“Trade protectionism is marxism, yes. “
Somebody should have warned Alexander Hamilton, the author of our first protective tariff, and his boss George Washington who signed the bill into law.
The same Washington who after fighting a war against the British in opposition to unfair taxes wasted no time in waging one against Pennsylvania farmers?
Well, meet the new boss...
The ruling class always uses state force to extract taxes.
Very true (and very wise on their part).
What "populists" ignore is that Hamilton (and Washington) also believed in federal supremacy, implied powers, and created the First Bank of the United States (a central bank which most "populists" regard as part of a "Judaeo-Masonic-Communist conspiracy"). Some "right wing populists" even advocate total nationalization of the entire financial sector.
You're right, though, that traditional Federalist/Whig/Republican policy is the protective tariff. Why so many Republicans today forget that is as troubling as populists' forgetting that the Federalists were pro-bank.