Once upon a time, Republicans saw America as a “shining city upon a hill” with “free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity.” Now, based on some of their comments and policies, the party’s vision for the country is for less consumption, fewer choices, a bigger welfare state, a larger manufacturing sector and cheaper drugs. In general, today’s Republicans idealize the past and favor a slower-moving world.

In other words, what Republicans want is Europe.

At times President Donald Trump sounds less like a Republican businessman (much less Ronald Reagan) and more like a college student one month into his junior year abroad. Even if you dismiss his random musings, there is a budding intellectual movement among younger Republicans such as Vice President JD Vance and Sen. Josh Hawley, known as the New Right, that is gaining influence in the party and in the administration.

One of the characteristics of this new mindset is a disdain for the mass consumption of cheap goods. When asked about the costs to consumers of reducing the U.S. trade deficit, Trump said children should learn to live with fewer dolls and pencils. Vance has said that Americans need more expensive toasters.

How continental! What the New Right is describing are the consumption habits of Europeans, who buy fewer but often higher quality goods than Americans do. There’s not necessarily anything wrong with this consumption style — in fact, it has some merit — but it is distinctly un-American.

The New Right’s reason for wanting this economy is less about the need to save the environment or the pleasures of a bespoke toaster; its concern is a healthy manufacturing sector. New Right Republicans want all Americans to pay more to ensure the job security of the relatively small population of workers who represent the old way of doing things.

Which is, to repeat, very European. Unsurprisingly, the New Right also wants to restore unions.

The movement also wants a bigger safety net, not just for the poor but for the middle class. Vance wants a more expansive child tax credit that covers higher income families. Hawley and other Republicans want to maintain Medicaid as a program that covers not only the poor, as it was designed to do, but 20% of the U.S. population (that percentage grows if it includes those getting subsidies on the health care exchanges, which no one is talking about changing).

It is quite the change from the idea that the safety net is for the poor or the unlucky. The New Right is proposing benefits that cover most Americans for everyday life events.

The New Right also supports the new antitrust movement that aims to break up large companies even if they don’t harm consumers. It’s rooted in a deep distrust of corporate power, especially in the technology world. Does that sound familiar?

Is there anywhere else in the world where there is a crusade to break up and control U.S. tech firms? Why yes, there is. And Europe also has a less dynamic economy, with fewer self-made wealthy and where the biggest firms tend to be much older because there is less turnover and fewer new successful firms.

Trump’s proposal to rein in the prices for prescription drugs also has a distinctly European vibe. Under his plan, Americans would even pay what they do!

Like the Europeans, Trump seems willing to take the tradeoff — less innovation and access to the latest drugs in exchange for lower prices.

The MAHA movement, with its hostility to artificial ingredients, feels a little European. Mark my words: It is only a matter of time before Trump issues an executive order requiring tethered bottle caps.

Of course, a lot of Americans like Europe — myself included. The food and museums are great, and a government that pays for things and makes life more predictable sounds good. But it all comes at a cost. The American way has made us much wealthier, with even the poorest U.S. states having much higher living standards than most European nations. (Have you ever tried a European drying machine?)

In speeches and online, the American New Right likes to complain about Europeans, and occasionally bully them. But when it comes to policy, the consequences of their proposals are clear: They would make America more like Europe.

Allison Schrager is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering economics. A senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, she is author of “An Economist Walks Into a Brothel: And Other Unexpected Places to Understand Risk.” This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.