The debate about whether Musk's right arm might have accidentally slipped steeply upwards lacks intellectual seriousness. It is irrelevant what he really meant by it. The question of whether we are dealing with a modern form of fascism has in fact been answered by Trump himself.
The leadership principle, the MAGA movement, which is as cult-like as it is violent , the purging of the state of political opponents, the equation of dissent with treason, contempt for the rules of liberal democracy, a white master race at the top - what more do you need to classify someone? If you like, you can go through Umberto Eco's list of 14 points by which you can recognize a fascist. You have to tick almost every one of them.
And if you want to take a more democratic theoretical approach to the state of the nation, most of the institutions of checks and balances have been brought into line. The executive branch of government, of course, and the legislative branch with both chambers of parliament, as well as the judiciary with the Supreme Court, at least at the highest level. And Trump has tried to destroy the media as watchdogs of democracy from the very beginning.
Fascism does not mean National Socialism, which murdered millions. There have been various forms of fascism since Mussolini. And the rule that Trump and Musk want to establish under very different historical and media conditions will also have its own characteristics. How much mental strength has been lost since 2016 in dissecting exactly which ideological label could apply to Trump and later to Musk!
I would say: They are fascists of the 21st century. And it is good to be able to say that. In a way, Elon Musk's gesture is liberating. Such clarification is an immense intellectual (and for some, emotional) relief, as painful as the finding is. With this self-outing, the tormenting self-questioning about who and what we are dealing with - and what it is all about - should end.
It allows an unobstructed view of what is. With Trump, US big business has moved into the White House. A regime has taken over that frees the forces of globalized capitalism from the annoying rules of liberal democracy, to the detriment of the global climate and the weaker. As Trump announced quite frankly in Davos , this project is global in scope. The CEOs of large banks, high-tech companies and oil multinationals have kissed the ring accordingly hastily.
The economic project is accompanied by neo-imperial ambitions abroad (Panama, Greenland) and repression at home (military, judiciary). The conservative US thinker Robert Kagan describes it in terms of foreign policy as follows: " The jungle is back ." How fitting that is for the USA itself. Donald Trump leads the predators, in whose wake the jackals gather.
Trump acts as an advocate for ordinary people, as if he were fighting the elite. The left must turn this on its head again
His power is based on a historical correction. Trump has succeeded in relabeling the top and bottom of society. Fascists have always elevated themselves and their kind above others, made pacts with capital, rearmed the military and subjugated critics. It has always been a policy from above that can rely on a mandate from below.
Trump and his billionaire cabinet are now acting as advocates for ordinary people, as if they were fighting against the elites who have entrenched themselves in left-wing cities and universities. There are historical parallels here too. The democratic left and civil society in the USA must succeed in turning this on its head. They must once again be the defenders of the small animals whose survival in the jungle among the predators is acutely threatened.
