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applegrove

(118,014 posts)
Mon Jan 21, 2019, 01:51 AM Jan 2019

What Is the Far Right's Endgame? A Society That Suppresses the Majority.

What Is the Far Right’s Endgame? A Society That Suppresses the Majority

.Nancy MacLean, author of an intellectual biography of James McGill Buchanan, explains how this little-known libertarian’s work is influencing modern-day politics.

By REBECCA ONION at Slate June 2017

https://slate.com/human-interest/2017/06/james-mcgill-buchanans-terrifying-vision-of-society-is-the-intellectual-basis-of-the-far-right.html

"SNIP.....


I’d like to talk more about the way racism works in Buchanan’s intellectual project. You write in the conclusion to the book that this school of thought advocates “enlisting white supremacy to ensure capital supremacy.” Is it possible to disentangle those two?

So this is a challenge for the left because some of our categories, I think, are not very supple, and are also driven by the political world in which we operate. So for example, as we try to think about what’s going on with these voter suppression measures, the only thing that’s actionable is racial discrimination. Right? And so people think of voter suppression efforts as being motivated by racism. These are these good old boys who hate black people and that’s why they’re doing this.

I think actually what’s going on is that these people are extremely shrewd and calculating, and they understand that African Americans, because of their historical experience and their political savvy, understand politics and government better, in a lot of ways, than a lot of white Americans. And they are a threat to this project because they will not vote for it. So they want to keep them from the polls.

Similarly, young people are leaning left now, and they don’t accept a lot of these core ideas that come from this project, so this project has been very determined to keep young people from the polls. Frankly, if they could keep women away, they would, too. Because they understand that women suffrage opened the way to greater government involvement in the economy, and greater social provision and regulation.

We make a mistake when we think these are just reactionary prejudices, and we need to see them as shrewd calculations to keep people who would oppose this vision away from the polls.


.....SNIP"

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backabby-blue

(144 posts)
1. Republicans know they are a dying brand..
Mon Jan 21, 2019, 02:03 AM
Jan 2019

IMO, they want the USA to be a dictatorship isolated from the world just so t hey stay in power. It's the only way for them.

Jeffersons Ghost

(15,235 posts)
9. K&R, nope don't blame it on Arabs: It more closely resembles a Hitler model:
Mon Jan 21, 2019, 03:45 AM
Jan 2019

illegal immigrants (aka South and Central American refugees) = Jews

applegrove

(118,014 posts)
11. Nope. You can't become a citizen of Saudi Arabia. Lots of guest workers.
Mon Jan 21, 2019, 04:00 AM
Jan 2019

Religion used to corral. Corruption and barriers to success unless you please those wealthy. More Saudi than holocaust.

jalan48

(13,797 posts)
4. Plutocracy.
Mon Jan 21, 2019, 03:01 AM
Jan 2019

plu·toc·ra·cy

noun

government by the wealthy.

a country or society governed by the wealthy.

plural noun: plutocracies

an elite or ruling class of people whose power derives from their wealth.

FakeNoose

(32,341 posts)
5. Nancy MacLean's book is an eye-opener
Mon Jan 21, 2019, 03:23 AM
Jan 2019

"Democracy in Chains" explains how the rightwing nut jobs (who call themselves libertarians) worked out their self-serving philosophies after the Great Depression and FDR's New Deal made their marks on our country. James M. Buchanan gave ultra-conservatives the academic framework for turning out a generation of reactionary rightwing lawyers, judges, economists, bankers and college professors. It's definitely worthwhile reading - recommended!

steventh

(2,143 posts)
13. Found a good video of Maclean speaking
Mon Jan 21, 2019, 05:27 AM
Jan 2019


Thanks for the suggestion which led me to search. I read the extraordinary book quite a while ago. The video was a good summary of the book's contents.

machoneman

(3,951 posts)
16. Actually, it's the party that truly believes they know better.....
Mon Jan 21, 2019, 01:41 PM
Jan 2019

than the majority. Even in the minority, they think they know better, in what's best for the country, the economy, the citizens and more. Their version of religiosity, morals, stewardship of our resources must reign supreme or the Republic will fall.

Mark my words, their warped ideology (we know best) must be stamped out and held under a rock for decades to come. Let the majority rule in our democracy or we will fail as a people, as a nation and as a leader of freedom.

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