declines (economically, socially, internationally), the more fuel for MAGA’s rage about “American carnage.” But MAGA’s solutions (or lack thereof) only accelerate the decay, creating a feedback loop. Crumbling infrastructure, stagnant wages, rising distrust – MAGA uses these as proof of national collapse, even as MAGA-led obstruction prevents any constructive fixes. It’s a loop we must break out of because while America wallows, other nations move on.

Meanwhile, Europe (and Friends) Leap Into the Future

While America fights itself, Europe is quietly (and not-so-quietly) making 21st-century life look easy. Travel around Europe (or Canada, Japan, South Korea, etc.) and you’ll find modern societies that, despite their own challenges, are basically asking: “Why is the U.S. stuck in the 1980s?” Europe’s trajectory isn’t about perfection – it’s about progress. Consider just a few of the ways Europe is lapping the United States:

Paid Leave and Work-Life Balance: European countries treat work to live as a mantra, not a sin. The European Union guarantees workers at least 20 paid vacation days a year by law, and many countries mandate 25 or more. Paid parental leave is also the norm – even conservative-leaning UK offers many months off for new moms and dads. In contrast, the U.S. federal requirement for paid leave is a big fat zero. America stands alone as the only rich country with no statutory paid maternity or family leave, and it doesn’t guarantee a single day of paid vacation either. Think about that: American workers are essentially at the mercy of employers’ “generosity” for any time off, while Europeans consider ample time off a basic right. Is it any wonder MAGA foot-soldiers are so irritable? They probably need a holiday! Jokes aside, the result is a vastly superior work-life balance in Europe. Many Europeans actually spend more time relaxing than working on an average day – in Belgium, for instance, people enjoy 8.6 hours of leisure per day vs. about 7.4 hours working. They still get the job done (Germany and France somehow manage to have globally competitive industries and take August off). Productivity per hour in countries like Germany and France rivals or exceeds that of workaholic America. Europe has proven that giving workers humane conditions doesn’t tank the economy – if anything, it can boost morale and efficiency. MAGA-world, by contrast, rails against things like paid leave as “socialist” – effectively cheering for their own right to be overworked and under-rested.

Healthcare for All (and Better Outcomes): It’s 2025, and every advanced nation on Earth ensures universal healthcare except the United States. Europe’s mix of single-payer and regulated private systems all achieve the same goal: everyone is covered, nobody goes broke from medical bills, and overall outcomes are better. The U.S. spends insane amounts on healthcare – nearly twice as much per person as the average OECD country – yet has the lowest life expectancy and highest rates of preventable deaths among its peers. Let that sink in: Americans pay Cadillac prices and get clunker results. Infant mortality in the U.S. is the worst in the developed world, and women are more likely to die in childbirth in America than in Europe by a mile. MAGA’s answer? Block anything that smacks of “government healthcare,” and double down on a for-profit system that literally kills people younger. Europeans look at our healthcare debate and just shake their heads. Even middle-income countries have figured this out, yet the MAGA crowd screams “freedom” to defend a system where a diabetes diagnosis can mean choosing between insulin and rent. There’s a cruel irony in MAGA areas (often poorer states) rejecting Medicaid expansion – essentially turning down free money to insure their own citizens – because of ideological dogma. The result is needless suffering in red America while Europeans enjoy longer, healthier lives. (Oh, and those European systems? They aren’t Soviet hellscapes as Fox News would have folks believe – they’re high-quality. France, for example, consistently ranks top in healthcare quality, and even relatively poorer European countries have outcomes Americans would envy.)

Education and Opportunity: In much of Europe, ambition isn’t a debt sentence. Higher education is often low-cost or free, and strong vocational programs offer paths to good careers without massive loans. Take Germany: public universities charge €0 in tuition for domestic and even many international students. The idea of a 22-year-old starting life with $50k+ in debt is unthinkable there. In the U.S., by contrast, we’ve normalized young people shackled to loans for decades. Americans now owe over $1.7 trillion in student debt collectively, a burden that weighs down our economy and crushes dreams. MAGA doesn’t offer solutions to this – if anything, they resent proposals for relief as handouts to “elites” (because apparently getting an education makes you a villain?). Europe’s approach isn’t about coddling; it’s about investing in human capital. An educated populace fuels innovation and growth – just look at the robust tech sectors in Scandinavia or the skilled manufacturing workforce in Germany. By making college attainable for all who qualify, European countries actually create more economic mobility. The U.S., birthplace of the modern university, now tells its youth, “Sure, you can learn – if you can pay.” It’s backwards and ultimately self-defeating.

