Authoritarian Future
Authoritarian Future
What proportion of people who voted for Trump would support his overthrow of electoral democracy in his favor? Nearly all. The evidence is overwhelming. That way they get what they want without the inconvenience of democracy. Democracy is an instrumental value not an intrinsic value, so they support it only when it gives them what they value intrinsically. Trump and his allies are anti-DEI: Democracy, Elections, and Integrity. And it’s only going to get worse. What they are in favor of is BLS: Bullying, Lying, and Stupidity. These are always the tactics of the would-be authoritarian.
There is a counterargument: that the MAGA diehards give the finger to democracy; still many, including people of my acquaintance felt under Trump all would be the same but only better that is lower taxes, no immigrants, no abortions etc. Their thinking is instrumental but it is clouded- it will be too late after Musk and the Supreme Court put the axe to our democracy, to do anything about it. Remember Trump is in a funny way charismatic, and most Americans just naively assume that America will be America no matter who they put in office. They are not fascists but fools. Fooled by the biggest fool.
The world is full of fools and the fascists who fool them.
They appear regularly. History is replete with them. They are a type. Charismatic, strong talking, popular. They forge careers learning how to manipulate and dissemble. Their stock in trade is greed, ignorance, fear, prejudice, – with the main chance always in mind: – the gaining (and retention) of absolute power and the vast material wealth that comes with it. Of course the wealth can come first and when this doesn’t satisfy, power inevitably beckons. They learn from an established historical playbook. (Cf. Putin, AlAssad, etc, for some well known contemporary examples.) I wonder whether Trump has enough ruthless cunning to become a fully fledged member of this exclusive club; Musk may well have. As well as their bully boys, Fascist dictators rely on the masses for their main support. No doubt many ‘marginal’ Trump supporters would be shocked to be thought of as proto-fascists, but this blind spot doesn’t excuse culpability for what is currently happening. They made a choice as did the Democrats, not for what may have been best for the good of all, but mostly for petty, selfish ideological agendas, religious mummery, the idolatry of ‘celebrity’ and ostentatious wealth, irrational fear of the ‘other’, ‘nationalism’, and the rest. The world is aghast, and with good reason.
So much for “American exceptionalism”.
Quite. The popular John Wayne delusion, however, is also exceptionally deep rooted.