An overview of the political landscape - an essay- Brian Keeler
Indeed, what would the Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) think of fascism today? Some would say that il Duce, or the Duke, (as he was called) would be pleased, as it looks promising for neo-fascists and right wing groups. Just look at Italy today, with Prime Minister Georgia Meloni as the new standard bearer of Mussolini's legacy. Even in Franco's Spain and Portugal, not to mention Austria and Germany where there are resurgent fascist groups chomping at the bit. America is leading the way, at the vanguard perhaps with neo-Nazi groups or facscimiles appearing all over. And as an example of how twisted things are today, there is an inversion of once held standards, the term antifa is bandied about (by the right) as the worse kind of movement or affiliation. But more on this shortly. Lets talk first about some new books on the subject.
Clarifying the complexity of the swirling currents of global politics today- is the upshot of three new books. When current authors bring us an overview of our world that offers us much needed understanding it is indeed worth noting.
As this is an election year, and an extremely consequential eletion at that, with the possible return of a bonafide autocrat and fascist of frightening capacity combined with numbing loathsomeness, these books and ideas are even more relevant, nay, necessary for informed decisions. One could easily say the decisions have already been made by most of the voters in America, as the last presidential debate reportedly barely nudged the dial of voter opinion. Still, it is worth considering. And, it could be noted that those in need of reading such books are instead reading Steve Bannon's words and watching Fox News.
Above- "Parable of the Slippery Slope". A painting by the author based on PieterBrugel's painting of the Blind Leading the Blind. The painting is a commentary on today's politics, depicting a guy with blond coiff in a red tie followed by a KKK member in the mid-distance leading followers over a cliff.
Anne Applebaum, a staff writer for The Atlantic has penned an extraordinary new book, athough short and easily readable at 207 pages, her "Autocracy, Inc." is chock full of cleareyed observations gleaned from a life immersed in world politics, conferences and international relations.
I read her book this summer, before the New York Times Book Review came out last week, which underscored its importance. Applebaum has astutely shown that the world can easily be divided into democracies (or representative governments) or into autocracies. Yet, even our casual observations show that the lines and clarity blur. After all Putin's Russia feigns elections and Americans have an autocrat wannabe in-waiting. And to further complicate things our banks, corporations and capitalism in general of the west often act to further and abet the agendas of China, Russia and Iran. We also recall Saudi Arabia's involvement with the gruesome assignation of the Washington Post reporter Jamal Khasshaoggi. As we reflect on the press freedoms in general it is observed that reporters the world over are under siege and losing their lives.
All these contradictions and lack of clear principles in governments today make for a muddled understanding at best. But Applebaum delivers clarity with many pages showing how it all works. I might note that the examples from Venezuela to Ukraine are all shown for how they fit in with Applebaum's appraisal of a bifurcated world. Ukraine for example is shown to be not just a battle of two nations- but has the two systems clearly aligned with either side. The autocracies are siding with Russia and NATO and the free world are aligning with Ukraine. But to underscore the wavering and fragile trends we note that republicans in America clearly favor Russia and are continually bad mouthing NATO. Trump is bragging about cutting off all aid to Ukraine if he's elected.
Above- Benito Mussolini- the Italian fascist dicator. The term fascist originates in ancient Rome and referred to a bundle of sticks or fasci. It refers to a group of magistrates who used the bundle to clear the way for proclamations. In recent times, (as with Hitler, Mussolini and Franco) a fascist is often xenophobic, racist, militaristic, and one intolerant of any opposition, from the press or public, and with alignments to wealthy industrialist. Sound familiar?
There is an aspect of Applebaum's prose that is very dispriting, but factual and necessary. She points out that altruistic and idealistic democracy movements the world over have been quashed and stymied through technology and smear campaigns to discredit their leaders and rank and file. We think of courageous advocates of democracy in Russia like Alexy Navalny- who came to an untimely death in Siberia. The same could be said here in the states. Immediately after Kamala Harris's candidacy was announced there was a barrage of attacks on "such fundamentals" as her campaign of joy or her accent and ethnicity.
I titled this essay, "What would Mussolini Think?" as it gets to the idea of what a fascist really is. Mussolini might even be appalled at what his own type of idealism has devolved into today. After all Trump fits the description of fascist to a tee, yet he likes to call Democrats of today fascists. We can easily pass this off to his penchant for name calling and hurling insults of all kinds onto his perceived enemies regardless of their truth or merit. He's never been tethered to the truth and his penchant for hyperbole and outright howlers was in full form in the recent debate as he blathered on about eating cats and dogs.
Even Russia, which before Putin's advance into politics, once held some of the ideals of Marx for the communal good of communism have devolved into a self-promoted dictatorship of self-enrichment. Here is a quote from Applebaum that sums it up.
"Putin's Russia was not an old fashioned totalitarian state, isolated and autarkic. Nor was it a poor dictatorship , wholly dependent on foreign donors. Instead, it represented something new: a full-blown autocratic kleptocracy, a mafia state built and managed entirely for the purpose of enriching its leaders."
In short- the communism of Kruschev has morphed into the capitalism of the Rockeffellers but with the methods of the mafia. To further sum up the current political dynamics, here is the ending to Ben Rhodes essay in the New York Review of Books. Rhodes states that this is a paraphrase of an author he was interviewing.
