Vivek Ramaswamy Proposes a Base on the Moon to Fulfill ‘Next Generation’s Hunger for Purpose and Belonging’ in NY Times Op-Ed

Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, candidate for Ohio governor in 2026, speaks during a town hall at The River Church Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Vivek Ramaswamy took to the op-ed pages of The New York Times this week to call out rising extremism on his own side and recommend building a base on the moon to fulfill younger generations’ “hunger for purpose.”

In a Wednesday op-ed, Ramaswamy cautioned that he sees Republicans moving down the same path as Democrats in recent years, with some embracing far-right figures like Nick Fuentes and embracing racism. Ramaswamy argued these extremists believe “inherited attributes matter the most.”

He wrote:

As one of the most vocal opponents of left-wing identity politics, I now see real reluctance from my former anti-woke peers to criticize the new identity politics on the right. This pattern eerily mirrors the hesitance of prominent Democrats to criticize woke excess in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election, even though most Democratic voters clearly never believed that math is racist, or that hard work and the written tradition are hallmarks of whiteness.

Ramaswamy, who is now running for governor of Ohio, made four recommendations to heal cultural wounds and inspire younger generations, who he argued are facing a more dour economic outlook in their lives than past generations.

He called for Republicans to “condemn — without hedging — Groyper transgressions.”

“If, like Mr. Fuentes, you believe that Hitler was ‘really f-ing cool,’ or if you publicly call Usha Vance a ‘jeet,’ then you have no place in the conservative movement, period,” he wrote.

Ramaswamy also recommended reducing the cost of living by eliminating “local land-use restrictions to increase housing supply.”

He also recommended giving stock options to young people and reducing tax burdens.

His last and biggest suggestion was literally out of this world, with Ramaswamy envisioning a “national project” that brings people together in patriotic unity. Building a base on the moon, he theorized, would fit the bill and perhaps even lead to a “much-needed catalyst to revive high-quality” math and science education in schools.

Ramaswamy wrote:

Provide America the shared national project we badly need. America has a greater purpose in the world than what we have embodied thus far in the 21st century. Americans of all stripes long to be reminded of it, through a modern-day equivalent of the Apollo mission. Perhaps it’s establishing a base on the moon to achieve nuclear fusion in a way that powers the creation of artificial intelligence without negative externalities and constraints on Earth; perhaps it’s something else of similar scale and ambition.

Read the full NYT op-ed here.