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Gerald Fnord's avatar

Even if the suggestion of a parallel was not intended, I can not help but think of Trump's and Trumpism's production of an at least temporary reconciliation betwee those on the Left of the Democratic Party and (e.g.) those more aligned with the D.N.C..

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Sam N.'s avatar

I'm not sure if this is quite the right place to ask this but for the antisemite deputies like Drumont, what was their program beyond saying "we hate Jews"? In reading about this they kind of seem like earlier versions of the poster-as-elected-official we have now, where they get elected because they hate the right people and never do anything other than media hits and tweets.

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John Ganz's avatar

Thinking more about this there is a circularity to the antisemitic position: it's like "we hate the Jews" means "we hate parliament, we hate democracy, we hate republicanism" etc. but "We hate parliament etc." also means "we hate the Jews"

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John Ganz's avatar

That's an interesting question. The answer is complicated: Antisemitic deputies had an eclectic combination of policy proposals that mixed protectionism with some actual anticapitalist initiatives. They were also always anti-parliamentary, but not always anti-republican: some had plans for an authoritarian republic. Most of the things they blamed on Jews, like financial capital and the rise of department stores they did not really have the power to affect. Some were pro-Catholic, because they thought it was an essential part of French nationality, some less so. In Algreria they actually attempted to strip property and enfranchisement from Jews.

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John Ganz's avatar

But you're right, a lot of it was fairly empty and based on propaganda and publicity.

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