Tech, Industry & Innovation: Don’t believe anyone who says Europe is some kind of museum to past glory – it’s a tech powerhouse in critical fields, often outshining the U.S. Case in point: semiconductors. The most advanced machine tools needed to make the chips in your iPhone or high-end PC come from one place: ASML in the Netherlands, a European company that utterly dominates the global market for lithography equipment. ASML’s extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines are so cutting-edge that they hold a 90% market share with basically no real competitors. Even Intel (an American chip giant) can’t produce its next-gen chips without European tech. Think about that next time someone claims America is the only tech leader. Europe is also a pharma and biotech leader. Swiss, German, and UK companies rank among the world’s largest drug innovators (Roche, Novartis, AstraZeneca, to name a few). And don’t forget, one of the first highly effective COVID-19 vaccines came from a German biotech startup, BioNTech, which partnered with Pfizer to develop the mRNA shot that saved millions of lives. Europe’s scientific contribution literally helped end the pandemic, while parts of MAGA America were busy hawking bleach and horse dewormer as cures. The EU also leads in aerospace (Airbus has given Boeing a serious run), automotive engineering, and industrial automation, and it is pushing ahead in AI regulation to shape how new tech is used responsibly. MAGA, instead of celebrating Western allies’ successes, sneers at them. There’s a resentment in that crowd for cosmopolitan “Euro-techno-elites” – perhaps because every breakthrough in Europe is a reminder that investing in the future works, while MAGA’s industrial policy is basically yelling about bringing back coal mines and 1950s factory jobs.

Sustainability and Energy: Europe’s forward-thinking approach is perhaps most visible in its embrace of sustainability. While MAGA politicians chant “Drill, baby, drill” and roll coal in pickup trucks to “own the libs,” Europe has been executing an energy transformation. Renewable energy accounted for a record 47% of Europe’s electricity generation in 2024, nearly half the power supply. In fact, solar panels and wind turbines now generate more electricity in Europe than all its natural gas plants combined. This didn’t happen overnight – it’s the result of consistent policy (across left and right governments) investing in clean tech and grid infrastructure. Even countries with conservative leaders, like Poland or Hungary, don’t deny the benefits of renewables and are on board (if only for the energy independence). The payoff has been huge: when fossil fuel prices spiked, countries with lots of wind and solar felt less pain, and Europe as a whole saved billions by cutting gas imports. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the previous administration (Trump) literally pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement and tried to resurrect the coal industry – a move that even market forces laughed at. MAGA-world’s climate denial means the U.S. is constantly playing catch-up on green tech. Yes, the Biden administration’s IRA is a big step, but MAGA influence at the state level still fights wind farms and EV incentives at every turn. The result: in the race to lead the industries of tomorrow, like battery manufacturing, clean energy, and smart grids, the U.S. has wasted years. Europe, along with countries like China and even India, surged ahead in installing renewables while we debated whether climate change exists. The reality (a concept MAGA struggles with) is that sustainable tech is the next economic boom – those who master it will reap jobs and wealth. Europe aims to be climate-neutral by 2050 and is acting accordingly. Parts of America act like it’s still 1950. The planet will move on with or without us.

Consumer Protections and Quality of Life: Here’s an everyday way Europeans quietly enjoy a more advanced society: their food doesn’t contain a chemistry set of additives. The EU bans a bunch of chemicals in foods and products that are legal in the States. For example, the EU outlawed the use of titanium dioxide as a food coloring after studies suggested it might damage DNA. U.S. regulators, on the other hand, still allow it – so American kids are munching candies that European kids can’t have because Europe decided they’d rather be safe than sorry. This pattern repeats across countless products (certain preservatives, neon food dyes, cosmetics ingredients, etc.). Europe applies a “better safe than sorry” principle; the U.S. often waits until something is proven harmful (sometimes after decades of exposure). The upshot: Europeans simply don’t have to worry about a lot of stuff that Americans unknowingly ingest or use daily. And it’s not just chemicals – Europe’s streets are statistically safer too. Stricter gun laws mean far, far lower gun violence. It blows my mind that the U.S. gun death rate is about 7 times higher than Canada’s and literally hundreds of times higher than the UK’s. In Japan or South Korea, you have a better chance of being struck by lightning than being shot – their gun homicide rates are near zero. That doesn’t mean Europe and allies are crime-free utopias (they have crime, just much less lethal without ubiquitous firearms). It means parents in, say, France or Australia don’t send their kids to school worrying about mass shootings as an ever-present threat. What a concept! MAGA folks often claim to be about “safety and security,” yet they oppose even moderate gun control that virtually every other advanced nation has implemented with great success. Again, clinging to some 18th-century notion of freedom ends up making daily life less free (you can’t truly feel free when you have to be on guard for gunmen in malls, can you?).

