The Rise of Global Authoritarian Populism

In the last couple years there has been a rise in authoritarianism…..across Europe far Right is making head way…France, Greece, Hungary and even England…….the US is not immune from the ravages of authoritarianism.

The big question is will this trend continue or will thew world come to its senses?

If populism’s need for an ”apocalyptic confrontation” proves accurate, it might lead the Trump administration’s ”systemic revolutionaries” far beyond even their most extreme rhetoric.

In 2016, something extraordinary happened in the politics of diverse countries around the world. With surprising speed and simultaneity, a new generation of right-wing populist leaders emerged from the margins of nominally democratic nations to win power. In doing so, they gave voice, often in virulent fashion, to public concerns about the social costs of globalization.

Even in societies as disparate as the affluent United States and the impoverished Philippines, similarly violent strains of right-wing populist rhetoric carried two unlikely candidates from the political margins to the presidency. On opposite sides of the Pacific, these outsider campaigns were framed by lurid calls for violence and even murder.

Source: The Bloodstained Rise of Global Authoritarian Populism: A Political Movement’s Violent Pursuit of “Enemies”

Does history dictate that a rise in authoritarianism has to occur every 50-100 years?

Are You A Collectivist?

Anybody here ever watch Star Trek–The Next Generation?

If so then you will recall the Borg….the nemesis of the Federation. But what were the Borg?

……Their existence is in the Collective where each drone was part of the collective consciousness……they all received the same thoughts and information from those that were assimilated…..

And that got me thinking about “collectivism”……

Scratch your head and repeat after me…..HUH?

These days someone is always labeling others with some insulting tag or another…..such as “globalist”, “socialist”, “Fascist”, “apologist”…..so why not “collectivist”?

So onto a definition…..trying not to confuse too many at one time…..

Collectivism is a form of anthropomorphism. It attempts to see a group of individuals as having a single identity similar to a person. The collective is claimed to have ideas, and can think. It has purpose, and it acts to achieve goals. It even has a personality, called culture. It claims to have moral rules the collective should follow. It claims to have collective rights, as well.

Since the collective is actually just individuals interacting, the collectivists have to change their views of individuals. They morally evaluate people according to the results of the collective. If the collective manages to accomplish something great like land on the moon, every individual is given equal credit. If a nation goes to war, everyone is to blame. And if an individual refuses to acknowledge the superiority of his collective, than he is a traitor and is eliminated. This is the result of collectivism.

Collectivism demands that the group be more important than the individual. It requires the individual to sacrifice himself for the alleged good of the group. Although different from altruism, collectivism complements it well. Altruism demands sacrifice for others, collectivism demands sacrifice for the group. Collectivism leads to altruism.

Now that you have a handle on what collectivism is all about…..we will move onto what brought about the thought process that gave you this post.

We have a new way of thinking about our place in this society…..first of all….America has always been great and these days it needs to find itself again

Those involved with the America First revival and the campaign to “make America great again” seem to be forgetting that America was made great in the first place with freedom. Personal freedom and civil liberties, and economic freedom with the protection of private property rights, freedom of contract and association, and especially free markets.

It was the philosophy of individualism upon which America was founded and in which the people had real freedom — and thus, prosperity.

unfortunately, Donald Trump’s collectivist agenda involves a mystical nationalism with policies of authoritarian governmental controls, certainly not promoting individualism and inviolable free markets.

Source: Are You A Collectivist?

I have noticed that some bloggers fall into this trap….they just repeat the lousy info they have assimilated….in essence they are part of the “hive”…the collective.

“Resistance is futile….You will be assimilated”……..would make a great slogan for Breibart and other hate filled sites.

Restoring Responsible ‘Conservatism’

For years the conservatives in this country were known to be a responsible form of governance. The platform of the 1956 GOP platform illustrates the meaning of the term “responsible conservatism”…..

Back in those days they were as close as the US has had as a liberal since the turn of the 20th century.

