This time there was no march of the pink pussy hats that descended on Washington in the inaugural aftermath to proclaim their #resistance to the incoming storm of Trump’s administration. This time Bezos and Zuckerberg didn’t promise to be the official fact-checkers in a time of fake news and the beacons of light upholding our Democracy. No, this time, the charade of standing for anything more than blatant self-interest is no longer necessary. The Broligarchy was finally allowed to be what it always tried to convince us it wasn’t. The masks were off.
And it isn’t that I ever believed the Women’s March was more than a symbolic gesture at best (and self-serving virtue signalling at worst). Or that a newspaper could be run by one of the world’s richest men and remain neutral. Or that one of the most invasive tech companies could be trusted to selflessly monitor online discourse. Still, this time it’s different.
This time, it was there for all to see. An homage to the fascist aesthetics of the 1930s, a stadium full of flags and fanatics. The great leader, playing to the crowds. There was even a ‘Roman’ salute by Elon Musk, a defender of the far right in Europe, which we were told was not exactly what it looked it. Soon came the spectacle of presidential decrees in the form of Executive Orders that included the sweeping pardon of all the January 6th rioters, including the leader of the far-right neo-Nazi group the Oath Keepers. But Trump also included in his pardons that of Silk Road architect Ross Ulbricht, whose parents( by coincidence?) made large donations to the Trump campaign. His inauguration was packed with donors willing to pay the high price for the ‘invitation’, proving what we all knew – This is a pay-to-play presidency. It is frightening to think of how willing the richest men in the world are to offer a blank check, ensuring they continue to enjoy a seat at the table of a new world order.
When I returned to the US over the Christmas holidays, there was still a disbelief that the results had been what they were. That the price of eggs justified a xenophobic regime and another four years of the demigod-in-chief. Especially when we consider that, compared to the rest of the world, the United States is still materially better off. Of course, for those who were appalled by America’s support of the genocide in Gaza, the 2024 election was one of the worst choices we’ve ever had to make, politically speaking. But how do we explain those comfortable middle-class people who, unbothered by or ignorant of America’s foreign policy, still chose this fascist parade? I believe it is because we have reached the “Is that all there is?” moment of the American Dream. We’ve reached the soulless centre of what it means to exist in a capitalist society. The spiritual void of endless growth and accumulation that ravages our planet and still leaves us empty.
Philosopher Slavoj Žižek likes to evoke the Walter Benjamin quote, “Behind every fascism there is a failed revolution.” He takes it to mean that the rise of fascism is proof that there was a moment of revolutionary potential, a moment when a radical turn was possible, but it was squandered by the Left. The question now is, do we still have time to change course? I don’t know. I do know the answers won’t come from the Democratic Party. The same party that did everything it could to maintain the dying status quo. A party that was more loyal to private interests and corporate profits than the average American worker. If there is still time, it must be seized by an alternative political party that truly represents the people. But after months of being told how horrific a Trump victory would be for democracy, and the evidence now in full fascistic display, the silence of any real opposition is deafening.
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