Strong Social Fabric: Europe’s overall social contract remains geared toward stability. Yes, they pay higher taxes, but they (mostly) see tangible returns: healthcare, education, safer communities, infrastructure, and a basic floor of dignity. The result is less extreme poverty and a less frantic existence. In the U.S., MAGA champions a ruthless dog-eat-dog version of capitalism – until they themselves are the dog that gets eaten. Red states often deride “socialism” while being net recipients of federal aid funded by taxes from more liberal states. It’s a paradox: some of the poorest, worst health, lowest-educated states in the country are the reddest and most fervently MAGA. Mississippi, West Virginia, and Louisiana – these places consistently rank at the bottom of income and health statistics, yet their leaders keep rejecting policies that would clearly help their population (like expanded healthcare, better-funded schools, and worker protections). Instead, they feed their constituents the cultural red meat of MAGA – telling them their problems are caused by immigrants, Black people, “woke” corporations, you name it – anything except the lack of investment in their communities. In Europe, even right-leaning governments wouldn’t dream of stripping away basic social supports. Can you imagine a French far-right leader campaigning on dismantling universal healthcare or paid leave? They’d be laughed out of the room. European conservatives fight about immigration or EU regulations, perhaps, but they don’t propose to turn their countries into laissez-faire jungles. So, even when power swings rightward in Europe, the baseline quality of life doesn’t evaporate. In America, if MAGA had its way completely, we’d likely see child labor legalized (oh wait, that’s already cropping up in some red states), no public healthcare or retirement guarantees, and a gun in every waistband. It’s a dystopian vision that they sell as “freedom.” Europe’s not buying it, and they’re doing just fine.

Allies Betting on Progress, Not Nostalgia

It’s not just Europe. Look at other U.S. allies and friends across the globe – you’ll notice they are making similar bets on the future and reaping benefits while America’s far-right tries to drag us backward. Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia – these are advanced democracies that, like Europe, invest in modern infrastructure, education, and public well-being and don’t wage war on objective reality.

Japan, for instance, has its own conservative politics but you don’t see Japanese leaders denying science or inciting mobs to overturn elections. Instead, Japan invested in technology and infrastructure decades ago – they’ve had bullet trains since the 1960s (with zero passenger fatalities in over 50 years of operation – an unparalleled safety record) and a society that, while not without problems, boasts the longest life expectancy on Earth. South Korea transformed from a war-torn nation to a tech titan in a couple generations; it now has the world’s fastest internet, top-tier education, and a dynamic economy (not to mention Korean pop culture taking the world by storm). Seoul’s subways have 5G coverage while New York’s have, well, rats. These countries aren’t stuck in some romanticized past – they’re too busy building the future (and selling it to the rest of us). Crucially, they also align with Europe in tackling things like climate change (both Japan and South Korea have pledged carbon neutrality by 2050, just like the EU). They watched America’s MAGA experiment with a mix of horror and pity because they know that stability and truth are pillars of prosperity. Canada, our neighbor, is perhaps the clearest mirror: culturally similar to the U.S. in many ways, yet they chose a different path on policy. Canada has universal healthcare (no debate about it), saner gun laws, and generally more centrist politics. The result? Canadians live slightly longer, have fewer violent deaths, and don’t face bankruptcy over a hospital bill. It’s telling that in recent years, even highly skilled Americans have started to consider moving to Canada or Europe for a better quality of life – a brain drain that would have been unthinkable a generation ago when the U.S. was the undisputed land of opportunity.

The pattern is consistent: countries that invest in their people and embrace reality are thriving or at least holding their own. Countries (or states) that cling to ethnonationalism and denial are stagnating. MAGA stands nearly alone in the developed world as an organized movement against modernity. Yes, there are far-right populists in Europe (Le Pen, Orbán, etc.), but even they operate within a more reality-based framework (Orbán, for all his nationalist bravado, still takes EU development funds and vaccinated his population rather than pushing bleach). America’s hard-right turn was uniquely virulent, and it’s scaring even our friends.