As much as “liberal” has become a dirty word in U.S. politics, the word “conservative” has been ripped from all its honorable traditions and redefined as a dangerous form of radicalism,

What is it about the U.S. that makes it virtually the only country in the world where a political Left scarcely exists? We have a center Right — the Democratic Party. And we have a far Right — the Republican Party. In fact, just invoking the L-word “Liberal” can inflict quick political death. Yes, we’re safe from the Left here in America.

Having such a stunted political spectrum is bad enough in itself. Still worse is the utter corruption of the word conservative. U.S. society has allowed the Republican Party to hijack the word, distort it and redefine it to its own ends, against its real meaning.

Source: Restoring a Responsible ‘Conservatism’ – Consortiumnews

The day of a responsible Republican has long gone never to return.

What say you?

Twitocracy

A new word for the annals of political thought……”Twitocracy”….(God I love that term)…..

Now people will do what they do best…define this to fit their paradigm…..but I am talking about the use of Twitter…..nothing more…..

Our new prez did something that few other politicians, and yes he is a politician, at least now have been capable of doing…using Twitter to do his work for him.

I think it was brilliant in the beginning but now he is using it like most trolls use it….as an immature way to try and slap down any opposition…..a shame….he could use it for good but instead he rather act like a 5th grader in the school yard mash down….immature and juvenile…..

John Peeler: As long as his Twitter followers will follow, Trump will be able to instantly shape reality to suit his needs.

It surely was fun watching House Republicans fold before the Trump Twitternaut. They only wanted to gut an independent ethics watchdog panel, but they didn’t reckon with The Donald’s Tweet Power. Within hours of the closed-door vote, congressional offices were deluged by outraged constituents after Trump tweeted his disapproval. We are in a new era.

As long as his Twitter followers will follow, Trump will be able to instantly shape reality to suit his needs. As with the House GOP, he can crystallize a judgment that will resist evidence and force conformity. As with the CIA and Russian hacking of the election, he can, with no evidence whatsoever, cast doubt on the considered judgment of intelligence professionals, even while resisting being briefed by those same professionals. As with Hillary’s emails, he can magnify and distort an issue without regard to truth, to his own advantage.

Source: Twitocracy: The Trump Era – LA Progressive

So is the 24-hour media failing the public?

Yes it is…….every time they respond to his Twitocracy then he has won and their reporting is bogus……

Trump is media fodder. Every day he offers two scoops of drama with a hearty dash of intrigue.

And while Trump is great for TV ratings, commercial success comes at a cost. He uses the mass media—especially the 24-hour news networks—for self-serving advantage.

He can do that because he’s crafty, having lived in the media space for so many years. He knows that many Americans get news from social media (60%+ according to a recent Pew study). And he knows that 24-hour news networks serve as a primary news source for many folks around the country.

Source: Why 24-Hour News Channels Are Failing America – LA Progressive

By giving Trump what he wants then the media is failing the public….they take the bait and run with it….giving the slugs more bait to keep the media occupied and moving in an approved trajectory…

Maybe The Frankfurt School Can Help

Ever since the news broke that Donald Trump had won the electoral college there has been a wealth of ink wasted trying to explain what went wrong and how this person could have won so much of the electoral college.

Us academics….you know those people that the Right demonizes every chance they get….maybe be able to help explain the situation and that nagging question…how could this happen?

I have read most of the stuff both Right and Left that attempts to explain the 2016 elections….most of it is supposition…..but some of the thoughts of the Frankfurt School could help in this endeavor……

At least spend some time and learn about their thoughts before dismissing them outright.

The Frankfurt School, also known as the Institute of Social Research (Institut für Sozialforschung), is a social and political philosophical movement of thought located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is the original source of what is known as Critical Theory. The Institute was founded, thanks to a donation by Felix Weil in 1923, with the aim of developing Marxist studies in Germany. The Institute eventually generated a specific school of thought after 1933 when the Nazis forced it to close and move to the United States, where it found hospitality at Columbia University, New York.

