I think it's also worth noting that for all its tendency toward authoritarianism, the rhetoric of right wing popularism echoes democratic values. That's one reason why Trump and his hacks, whores, & grifters have so much popular support.
If "echoing democratic values" means "we're the only people who really matter," I suppose this is true. In the South where I grew up, this was what Pierre van den Berghe once called "herrenvolk democracy," and it had a great deal of popular support among the herrenvolk.
You're absolutely right. But that's the grift. Nobody says, "We don't want PoC to vote." Instead, they say, "We want to preserve democracy by preventing voter fraud." As Trump says, he's the least racist person in world--a version of the same grift. There are folks out there who are out-and-out authoritarians, but that's what candidates for office say out loud.
I think it's also worth noting that for all its tendency toward authoritarianism, the rhetoric of right wing popularism echoes democratic values. That's one reason why Trump and his hacks, whores, & grifters have so much popular support.
If "echoing democratic values" means "we're the only people who really matter," I suppose this is true. In the South where I grew up, this was what Pierre van den Berghe once called "herrenvolk democracy," and it had a great deal of popular support among the herrenvolk.
You're absolutely right. But that's the grift. Nobody says, "We don't want PoC to vote." Instead, they say, "We want to preserve democracy by preventing voter fraud." As Trump says, he's the least racist person in world--a version of the same grift. There are folks out there who are out-and-out authoritarians, but that's what candidates for office say out loud.