I think a "failure to launch" fascism is a pretty good characterization. I wonder how much of it is Trump's age/senility--he just doesn't have the stamina or persistence to keep pushing, and how much is his overall superficiality (he'd rather focus on getting his name on the Kennedy center than on completing the purge of his enemies). His listlessness and distractibility are obviously bad in lots of ways, but given the overall shape of his political impulses, I think America got a bit lucky that the guy who had the most fascist political instincts was also too old, lazy, and distractible to make it stick
Actually two more thoughts, one optimistic, one pessimistic. The good one first: despite some early capitulations and other signs to the contrary, American political institutions and civic life were pretty robust…enough at least to withstand the half assed sloppy version of fascism Trump was capable of summoning up.
The worrying thought: how much of this is due to Trump's own goals on affordability via tariffs and the war in Iran? If he had saved his two signature “make prices worse” policies till after the midterms, how different would things look?
Yes, luck indeed. Leave aside his decline with age, the would-be Fuhrer had incredible rhetorical skills and insight in mobilizing the proto-fascists but he has always had personal cognitive and behavioral defects far beyond the great dictators of the past. And he wound up with underlings that for the most part are even more bizarre and incompetent than anything seen in other cases. The only things he has concentrated on with some effect is self-advertising glitz like the Oval Office and personal enrichment. If somebody with the administrative competence and political convictions of, say, Franco had been in his place, we would be in far worse shape now (and our current shape is awful).
Absolutely right. I don't know that it's so much that the underlings were deficient as much as the panoptic media environment made it impossible to disguise. Hence, their frantic efforts to blind the media.
Trump's staffing and cabinet level appointments reflect Arendt's observation of totalitarian movements; they "...replace all first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty.” And we know how Trump values loyalty.
The downside of this media-saturated era is that these fascist leaning crowds can now network over great distances; the upside is that they can be observed by all to be as awful as they actually are.
As you noted... thank god their standard bearer was such a wretched fool and they were as incompetent as they turned out to be.
I don't know that his cognitive and behavioral defects were really worse than the great dictators of the past. I think the main thing is his ability to let everyone on the planet know about his defects constantly, 24 hours a day, on social media.
For me, the 2024 election demonstrated that the American public is NOT AGAINST fascism due to any sort of an ethical objection, but it's absolutely willing to try it out if promised riches. So these midterms are going to reveal whether the American public is FOR fascism, even when the riches don't show up.
Trump himself has always struck me as a baby (if a canny one), who has no principles beyond "me, me, me." He has little self-control, and little interest in self-control. His "weavings" and whims and people's willingness to go along with them, is what makes him "special." I'm curious whether there are historical examples of successful fascist regimes where such a leader, with Trump's particular brand of narcissism and buffoonery, was put to use by people with more discipline, systematization and stragetic thinking. Or, whether successful fascist regimes tend to depend on having a more mature (if nefarious) personality at the helm.
It has indeed seemed for awhile like Trump II was cargo culting fascist authoritarianism, trying to conjure it with the aesthetics but without competence. That is a relief. But you are more optimistic about the future of American democracy than I am. Electoral outcomes are becoming more volatile across the world's mature democracies over the past few decades. Each time one of these Russia-aligned far right populist movements gets its hands on power, it gleefully wreaks havoc in the machinery of the state. And I'm not sure there is enough time between elections for the "normal parties" to properly revive democratic legitimacy, especially with the escalating severity of climate change in the background.
In Europe, these parties seem to follow a pattern of splintering into even more extreme factions, not moderating in response to failure. The PVV, Reform, FdI, National Rally are challenged from the right, often driven by youth groups. MAGA could well be followed by a Tucker Carlson-led America First movement that is even more radicalized. The worst people in this movement dig even more fiercely into the obsessive national humiliation narrative. Maybe they will continue to splinter and be consumed by internecine battles. But I'm not sure that the American liberal-left will be able to put things back together before they are again ousted from office. I hope to be wrong.
One thing I began thinking about during the first Trump administration, but is increasingly apparent in the second is that we are extremely lucky in that Trump and his coterie seem to lack the competence and more importantly the attention span to effectuate their project. A more dangerous group would have pursued fewer projects at once as well as projects with less risk of economic blowback. We are extremely fortunate that Trump's attacks have so quickly and so perceptibly weakened the economy.
Reasonably hopeful analysis of a bunch of horrific stuff and I still think, perhaps more cynically, the composition and role of ICE and the forced deportation system is essentially or paradigmatically fascist.
