Ben Shapiro: United States may look 'a lot more like the EU' in years ahead

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro this week argued that the United States may progress past its current political turmoil to "bigger and better things," and that the country may end up resembling the European Union if it succeeds in doing so. 

Shapiro, speaking to John Solomon on the John Solomon Reports podcast, argued that the country is in the grip of an "authoritarian moment that is being captured by certain institutions and used by certain institutions."

One method of countering such a rise, Shapiro argued, is "through competition, that you just launch alternative institutions," something he said conservatives have done well in recent years. But "that becomes a lot more difficult when you're talking about giant institutions like social media that are incredibly dominant in the space."

Still, Shapiro said, he is "optimistic that there will be blowback to the current moment, which is a really ugly moment."

"I'm pessimistic that in the absence of any sort of real shared values that the United States can survive as it heretofore has," he said. "I think that if the United States does move on to bigger and better things, that's going to be largely through the the federalism process. You're gonna start to see states basically say you leave us alone, and we'll leave you alone.

"And the United States will look a lot more like the [European Union] going forward 20, 30 years from now than it has looked like the United States circa 1980."  

Asked by Solomon if he considered that outlook "the best case scenario for conservatives," Shapiro agreed.

"I think it's hard to see the United States fundamentally reorienting towards some of the fundamental principles we all used to share," he said.