The academic influence of the “critical” method is far reaching in terms of educational institutions in which such tradition is taught and in terms of the problems it addresses. Some of its core issues involve the critique of modernities and of capitalist society, the definition of social emancipation and the perceived pathologies of society. Critical theory provides a specific interpretation of Marxist philosophy and reinterprets some of its central economic and political notions such as commodification, reification, fetishization and critique of mass culture.

Source: Frankfurt School and Critical Theory | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

In 1923, a motley collection of philosophers, cultural critics, and sociologists formed the Institute of Social Research in Frankfurt, Germany. Known popularly as the Frankfurt School, it was an all-star crew of lefty theorists, including Walter Benjamin, Theodor Adorno, Erich Fromm, Max Horkheimer, and Herbert Marcuse.

A guiding belief of the Frankfurt School, notably among Adorno and Horkheimer, was that mass culture, in all its forms, was a prop for totalitarian capitalism. The idea was that art, in late-capitalist society, had been reduced to a cultural commodity. Critical theory sought to expose this by rigorously examining the products of popular culture. In particular, they tried to show how culture became a stealth vehicle for the inculcation of capitalist values.

Source: If you want to understand the age of Trump, you need to read the Frankfurt School – Vox

One may not approve of their approach….but they were instrumental in the formation of the “critical theory”…..

Reclaim the Identity of the Left

Back in my younger days I was a radical and worked to change the political system….I worked within the confines of the system to exact change….Reagan reinvigorated my resolve to make change…Bush1 was just an extension of my desire….and then the country threw us on the Left a mickey….the election of Bill Clinton, a conserv in Dem clothing……we tried to warn the country but few wanted to hear what we were saying…..and look what that brought.

Many on the Left are crying in their beers…..but that will not bring the change they so want….the Left needs to set about making the changes needed to start representing the working class….something they have NOT done in 25+ years…..if they truly want to win…then the ONLY concern should be that of the working class.

This election has been something that the American left had never dreamed of: The rise of a demagogue spouting fascist rhetoric against the roaring cheers of white America.

An authoritarian right will now rule over a Republican-held Congress, with the choosing of new Supreme Court justices on the agenda.

The anger fueling Trump’s rise was palpable because it wasn’t new. Economic stagnation has been happening for decades as deindustrialization, neoliberalism and union busting took its toll. The Rust Belt rusted over and small farms were forced into foreclosure. That anger had a narrative thrusted upon it, and it didn’t come from the left.

Source: Trump’s Victory Is an Opportunity to Reclaim the Identity of the Left

Good advice if you want to regain your standing with the American people….

For sake of argument…….. the National Review wades into the conversation…..

The Left is not going to learn any lessons from 2016, apparently. Democrats in the House just crushed an upstart challenge to Nancy Pelosi’s decade-long leadership, rejecting Tim Ryan, a 43-year-old congressman who represents a swath of post-industrial Ohio from Youngstown to Akron and co-chairs the Congressional Manufacturing Caucus, for the 76-year-old San Francisco congresswoman who has presided over the largest House losses in modern memory, and who famously said that the House had to pass the Affordable Care Act “so you can find out what is in it.” As for leadership outside the halls of Congress, the favorite to head the Democratic National Committee has been Keith Ellison, a Muslim congressman from Minnesota who has extensive ties to the Nation of Islam and the Muslim Brotherhood, and who has compared the September 11 attacks to the burning of the Reichstag.

Source: American Left, We Need You to Recover Your Sanity | National Review

I will agree that the Left, the true Left, needs to re-group and find a better way forward…..reverting back to the 1990’s is NOT the way forward.

Thoughts? But please if you want to go on some socialism rant save it for your crazy uncle Bill over Christmas dinner.

Closing Thought–02Dec16

GOP–When It Was A “Big Tent” Party……..

My grandfather, a man that I found to be an astute individual, was a Republican in his voting prime. He always said that he could get behind their platform for it would strengthen the country and make it a much better place for ALL Americans.

The last time he voted was 1956…..

The years before Reagan and his assault on any one not privileged…aka “Welfare Queens”…..

