Book banter: Unhumans

As the US spirals down into insane, bigoted, kleptocratic, authoritarianism, it helps to be aware of some of the thinking going on in the minds of some MAGA elites. Last July, Current Affairs wrote about the book, Unhumans: The Secret History of Communist Revolutions (and How to Crush Them):

The Horrifying Fascist Manifesto Endorsed By J.D. Vance

A disturbing book plans a ruthless total war against the “unhuman” left

The book Unhumans, by Jack Posobiec and Joshua Lisec, is a fascist manifesto. It argues that the “Great Men of History” should take their cues from homicidal dictators like Augusto Pinochet and Francisco Franco, reject reason and democracy, and ruthlessly annihilate the gangs of communist “unhumans” who are currently threatening to destroy the United States. It explicitly advocates “eye for an eye” justice, promising a new McCarthyism complete with blacklists, along with the immediate banning of all teachers’ unions. It is perhaps the most paranoid, hateful, and terrifying book I have ever picked up. (I say this as someone who has read Mein Kampf.) And it comes with a warm and supportive blurb from Ohio senator J.D. Vance, .... Vance had this to say of Unhumans:

In the past, communists marched in the streets waving red flags. Today, they march through HR [Human Resources], college campuses, and courtrooms to wage lawfare against good, honest people. In Unhumans, Jack Posobiec and Joshua Lisec reveal their plans and show us what to do to fight back.

Vance, then, has endorsed without qualification both the analysis and the plan laid out in Unhumans, saying it’s what needs to be done to “fight back.”

Posobiec himself is a far-right activist who is possibly an outright neo-Nazi, but, at the very least, both antisemitic and demonstrably fascist. The text of Unhumans leaves little room for dispute on the latter point. .... He engages in quixotic acts of political disruption, such as making a scene during Shakespeare In The Park, calling for a boycott of Star Wars, and planting a “Rape Melania” sign among anti-Trump protesters to discredit them. .... Co-author Joshua Lisec is less infamous, being a professional ghostwriter who has worked with Dilbert creator Scott Adams as well as various influencer and life coach types.

Unhumans is both a manifesto and a guide for action. Its central argument, which I will state as dispassionately as possible, is that leftists are not fellow human beings who should be accepted as part of a pluralistic society, but rather “unhumans” bent on destroying the civilized order. Citing the usual parade of 20th century communist dictators (Mao, Lenin, Stalin, Pol Pot), Posobiec and Lisec argue that even if it may not look like the contemporary United States is under threat from a communist revolution, we are under threat, besieged by furtive, scheming unhumans who must be rooted out before they can consummate their fiendish plot to commit mass murder. Stopping the unhumans will require shedding commitments to democracy, free speech, reasoned debate, and tolerance of alternate points of view. Instead, they argue, the right should find its role models in Caesar, Joseph McCarthy, and various murderous anti-communist dictators of the 20th century.

The article points out some of the MAGA “reasoning” in support of brutal violence. For example, Mao and Stalin used torture, suppressed dissent, and executed millions of their opponents. Therefore, those methods were legitimate and necessary when used by Pinochet and Franco to do the same things. That included Pinochet throwing alleged communists to their deaths from helicopters. Pinochet’s extrajudicial executions and torture, including the murdering Chilean poet and singer Victor Jara, were just praiseworthy acts of resistance to the evil “globalist intelligentsia” plot.

To deal with the extremely inconvenient reality that the Communist Party in the US has “no meaningful influence”, the authors resort to arguing that the commies are sneaky devils that are “chameleon” and come in “many shades” as they advance the communist cause by stealth. The commies allegedly complement anyone with influence to divide society into angry, distrustful factions. What is the proof of all of this? There isn't any. But who needs proof when instead you have a vague feeling of unease. The authors write: “Something is deeply wrong with the way things are going and you know it. You may not be able to explain it with studies, surveys, or statistics, but you feel it. .... Like there’s some outside force or group or . . . something . . . that’s sent us all off course from the libertarian utopia we should’ve achieved by now.”

Honestly, I feel that something is deeply wrong. However, I can explain it with studies, surveys and statistics. What's wrong is djt and MAGA elites being in power believing there is any validity to this kind of either deranged crackpottery, or cynical demagoguery, or a combination of both.

Q: Is my feeling that something is deeply wrong, misplaced or irrational? Are American commies really as threatening as Posobiec and Lisec claim, or are djt and MAGA elites a greater threat?