I think a "failure to launch" fascism is a pretty good characterization. I wonder how much of it is Trump's age/senility--he just doesn't have the stamina or persistence to keep pushing, and how much is his overall superficiality (he'd rather focus on getting his name on the Kennedy center than on completing the purge of his enemies). His listlessness and distractibility are obviously bad in lots of ways, but given the overall shape of his political impulses, I think America got a bit lucky that the guy who had the most fascist political instincts was also too old, lazy, and distractible to make it stick
Actually two more thoughts, one optimistic, one pessimistic. The good one first: despite some early capitulations and other signs to the contrary, American political institutions and civic life were pretty robust…enough at least to withstand the half assed sloppy version of fascism Trump was capable of summoning up.
The worrying thought: how much of this is due to Trump's own goals on affordability via tariffs and the war in Iran? If he had saved his two signature “make prices worse” policies till after the midterms, how different would things look?
Yes, luck indeed. Leave aside his decline with age, the would-be Fuhrer had incredible rhetorical skills and insight in mobilizing the proto-fascists but he has always had personal cognitive and behavioral defects far beyond the great dictators of the past. And he wound up with underlings that for the most part are even more bizarre and incompetent than anything seen in other cases. The only things he has concentrated on with some effect is self-advertising glitz like the Oval Office and personal enrichment. If somebody with the administrative competence and political convictions of, say, Franco had been in his place, we would be in far worse shape now (and our current shape is awful).
Absolutely right. I don't know that it's so much that the underlings were deficient as much as the panoptic media environment made it impossible to disguise. Hence, their frantic efforts to blind the media.
Trump's staffing and cabinet level appointments reflect Arendt's observation of totalitarian movements; they "...replace all first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty.” And we know how Trump values loyalty.
The downside of this media-saturated era is that these fascist leaning crowds can now network over great distances; the upside is that they can be observed by all to be as awful as they actually are.
As you noted... thank god their standard bearer was such a wretched fool and they were as incompetent as they turned out to be.
But it's not over yet so knock wood.
I don't know that his cognitive and behavioral defects were really worse than the great dictators of the past. I think the main thing is his ability to let everyone on the planet know about his defects constantly, 24 hours a day, on social media.
For me, the 2024 election demonstrated that the American public is NOT AGAINST fascism due to any sort of an ethical objection, but it's absolutely willing to try it out if promised riches. So these midterms are going to reveal whether the American public is FOR fascism, even when the riches don't show up.
For the MAGA core there's no question about it.
Of course, but is the "national spirit" at large, the one John talks about, sufficiently corrupted? Looks like it's not, but we'll find out soon.
Trump himself has always struck me as a baby (if a canny one), who has no principles beyond "me, me, me." He has little self-control, and little interest in self-control. His "weavings" and whims and people's willingness to go along with them, is what makes him "special." I'm curious whether there are historical examples of successful fascist regimes where such a leader, with Trump's particular brand of narcissism and buffoonery, was put to use by people with more discipline, systematization and stragetic thinking. Or, whether successful fascist regimes tend to depend on having a more mature (if nefarious) personality at the helm.
It has indeed seemed for awhile like Trump II was cargo culting fascist authoritarianism, trying to conjure it with the aesthetics but without competence. That is a relief. But you are more optimistic about the future of American democracy than I am. Electoral outcomes are becoming more volatile across the world's mature democracies over the past few decades. Each time one of these Russia-aligned far right populist movements gets its hands on power, it gleefully wreaks havoc in the machinery of the state. And I'm not sure there is enough time between elections for the "normal parties" to properly revive democratic legitimacy, especially with the escalating severity of climate change in the background.
In Europe, these parties seem to follow a pattern of splintering into even more extreme factions, not moderating in response to failure. The PVV, Reform, FdI, National Rally are challenged from the right, often driven by youth groups. MAGA could well be followed by a Tucker Carlson-led America First movement that is even more radicalized. The worst people in this movement dig even more fiercely into the obsessive national humiliation narrative. Maybe they will continue to splinter and be consumed by internecine battles. But I'm not sure that the American liberal-left will be able to put things back together before they are again ousted from office. I hope to be wrong.
One thing I began thinking about during the first Trump administration, but is increasingly apparent in the second is that we are extremely lucky in that Trump and his coterie seem to lack the competence and more importantly the attention span to effectuate their project. A more dangerous group would have pursued fewer projects at once as well as projects with less risk of economic blowback. We are extremely fortunate that Trump's attacks have so quickly and so perceptibly weakened the economy.
Reasonably hopeful analysis of a bunch of horrific stuff and I still think, perhaps more cynically, the composition and role of ICE and the forced deportation system is essentially or paradigmatically fascist.