What seems to be the common theme in the US, NZ, Argentina and places like Italy under their respective rightwing governments is what I think of as “the politics of cruelty.” Hate-mongering, callous indifference in social policy-making, corporate toadying, political bullying, intimidation and punching down on the most vulnerable with seemingly unrestrained glee seem to be a hallmark of their respective approaches to governance. The fact that they share ideological and organisational ties through entities like the Atlas Network and Heritage Foundation suggests that this common approach is orchestrated rather than spontaneous and comes from the top down from conservative elites rather as an expression of the desires of the voting grassroots.
To be clear, they all won open elections fairly, albeit not by as wide margins as they claim, so their “mandates’ are a bit more tenuous than they may appear at first glance. But it is not so much whether they have large electoral margins of victory that matters but how they have chosen to exercise power once having won. On that score the post-election moment is alarming and the trend is authoritarian. What fuels this trend is belief in the power of “chaos theory,” where “disruptors” smash the system as given in order to achieve social, economic and political break-throughs after a period of stagnation and decline. This has been an ontological pillar of modern neo-Right thought–out of chaos and disorder comes rebirth–but it requires the firm hand of a determined leadership to push through the needed changes against the wishes of a reluctant or opposed polity.
In addition, although they all have their own variants of rightwing approaches to policy-making, be they MAGA populism (US), anarcho-capitalism (Argentina), post-neoliberalism (NZ) or neofascism (Italy), every one of these governments has elements of the “neoreactionary” movement growing strength in global rightwing circles. That movement sees liberal democracy as terminally flawed because it allows less-intelligent people to vote, which in turn produces political societies dominated by inefficiency, waste and rent-seeking collusion between public bureaucrats, their clients and feckless and avaricious politicians. For the neoreactionary movement, rule by a “monarchy” of corporate technocrats (e.g., Musk and Thiel) is preferable even if not possible over the short term. The new ‘masters of the universe” come from Silicone Valley rather than Wall Street, and are supported by legions of so-called “groypers” (younger rightwing ideologues and trolls) who serve as the foot soldiers of the new political-technocratic order.
At a political level, given the impossibility of immediately dispensing with elections and installing direct rule by the technocratic elite (as the leading edge of capitalism, now replacing finance capital), the short term remedy is therefore to elect “strong” leaders who rule by decree, fast-track legislation and/or emergency powers in which a Blitzkrieg approach is applied to institutional reform without regard to legal niceties or constitutional norms. The idea is to throw policy reforms against the societal wall and see what sticks given economic, socio-political and legal conditions. And given the pervasive influence of what can be called the attention-seeking (as opposed to information-seeking) culture accelerated by social media, this aim-at-the-wall approach flies below the radar of scrutiny by a public and mass media obsessed with clicks, likes and selfies rather than the incremental slide into authoritarianism. Because of that campaigns can be based on lies, disinformation and primal scapegoating of designated “others” because the ends justify the means. Elections have no intrinsic worth other than as serving as another instrument by which power is attained, and the turn towards authoritarian cruelty is the manner in which the spoils of victory are shared by election winners.
Not surprisingly given the above, in all of these cases rammed-through reforms have stuck. It remains to be seen what the long term effect will be or whether successful challenges can be mounted against them, but the disruptor neoreactionaries are on the rise and disruption is at play with no effective counterweight yet in sight.
For the time being, it appears that an era of darkness has descended upon us.
***Thanks to Lorenzo Wachter Buchanan and Dr. Jeanne Guthrie for their insights on this subject.***
Thanks to political radicalisation caused by the Global Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, threats to democracy exist on both sides of the political spectrum.
One of the current political ills is a lack of principled individuals. When the owners of social media companies’ censorship policies or owner’s actions favour one side, people are enraged or cheering. I think having social media firms act this way is a terrible idea. Embracing awful concepts when they favour your political side is like getting injured by jumping on a pile of broken glass.
Gigantic flaws in current thinking are wrecking political thought: Left-wingers fall back on the Neoliberalism bogeyman, a desire to undo the 1980s economic reforms, support undemocratic race-based policies, and suppressing opposing political voices under the disinformation guise.
However, right-wing politics is equally dysfunctional. The cancerous America First ideology, a gross failure to move beyond curing 40-year-old economic woes, various stances on social issues, a complete lack of forward and original thinking, and the old governing on the status quo chestnut.
Traditional mainstream and newer forms of media prop up all of this unholy mess. Moreover, those media outlets vary from blatant political biases to propaganda outlets.
I hope the reader will forgive me for not mentioning specific individuals or discussing particular issues. I wish to avoid turning my response into a political dumpster fire.
Thought provoking, scary. My current interest is in (a bit superficial but human) the battle of giant egos, Trump and Musk. Trump is a very cunning operator, Musk is said to be gifted and on the spectrum. I can’t wait for the big bust up which seems to be inevitable. The fall out will be spectacular.
