The global rise of the authoritarian right has confounded classification and led to contentious debates on the left. Do politicians like Modi, Bolsonaro, Orban, and Trump represent an extreme form of right-wing populism? Or are they fascists, as some claim? Historian and scholar of populism and fascism Federico Finchelstein argues that we’re seeing something new … Continued
The anti-abortion movement has deeply shaped our era, and not just because of the repeal of Roe v Wade. As scholar of the right Carol Mason argues, it also helped provide a gateway to the growth of the authoritarian right by normalizing violent rhetoric and political violence, while exporting ideas and tactics to the right … Continued
U.S. imperialism has produced migration, sometimes to places you wouldn’t expect. According to Emily Mitchell-Eaton, the Marshall Islands and Arkansas are both central to the workings of empire. The perceptions of longtime residents of demographically transformed cities like Springdale, Arkansas reflect geographical imaginaries that occlude the fact of U.S. empire. Emily Mitchell-Eaton, New Destinations of Empire: Mobilities, … Continued
Was the populist far right a reaction to neoliberal free market fundamentalism? Or, as historian Quinn Slobodian argues, did such rightwing currents come out of the ideas of neoliberalism itself? Slobodian reflects on neoliberal thinkers’ preoccupation with racist and misogynistic ideas of human nature and intelligence, borders and gold — all in service to their … Continued
How should we understand the relationship between capitalists, big and small, and the Republican and Democratic parties — especially in the wake of Trump’s return to power? Stephen Maher discusses the sectors of capital that support and oppose him. He traces the rise of the MAGA Right to forces set in motion by the global … Continued
Utopias aren’t unique to the left. The right has labored in myriad ways for a world without fetters on private property. In one striking case, a character called Michael Oliver, with a motley group of associates ranging from English lords to soldiers of fortune, successively attempted to set up a capitalist paradise in the South … Continued
We present Keith Boykin discussing The Politics of A Darkening America. After the events that took place over the course of 2020, America remains more divided than ever. When faced with a global health crisis and widespread cries for racial justice, leadership crumbled and the Republican Party suffered defeat in the 2020 election. According to Keith Boykin, Republican … Continued
Latin America has played a crucial role for the United States as an empire. And historian Greg Grandin argues that Latin America’s importance stretches well beyond the regional interests of the United States in the Western Hemisphere. Instead, Grandin posits, the countries south of the border have been used as a crucible for the formation … Continued
Clarence Thomas is Donald Trump’s favorite Supreme Court justice, which might confirm the liberal view that Thomas is simply a toady of the right. But scholar Corey Robin argues that Thomas is a complex thinker and skilled rhetorician, whose ideas originate in black nationalism. Robin reflects on how Thomas’ pessimism about the intractability of racism … Continued
Ayn Rand’s novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged have been called gateway drugs to rightwing ideas for so many Americans. And while the works of the writer and philosopher have seen a resurgence since the global economic crisis, her influence has been undeniably huge and sustained since those books were originally published in mid-century. Historian … Continued
