American Fascism, Redux

Trump supporters pledging to vote in primary elections 

A few years ago, a friend of mine recommended that I read one of Sinclair Lewis' later works, a novel called It Can't Happen Here. Writing in the 1930's, Lewis imagined what a fascist government would look like in the United States, his work rebutting the idea that such an idea was impossible in a nation that took so much pride in democratic principles. From his vantage point, this outcome was not impossible in the slightest. With figures like the pro-fascist radio priest Father Coughlin, and Louisiana governor Huey Long prominent in those years, an American version of fascism in power was all too easy to imagine. In the novel, Senator "Buzz" Windrip wins election to the Presidency after promising a return to American greatness, one that had no place for outsiders, dissenters, and minority groups. While cloaking himself in the rhetoric and symbols of American patriotism, his inauguration ushers in a repressive regime dedicated to suppressing contrary views, enforced by his own "Minute Men." More than this, however, It Can't Happen Here, is a story of how Americans respond to fascism in power. The protagonist joins a resistance movement, but many of the characters actively assist and collaborate, engaging in spying and violence against opponents of the Windrip government. 

The novel made for chilling reading almost a decade ago, and Lewis' warning seems only more apt now than it did then. Ultimately, the reforms of the New Deal era, and a worldwide battle against fascism, meant the end of American flirtation with authoritarianism in the first half of the 20th Century. American readers in the post-WWII era could comfortably reassure themselves that it hadn't hadn't happened here after all. Yet it seems that no small segment of the public is ready to entertain the possibility of authoritarianism in the first part of the 21st Century.

The rise of Donald Trump as a political force, and the fact that he stands as the likely Republican nominee, should be enough to demonstrate that the threat of fascism didn't end in the 20th Century. Channeling the frustrations of workers left behind by a struggling economy that no longer works for them, Trump swaggers and blusters and promises a return to greatness, while directing this rage at various groups labeled as enemies, and calling for violence against those who disagree. In this way, Trump represents America's peculiar version of fascism, reborn and retooled for the 21st Century. Dismissing him as an entertaining sideshow to the serious business of electing the next president is no longer an appropriate response, nor can it be taken for granted that his election is an impossibility. The character of "Buzz" Windrip is in many ways a comic figure, but that in no way hindered his ascension to the Presidency. The comedic aspects of Trump haven't hindered his path to the nomination--if anything, they've made the path easier. We can certainly laugh at some of Trump's particular quirks, but the fact that such an individual is so close to being the nominee of a major political party should be sobering in the extreme. 

Even if Donald Trump does lose the election, that won't be the end of the problem. A not-insignificant part of the population, by showing up at rallies and handing Trump victory after victory in primary elections, has demonstrated that his tactics are not only acceptable but effective. Strutting and insulting, calls for violence and the demonizing of minority groups have worked, and that won't suddenly stop being true with a loss in November. The real question then will be what becomes of former Trump supporters, this new, so-called "silent majority." Trump may lose, but Trumpism, only the latest iteration of fascism, has been unleashed. And that is a far more difficult matter than the vote of a single election. 

The solution to this problem is to institute a program of economic and political reforms that will ensure more accountability in government, and a greater shared prosperity in our economy, just as we did during the New Deal era. Only by working to defuse the animus that motivates Trump supporters will we begin to back away from our country's flirtation with a new authoritarianism. In the absence of real reforms that address the economic insecurity that motivates a large number of those who support Trump, these voters will be primed and ready for the next candidate who sounds the same call, who seeks to channel the same anger. If anything, continuing forward without reforms that make the economy work for a wider swath of the population will only ensure the rise of future Trumpesque figures in our politics.