Why is far-right ramping up

There has been a lot of confusion lately about the exact meaning of fascism. People call almost anyone they don’t like a “fascist.” The term is in danger of degenerating into an all-purpose term of abuse. So what does it really mean? In brief, while nationalism teaches me that my nation is unique and that I have special obligations toward it, fasci

The social symptoms of this trend—again, not unlike the 1930s—are broadly similar across the world: the rise of ethnocentric populism, the success of charismatic strongmen, a drift toward we-first economic autarky, a disaffection with due process and globalism, and an enthusiasm for grievance-based nationalism.

Comme le souligne le philosophe italien Antonio Gramsci, les options politiques qui triomphent à un moment donné de l’histoire dépendent largement de l’atmosphère métapolitique ou culturelle des sociétés dans lesquelles elles sont mises en compétition. Or l’individualisme a jusqu’ici gagné toutes les batailles culturelles.

Tocqueville souligne que l’atomisation sociale est le terreau du despotisme. De la multitude disparate émerge l’appel au tyran. Dans l’éparpillement germe le désir de fusion et de soumission. Nous en sommes là, partout en Occident : nos sociétés de solitude suscitent un tel sentiment d’insécurité que les institutions et les principes de la démocrat

This is to my mind the essence of right-wing thought: a political ontology that through such subtle means allows violence to define the very parameters of social existence and common sense.

Populism offers strongmen an ideological basis for making themselves dictators while pretending to be democrats. It is particularly useful when strongmen seek to neutralize or appropriate the self-correcting mechanisms of democracy. Since judges, journalists, and professors allegedly pursue political interests rather than truth, the people’s champi