Western politics has been blown open by the twin economic crises of neoliberalism, and capitalist globalization. At each point of crisis the liberal centre have attempted a restoration of the status quo – to manage the crisis, carry out the bailout, stitch things back together, and try to get back to normal. The form this takes – either Labour’s managerialism or Nationals desperate neoliberal anachronisms or the paralysis of palace politics engulfing UK Labour the US Democrats – as much as questions of culture, race, and gender, seem to me to be fundamental reason the centrists are often experienced as a force of inhibition rather than empowerment by so many voters. And it is against this politics of containment that the obscenities of Trump and his empowered, gleeful monkeys on the far right come to feel like a liberation for many people. Ultimately, the left has to offer solutions to the problems of neoliberal rentier capitalism, wealth inequality and wrap those solutions in the cause of decency and democracy. The complacent days of assuming a managerialist proscription to vulgar bully boys and their henchmen in a criminal kakiocracy intent on graft and corruption on a massive scale will work should be long over.
“…What fuels this trend is belief in the power of “chaos theory,” where “disruptors” smash the system as given in order to achieve social, economic and political break-throughs after a period of stagnation and decline….”
When are we going to simply calling these people fascists? I mean, the 20th centuries fascists were kind enough to explain this for us in great detail…
“…Fascism is action and it is thought; action in which doctrine is immanent, and doctrine arising from a given system of historical forces in which it is inserted, and working on them from within… …Fascism combats the whole complex system of democratic ideology, and repudiates it, whether in its theoretical premises or in its practical application. Fascism denies that the majority, by the simple fact that it is a majority, can direct human society; it denies that numbers alone can govern by means of a periodical consultation, and it affirms the immutable, beneficial, and fruitful inequality of mankind, which can never be permanently leveled through the mere operation of a mechanical process such as universal suffrage….” Benito Mussolini, “On fascism” 1932.
Coincidentally, I’ve been reading a bit about Yarvin over the past week or so. He was mentioned by Dame Anne Salmond in a newsroom opinion piece on the perils of the Regulatory Standards Bill. Eric Crampton (in the comments below the article) denied that Yarvin was an influence , but he surely seems to have an awful lot of influence with the likes of Theil, & his protege JD Vance. Since then, his name has been coming up repeatedly in articles & posts discussing what is happening in the US (a coup from within?).
Barbara is right – what he proposes & what is currently happening in the US is very scary. I think what is happening here is a milder version of the same. It can only end very badly.
I read the msm re the USA each day with increasing depression, this morn with great foreboding. I agree – these personalities – Musk, Trump and their lesser likes elsewhere (incl NZ) – seems to see their roles as stirrers – shake up the status quo and wait for the reaction, see what happens. Tear it down …
but will anything emerge from the ruins, I wonder ? Will the old institutions and the political moral compass be rebuilt, re-established, by the next incomers … will the destruction be too final. It seems a brutal world that we have become, recent times. And so quickly.
For a long time now I have imagined a likeness between Trump and his offsider to those 2 characters from the LOTR, the old insane or sleepy, soporific king Theoden, King of the (once proud) Horse Lords, and his sychophantic, creepy ear-whisperer, Grima Wormtongue. (The incorrect spelling there almost seems appropriate, so I have left it in lol). It is only by resorting to such characterisation that I will be able to get through this current turmoil, hoping against hope it doesn’t get too much hold or influence here in little ‘ol NZ – or at least that the current lesser-evil-lot here will soon be booted out, a la the latest op polls.
You have to have something to laugh at, to lighten the load – its the only way to overcome the madness.
All the while my concern is growing, deeply.
Regards.
PS just a comment from your article – that I disagree with.
It is my observation that the less educated a person is, then the more likely they are inclined to support these conservative, neo-fascist neo-liberal or whatever-you-like-to-call-them – authoritarian, right-wing- govts. So I question the statement/belief that ‘liberal democracy (is) terminally flawed because it allows less-intelligent people to vote’.
Not trying to be elitist though it sounds that way.
Education is the key, to everything.
(… Though I acknowledge there has been (regrettable) changes in the education system also. The movement away from the study of Liberal Arts and Humanities.
Another problem, and another huge topic in its own right.)
Thanks Barbara,
For both comments. Perhaps I was unclear, but what I meant to say was the the intellectual leaders of the neo-reactionary movement that Musk, Ramaswamy and others ascribe to believe that one of democracy’s fundamental flaws is that it allows idiots to vote and then gives them a vote that is equal to that of smart people. Since the masses are asses and there are more of them than the smart few, this causes sub-optimal policy outcomes that cater to the dumbasses across the board and lead to populist demagoguery rather than enlightened leadership. They take their inspiration from the Greek and Romans, where the demos of which Aristotle, Socrates and Plato wrote were native born ethically dominant males, not women, slaves, children or visitors. In the current world, the neo reactionaries see the division as between the techno-capitalist visionaries and the bottom-feeding social parasites and their “woke” socialist/ communist/liberal political enablers.
That is their belief, not mine, although there is truth that allowing less educated people to vote–what the US political elite and media call “low-information voters”–does skew campaigns in favour of prejudice, bias, scapegoating and indeed demagoguery. The irony is that it is this type of campaigning that led Trump to victory, with the twist being that he hid his oligarchical shadow cabinet from full electoral view until the victory was secured, and denied having anything to do with Project 2025 until he started signing Executive Orders inspired by (in fact, cut-and-pasted from) it.