"Well if there's one lesson from writing this book, it's that fundamentally they're all the same: Putin, Netanyahu, Trump, Black Cube, etc. Obviously with differences in tactics and scale. But in the end, it's a bunch of corrupt people profiting off of power in a system they've rigged to stay in power, which requires that they intimidate anyone who opposes them. Which why you touch a nerve"
We see this dynamic with alarming clarity with Trump's continued alignment and his finding common cause with other thugs like himself. We are being charitable however when we limit his character commonalities to just mere goons and dictators. His penchant for courting racists and lowlifes is common knowledge. Viktor Orban, the Hungarian dictator might be considered the creme de la creme of the DT's bromances. Most recently his de facto advisor, travel buddy, suporter and confidant is the deeply offensive, Laura Loomer. It is truly a race to the never-ending bottom with the DT.
The odd thing about autocracies and dictatorships is that they are usually all isolationists, just as are American versions. So the alignment of dictatorships always seems fragile at best and more like marriages of convenience. Yet there was the Axis of power in WWII and new pacts today. The new iterations have no ideals for the most part- just interest. So when see Orban and Trump getting cozy or North Korea's Kim is talking turkey with Putin we assume it goes only so far.
The two other books mentioned are, " The Wannabe Fascists: A guide to Understanding The Greatest Threat to Democracy" by Federico Finchelstien. and "America's Last: The Right's Century-Long Romance with Dictators" by Jacob Helbrunn. We can have some type solace in knowing that xenophobia and fear-mongering are not a new phenomena of America in the 21st century. Still it is dispiriting to see such reprehensible qualites now part of the official party platform of the new MAGA Republicans.
The hope and vision offered by Applebaum is that world democracy leaders realize that they too form a global alliance as they are not just involved in their local struggles but represent democracies the world over. Indeed, Applebaum underscores that one struggle for social justice in far flung nations strengthens and bolsters similar movements for humanity everywhere.
One of the practical suggestions from Applebaum is to identify the true ownership of businesses, corporations and organizations- transparency in otherwords. Here is a quote from the New York Times Book Review that addresses this point.
Applebaum is cleareyed about the difficulties of rectifying this situation: “Powerful people benefit from the existing system, want to keep it in place and have deep connections across the political spectrum.” She’s no anticapitalist, but her recommendations for reforms to the financial system — requiring companies to be registered in the name of their actual owners, for example — are concrete and admirable.
As I have been reading about ancient Roman history as of late, and for many years, there are parallels to note and to be observed. Currenty next to my reading chair are two biographies of the Roman statesman, Stoic philospher and writer, Seneca. His unenviable position as tutor of Nero has relevancies. We can see men and women in Trump's former cabinet as the "acting adults" in government, while trying to impart some Seneca-like wisdom into an incorrigible tyrant. In the end, Seneca was comprimised into a menial sycophant, with little recourse except justifying to the Roman Senate Nero's murder of his mother, Agripina. We of course think of republican members of congress and the Freedom Causcus in particualar in a similar light as enablers of our tyrant. The main corollary (between ancient Rome and contemporry politcs) is the long unraveling of the Roman republic into Imperial Rome- or from democracy to autocracy. This period known as the Roman Revolution took place over the decades before and after the birth of Chirst. By contrast the current unraveling of American democracy is happeninig in just a few years.
In the America of today, many have noted how democracy itself is so fragile and barely survived the assault of the Trump era. Now still another aspect is rearing its ugly head- this being the Roman policy of proscriptions or writing up a death list of political opponents. In today's Sunday New York Times the front page headline was concerned with political retribution - if the DT were to return. In other words, this is revenge on good people, who happened to put some moral verve in the oppostion to Trump. We may recall Alexander Vindman, the army Lieuteant (who testified in the first impeachment trial) and who displayed more integrity and virtue than his boss ever dreamed of having. He will probably be one of the many on the new list of proscriptions - if there is a return to the chaos of the former president.
Finally one other book of recent years of note is by the former US Secretary of State,
Madeleine Albright. Here book tiled simply, "Fascism, A Warning" came out in 2018. Her book also is the resulr of a life lived in diplomany on the world stage. Here is one quote from her that exhorts to watch our for fearmongers.
"Through one method or another, each established an emotional link to the crowd, and like central figure in a cult, brought a deep and often ugly feelings to the surface."
This of course has contempory examples in Trump referring to migrants as escapees from mental institutions, rapist and murders. In short, fear mongering and invoking hatred on grand scale.
We are indeed in perilous times. My clear choice is with a woman of vision, joy and efficacious government, and that is clearly Kamala Harris. Our country's founders, or relatives who fought in wars and courageous people the world over who have stood up for justice and truth have our backs.
Post Script- The Spirtual Overview-
Here is a passage from one of the most perceptive commentators and voices of the sprit in the 20th century, Paul Brunton. Brunton lived through the rise of the Nazi's and other scourges. So his voice and observations have bearing on current events. This quote is from his book, "The Notebooks of Paul Brunton, Volume 12, The Religious Urge"
The postwar period is the most dangerous in all mankind's history, The breakdown of religious sanctions is inevitably more widespread than ever before, For evolution has brought millions of people to the point where irrational dogmas have become hopelessly outmoted. Such an intellectual displacement need not be deplored because sooner or later it had to happen, But unfortunately the loss of these sanctions is accompanied by the breakdown of that which depends on them, People have no cause to practice virtue and fear evil when they come to believe that the one will go unrewarded and the other unpunished. The whole world has witnessed, in barbarous wrong doing of Hitler and his young fanatic followers, how lost to all decent living, how utterly without conscious, how unguided by any valid sense of right and wrong, men may become when they give up religious faith but are unable to replace itby right mystical practice or correct metaphysical reasoning. They exist thereafter in a moral "no-man's land."
Brunton's words seem prescient and reveal the bottomless flaunting of any semblance of a moral compass by the former president, the DT. Indeed, he is a dark example of someone with no compulsion to practice virtue. And as he faces no consequenes for repeated transgressions, we know he will continue with his modus operandi.