Monday, November 11, 2024

Regarding my conception of radical right authoritarianism

I generally refer to DJT and his MAGA wealth and power movement by the label "radical right authoritarian" (RRA). But exactly what does RRA mean as I intend it? This is not an argument for anyone to accept my description or definition of RRA. Instead, it is an explanation so that people better understand what I mean by RRA and why I apply that label. This post is prompted by constant criticisms of me using the labels like authoritarian and radical right authoritarianism to apply to MAGA elites. I leave what the MAGA rank and file are for a separate post because that topic is complicated. 

Radical politics denotes the intent to transform or replace the fundamental principles of a society or political system, often through social change, structural change, revolution or radical reform. The process of adopting radical views is termed radicalization.
By radical I mean politics, policies and tactics that arguably fall in Wikipedia's description of radical politics. I firmly believe that the Republican Party radicalized a great deal since ~1980, especially since ~2000. Some major fundamental principles that most GOP elites apparently want to significantly change are secularism in society and government, civil liberties, the nature of the rule of law and democracy, and the distribution of power within the federal government and between the federal government, commerce, religion and the states.

Right: That refers to policies most people would consider to be politically more or less traditional or right-wing on the left-right political spectrum. Obviously that can be and often is contested. American society has become more right-wing than in recent decades.

Authoritarian: To some people, this is a contentious concept. To me it is messy, but pretty clear. Note that I do not use the terms fascism or Nazism. Authoritarianism is a genus, that includes fascism, Nazism and other forms that authoritarianism can include, e.g., theocracy. As one can imagine, authoritarianism is a messy concept, because two or more of the various species can and often do overlap. To start off, this definition although narrower than mine, might help.

Authoritarianism: The concentration of power in the hands of a small group of people who act in ways that are not constitutionally accountable to the people they are meant to represent and serve.

Perplexity gives a more expansive description of authoritarianism -- this is how I see the concept:
Q: What is the most authoritative definition or description of authoritarianism?

A: Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by several key traits:

1. Concentration of power: Power is centralized in the hands of a single leader, party, or small group that is not constitutionally accountable to the people.

2. Limited political pluralism: There is restricted or no political competition and opposition.

3. Suppression of civil liberties: Individual freedoms, civil rights, and political freedoms are curtailed.

4. Rejection of democratic norms: Democratic rules and institutions are undermined or ignored.

5. Use of repression: The regime often employs political repression, censorship, and force to maintain control.

6. Lack of accountability: Leaders are not answerable to the public through free elections or other democratic mechanisms.

7. Arbitrary exercise of power: The government often operates outside established legal frameworks.

8. Personality cult: There may be an emphasis on the leader's authority and charisma.

9. Limited ideology: Unlike totalitarian regimes, authoritarian systems often lack a comprehensive guiding ideology.

10. Control of institutions: The regime seeks to dominate key societal institutions like the media, military, and judiciary.

Authoritarianism exists on a spectrum, with some regimes displaying more extreme characteristics than others. It stands in contrast to democracy, which emphasizes individual rights, political pluralism, and government accountability to the people.
I want to emphasize this: Authoritarianism exists on a spectrum, with some regimes displaying more extreme characteristics than others. That is why I do not currently consider the radical right authoritarianism I believe dominates the American MAGA movement to be fascism or Nazism. We are not very close that point yet. MAGA wants to move us in that direction. But how much authoritarianism the movement can impose in the next 4 years is still an open question.

Regarding being radical right, MAGA arguably is radical, not merely conservative, but it is definitely right-wing. 

My assessment of the ten traits of where American radical right authoritarianism, i.e., the MAGA power and wealth movement, stands at present. Future events can alter this analysis.

1. Concentration of power: Within the MAGA movement itself, power is highly concentrated in DJT. On this trait, MAGA itself is full-blown authoritarian. If the Republicans take the House overwhelming federal power will be concentrated with the party, but with DJT still being the main power. MAGA intends to limit the NLRB, basically abandoning labor to the tender mercies of employers. The CFPB, already severely weakened by MAGA, will be further weakened, if not obliterated, leaving consumers to the tender mercies of banks, credit card companies and huge financial institutions. Power is already flowing from US citizen protections and government institutions that defend them.

2. Limited political pluralism: At this point, MAGA has made it clear that it will try to restricted political competition and opposition, including muzzling the mainstream media. The MAGA media will become more open about its sympathies, e.g., Faux News openly calling for execution of the federal prosecutor Jack Smith. We all saw what MAGA did to Jeff Bezos at the WaPo, i.e., scared him into refusing to endorse Harris. Trump's and MAGA's threats against pluralism are explicit and undeniable.

3. Suppression of civil liberties: The MAGA movement already has significantly damaged  civil liberties. Both abortion rights and voting rights have been reduced. Other rights, such as same-sex marriage and LGBQT rights are now under direct attack or threatened.   

4. Rejection of democratic norms: MAGA is openly contemptuous of democratic rules, norms and institutions. That is a matter of public record, not rational debate. Laws, ethics and norms already have been undermined or ignored, and that currently ongoing trend will continue. MAGA will sweep away whatever significant norms are left, if any, a process that is underway right now.

5. Use of repression: Trump and MAGA have made clear and beyond the point of rational debate that political repression, censorship, and force to expand authoritarianism at the expense of democracy is on the agenda. Trump himself publicly made threats over 100 times to go after his enemies that he calls “the enemy from within”, “radical left lunatics”, and other slanderous insults.

6. Lack of accountability: Leaders are not answerable to the public through free elections or other democratic mechanisms. Recent USSC decisions (radical right authoritarian decisions) have already made huge strides in attacking and neutering mechanisms of accountability. Two USSC decisions are front and center here. First and foremost is the decision that makes a sitting president immune from criminal prosecution for crimes if they are not “official acts”, a term that is undefined. Second, and at least as frighteningly authoritarian and powerful, is the June 2024 USSC decision to almost completely legalize bribery of elected federal politicians and sitting federal judges.

7. Arbitrary exercise of power: The USSC has already started to ignore established legal frameworks, allowing Virginia to purge a voter roll in the face of federal law that prohibited the purge. The MAGA movement seems to be on board with at least sometimes blowing off the rule of law when the law gets in the way.

8. Personality cult: The MAGA movement undeniably relies on the Trump. He is the MAGA cult leader. People will bicker over whether MAGA is a cult or not. Regardless, DJT is the driving personality.
10. Control of institutions: MAGA authoritarianism seeks to dominate the media and judiciary. The military is an open question. There are good reasons to believe that Trump will try to install loyalists to senior military positions, especially the Secretary of Defense. What the MAGA movement will try to do is to flip the military from loyalty to the constitution to loyalty to Trump himself. Doing that seems to be unlikely to succeed at present, but time will tell how that authoritarianism v. democracy battle plays out.

All of the foregoing is why I refer to Trump, the MAGA power and wealth movement and its elites as radical right authoritarian. Christian nationalist dogma looks to me to be clearly radical right authoritarian, just as Trump himself and most of the MAGA elites are. 


Q1: Is it unwarranted hyperbole to consider Trump, MAGA elites and the MAGA power and wealth movement to be a lot more radical right authoritarian than merely conservative?

Q2: Even if MAGA and Trump are radical right authoritarian, is it counterproductive to defense of democracy to so say so, and instead better to use a softer label like “conservative”?




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Past posts on authoritarianism:
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