If the GOP were still a party of ideas then I would be a Republican…but sadly they have long since vanished….replaced with a party of division, wealth and privilege……nothing they propose anymore will “make America great again”…..

Sadly there are no moderate or liberal Repubs left…..they have been replaced by the twats on the far Right….and that will be a worthless situation….very little if anything will be done in DC…..

Together, Donald Trump and his GOP cohorts who won on November 8 represent some of the worst tendencies in the country. Trump personifies our economic and social contradictions front and center, loud and clear. The mainstream media recognizes that Donald Trump certainly won, but few seem willing to discuss how the far right wrangled a significant victory on Election Day.

This should not be surprising. While members of the intelligentsia are now scrambling to vindicate our democratic system and call for unity, they spent years ignoring the cracks in its economic foundation. No doubt they would ignore the growing fissures now manifest, oblivious to the system poised to crash upon us. Their belief in the American status quo ushered Trump into the presidency.

Source: Let’s Face It: There Is No Moderate GOP

It took about 30 years for the GOP to go from a party of ideas to a party of immature BS…….The GOP will remain a stagnant party as long as they keep purging the Moderates and Liberals….the party will remain a party in name ONLY!

Should We Go Left Or Right?

After the dismal showing in the EC by Clinton the Dems are scrambling trying to find a way to reclaim their lost glory.

Some think that they should embrace a more progressive tact…..while others are thinking of returning to the days of the “Blue Dogs”.

In case you are so damn young that the term “Blue Dog” means nothing to you then maybe I can help….

The Blue Dogs are the political descendants of a now defunct Southern Democratic group known as the Boll Weevils, who played a critical role in the early 1980s by supporting President Ronald Reagan’s tax cut plan. The Boll Weevils, in turn, may be considered the descendants of the “states’ rights” Democrats of the 1940s through ’60s. “Blue Dog Democrat” is derived from the term “Yellow Dog Democrat.” Former Texas Democrat Rep. Pete Geren is credited for coining the term, explaining that the members had been “choked blue” by “extreme” Democrats from the left. The term is also a reference to the “Blue Dog” paintings of Cajun artist George Rodrigue of Lafayette, Louisiana; the original members of the coalition would regularly meet in the offices of Louisiana representatives Billy Tauzin and Jimmy Hayes, both of whom had Rodrigue’s paintings on their walls.[citation needed] Tauzin and Hayes later switched to the Republican Party. The Blue Dog Coalition was formed in 1994 during the 104th Congress to give more conservative members from the Democratic party a unified voice after the Democrats’ loss of Congress in 1994.

Basically they are conservatives in Dem clothing…..they became popular when Bubba Clinton was prez along with his group the DLC.

Now that is out of the way…the question remains….should the Dems move Right or Left?

Believe it or not I read the American Conservative and they have some ideas for the Dems (not that any of them would listen)…..it is an excellent op-ed that deserves thought from the Dems…..

Ross Douthat’s latest column asks whether the Democrats have the capacity to move to the right in response to the election results:

That kind of movement is often part of how political parties recover from debilitation and defeat — not just by finding new ways to be true to their underlying ideology, but by scrambling toward the center to convince skeptical voters that they’ve changed. It’s what Democrats did, slowly but surely, after the trauma of Ronald Reagan’s triumphs; it’s what Bill Clinton did after his 1994 drubbing; it’s what Rahm Emanuel and Howard Dean did, to a modest degree, on their way to building a congressional majority in 2006. And it’s also what Donald Trump did on his way to stealing the Midwest from the Democrats this year — he was a hard-right candidate on certain issues but a radical sort of centrist on trade, infrastructure and entitlements, explicitly breaking with Republican orthodoxies that many voters considered out-of-date.

Source: Do The Democrats Have To Move Right? Or Left? | The American Conservative

While I do not agree with the conclusions, most of the conclusions, it still has merit…but since they, the Dems, are sticking with Pelosi as leader I do not see much change coming.

Me? I say more progressive!

In Saner Thought

"It is the duty of every man, as far as his ability extends, to detect and expose delusion and error"..Thomas Paine

Tag: Political Philosophy