From February 20 to March 16, I published a series of nineteen posts on the Trump administration. The posts describe the project of Trump and his team as characterized by: continuation of the post-2001 “war on terrorism,” with its ahistorical and ethnocentric assumptions; enforcement of immigration laws, overruling the interests of some corporations in the superexploitation of illegal immigrant labor; reduction in legal immigration, with reforms orientated toward admission of applicants with higher skills; an economic nationalism that protects U.S. industries and that induces U.S. corporations to invest in production in the United States; a taking of the corporate side in the six-decade conflict between corporations and the ecology movement; an increase in military capacity; greater support for law enforcement agencies; and populist rhetoric.
I maintain that the Trump project has components in common with twentieth century European fascism, which was characterized by military expansionism, suppression of structures of representative democracy, scapegoating, repression of religious and ethnic minorities and political dissidents, populist and nationalist rhetoric, economic nationalism, and alliance with the corporate elite. The Trump project, however, is different from twentieth century fascism, in that its scapegoating is more subtle, its political propaganda and manipulation is more sophisticated, and it allows minorities and women to assume leadership roles. It thus should be understood as fascism in a new form, or neo-fascism.
The posts also maintain that the rise of Trump is in part a consequence of the failure of the Left to formulate a narrative that is an alternative to the mainstream American narratives, be they liberal, neoliberal or neo-fascist. With the coming to power of Trump, the Left more than ever has a duty to formulate an alternative narrative that would reframe the issues. The posts seek to indicate the necessary lines for a politically effective and analytically sound alternative narrative of the Left.
The posts are as follows:
“Trump and the war on terrorism, Part One” 2/20/2017;
“Trump and the war on terrorism, Part Two” 2/21/2017;
“Trump on immigration” 2/22/2017;
“Let’s build houses in Mexico” 2/23/2017;
“Trump’s economic nationalism” 2/24/2017;
“Trump, corporations, and the environment” 2/27/2017;
“Trump’s populism” 2/28/2017;
“Trump and US militarist foreign policy” 3/1/2017;
“Trump’s neo-fascist project” 3/2/2017;
“A grand narrative from the Left” 3/3/2017;
“An alternative epistemology of the Left” 3/6/2017;
“The Third World grand narrative” 3/7/2017;
“A Left narrative on the Third World” 3/8/2017;
“A Left narrative on immigration” 3/9/2017;
“A narrative on morality in international affairs” 3/10/2017;
“An integral and comprehensive narrative” 3/13/2017;
“The function of government” 3/14/2017;
“Trump’s masterful speech” 3/15/2017;
“Power to the people!” 3/16/2017.
Please scroll down to find the posts.
I maintain that the Trump project has components in common with twentieth century European fascism, which was characterized by military expansionism, suppression of structures of representative democracy, scapegoating, repression of religious and ethnic minorities and political dissidents, populist and nationalist rhetoric, economic nationalism, and alliance with the corporate elite. The Trump project, however, is different from twentieth century fascism, in that its scapegoating is more subtle, its political propaganda and manipulation is more sophisticated, and it allows minorities and women to assume leadership roles. It thus should be understood as fascism in a new form, or neo-fascism.
The posts also maintain that the rise of Trump is in part a consequence of the failure of the Left to formulate a narrative that is an alternative to the mainstream American narratives, be they liberal, neoliberal or neo-fascist. With the coming to power of Trump, the Left more than ever has a duty to formulate an alternative narrative that would reframe the issues. The posts seek to indicate the necessary lines for a politically effective and analytically sound alternative narrative of the Left.
The posts are as follows:
“Trump and the war on terrorism, Part One” 2/20/2017;
“Trump and the war on terrorism, Part Two” 2/21/2017;
“Trump on immigration” 2/22/2017;
“Let’s build houses in Mexico” 2/23/2017;
“Trump’s economic nationalism” 2/24/2017;
“Trump, corporations, and the environment” 2/27/2017;
“Trump’s populism” 2/28/2017;
“Trump and US militarist foreign policy” 3/1/2017;
“Trump’s neo-fascist project” 3/2/2017;
“A grand narrative from the Left” 3/3/2017;
“An alternative epistemology of the Left” 3/6/2017;
“The Third World grand narrative” 3/7/2017;
“A Left narrative on the Third World” 3/8/2017;
“A Left narrative on immigration” 3/9/2017;
“A narrative on morality in international affairs” 3/10/2017;
“An integral and comprehensive narrative” 3/13/2017;
“The function of government” 3/14/2017;
“Trump’s masterful speech” 3/15/2017;
“Power to the people!” 3/16/2017.
Please scroll down to find the posts.
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