MAGA’s Self-Destruction Is America’s Loss

The tragedy here is that the MAGA crowd’s rage, which they aim at “socialists” or “globalists” abroad, is really hurting Americans at home – especially those who support MAGA the most. It’s a classic case of cutting off your nose to spite your face. By rejecting the approaches that have made our allies strong, MAGA is accelerating the decline they fear. Consider the global financial implications of America’s political dysfunction. The U.S. dollar today enjoys a special status as the world’s primary reserve currency – basically, the world trusts the U.S. economy enough to use dollars everywhere, giving us huge advantages (like the ability to print money without immediate hyperinflation and to borrow cheaply). But that trust is not infinite. If Europe and other allies lose faith in America’s stability, they have options – the euro, for one, or even coordinating to rely less on U.S.-dominated systems. Under Trump, we already saw murmurs of this: European central bankers started questioning whether they can rely on the U.S. Federal Reserve in a crisis, given how politically unstable Washington had become. Analysts noted a “sea-change” in transatlantic relations, with Trump’s isolationist, erratic policies pushing Europe to seek independence from U.S. influence – including less reliance on the dollar. MAGA loves to chest-thump about American power, but they don’t seem to grasp that their antics (government shutdowns, debt-ceiling standoffs, flirting with default, trade wars on allies, etc.) make the world less willing to tie their fortunes to the U.S. If, over time, fewer countries use the dollar, that’s game over for America’s financial might. It would mean higher interest rates, a weaker currency, and the end of that “exorbitant privilege” we’ve enjoyed for decades. In plain terms: Americans would get poorer relative to Europeans and others, as our money and government finances lose their edge. And guess who will feel it the most? The working-class MAGA base, not the global elites they love to demonize.

MAGA ideology is also hurting American competitiveness in very tangible ways. By turning policy into a culture war, the U.S. has fumbled opportunities to modernize our infrastructure and economy. A vivid example: under Trump, the U.S. literally ceded leadership on climate tech to others by withdrawing from international cooperation. States that are deep-red often refuse federal funds for things like infrastructure or Medicaid expansion purely out of spite or “owning the libs.” The result: their communities have fewer hospitals, bad roads, no broadband – and companies invest elsewhere. A tech company would rather open a new plant in, say, Canada or the Netherlands, where employees will have healthcare and good schools, than in a state where half the workforce is sick and under-educated because public services are gutted. By opposing investments in education, health, and green tech, MAGA politicians are basically telling the next generation of innovators: don’t build the future in America. Is it any wonder some of our best and brightest are moving to Berlin, Toronto, or Seoul? They’d rather live in a place where science isn’t politicized and society isn’t at each other’s throats.

And here’s where I really want to speak to any MAGA sympathizer who might be reading (if you haven’t rage-quit by now): What exactly are you getting out of this deal? Do you truly think that clinging to fossil fuels, rejecting universal healthcare, and demonizing diversity is making your life better? Because from where I stand, it’s doing the opposite. The factory or coal mine that closed in your town isn’t coming back – not because of immigrants or Europe or some conspiracy, but because the world changed. MAGA tells you to blame others and double down on the past. But look at places like Germany or South Korea – they faced manufacturing decline too, and they adapted by educating their people for new industries, not by blaming foreigners. Now they dominate those new industries. That could be America if we chose progress over nostalgia. Instead of railing at Europe, maybe ask why American billionaires and politicians fight against the very policies (like healthcare, worker rights, education funding) that give Europeans a decent life. Could it be that MAGA leaders are protecting their own power and wealth at your expense by keeping you angry at the wrong targets?

America at a Crossroads: Backwards or Forwards?

As bold as it sounds, it’s true: the MAGA movement is both a symptom of American decline and a driver of it. It’s a feedback loop from hell, and if we don’t break it, the U.S. will keep falling behind the rest of the civilized world. The “greatness” MAGA promises is a mirage from a past that wasn’t as great as they think – and certainly not great for everyone. Meanwhile, our friends in Europe and beyond are not looking back; they’re solving problems, striving for actual greatness in the present. They’re not afraid of the future – they’re owning it.

The U.S. doesn’t have to go down this path. We have enormous resources, talent, and an innovative spirit – if we choose to use them rather than waste time fighting each other. But that means rejecting the poisonous MAGA ideology of resentment and regression. It means embracing reality (even when it’s uncomfortable), investing in people, and working with our allies, not against them. It means being inspired (not threatened) by how Europe and others provide a good life for their citizens and maybe even borrowing a few pages from their playbook. Paid family leave won’t turn us into the Soviet Union; it will help American families. High-speed rail and solar farms won’t destroy our freedom; they’ll ensure our prosperity in the 21st century. Universal healthcare isn’t a radical leftist dream – hell, every country that stands with us on the world stage already has it in some form. Why are we, supposedly the richest nation, so afraid to give our people basic things that Europeans, Canadians, Japanese, etc. have had for years?

In the end, the MAGA vision is a dead end – a furious sprint into backwardness, all while claiming to “restore greatness.” The rest of the world is moving on, forging a future that looks a lot different from the 1950s fantasyland peddled at MAGA rallies. If we persist on this course, America risks waking up a decade from now wondering why we’re no longer the leader of the free world but rather an isolated, dysfunctional oddity that people visit out of morbid curiosity (if they can get a visa through our broken immigration system, that is). The decline is not inevitable – it is a choice. For the sake of the country, we’d better choose differently. Because Europe isn’t waiting for us to get our act together, and frankly, neither is the future.