C.J. Polychroniou
Newspaper La Jornada
Saturday September 10, 2022, p. eleven
In recent decades, the Republican Party has veered toward the more reactionary extreme. Trump only accelerated and cemented that party’s transition into an anti-democratic and proto-fascist organization. But the Trump phenomenon is unique in other ways as well, and its impact on politics will be felt for years to come.
In this interview, Noam Chomsky offers an in-depth analysis of the evolution of the American political environment and how class struggle and repression have turned corporate culture into the dominant force, leading American society towards a dystopia. neoliberal. He also sheds light on why the Republican Party has turned the country’s politics into a cultural battle, advocating policies that suppress social rights and strangle intellectual freedom.
CJ Polychroniou (CJP): Noam, the Republican Party has become a blatantly anti-democratic organization, driving America toward authoritarianism. What is it that shapes your current character?
Noam Chomsky (NC): What unfolds before our eyes is a kind of classical tragedy, whose grim conclusion is given in advance. The origins are deeply rooted in the history of a society that has been free and prosperous for the privileged, terrible for those who stand in their way.
In the open class warfare of the neoliberal years, political parties adapted to the corporate assault and helped accelerate it. The Democrats abandoned their limited commitment to the working class and became a party of wealthy professionals. Moderate Republicans, barely distinguishable from liberal Democrats, disappeared.
It is quite remarkable to see what has happened to the remnants of what was once a genuine party, in the Republican case. Currently, qualifications for Congress largely come down to voting No
if McConnell orders it and make occasional trips to Mar-a-Lago to shine Trump’s shoes.
The party’s popular base has been affected by this decline, particularly in the years of the Trump cult. Some 70 percent believe the 2020 election was stolen. Two-thirds “believe that the country’s demographic changes are being orchestrated by ‘liberal leaders trying to gain political power by replacing more conservative white voters,’” the theory of the great replacement, which not long ago was restricted to the neo-Nazi fringe.
Trump has made clear his intention to dry up the swamp
, by destroying the nonpartisan civil service that is the foundation of anything resembling a democracy. Recent conferences in Budapest and Dallas, in which the Conservative Political Action Conference – the linchpin of the Republican Party – was the main attraction, made it clear where the organization is headed. His guide is Viktor Orbán, whose racist and proto-fascist radical Christian government is hailed as the ideal for the future. For the world, Trump’s project of building an alliance of brutal reactionary states is likely to take hold. And, worse yet, the world will move closer to terminal disaster as profits flow to fossil fuel companies.
We cannot overstate the importance of the fact that today mere survival is at risk.
CJP: Republicans are much less divided on culture than Democrats. Is that why that party is working so hard in cultural struggles in its attempt to return to power?
NC: That party has had a problem since it eliminated its more liberal elements and embraced the neoliberal project of Powell-Friedman and company, from the early 1970s, and gained power under Reagan. Expressed in simple terms, it is not possible to approach voters by saying: I’m going to strip you naked and destroy all your support systems, so vote for me.
. Not even a political operator like Trump could do that. He has to stand with a banner in one hand that says Love you
while with the other he stabs us in the back with the actual legislative agendas.
The solution is culture wars, which divert attention from politics. And it’s clear what works with the target population: white supremacy, Christian nationalism, anti-abortion, lots of guns, no more public schools that bother white kids by teaching history or basic biology, no education public in general because it is run by sexual fanatics and Marxists.
▲ Noam Chomsky during a visit to Mexico in 2017.Photo Marco Pelaez
The effort to eliminate public education plays an essential role in the neoliberal onslaught that seeks to atomize the population and destroy social ties. It has done severe damage to what had been an important American contribution to democracy: mass public education.
The left of the Democratic Party supports in its own way the exploitation of cultural issues
What do Republicans do? Class politics, workers’ rights, and even social and economic issues have been sidelined.
The masters of humanity are clear about their interests
CJP: The GOP’s longstanding relationship with big business shows signs of deep friction over social and cultural causes. How likely is it that we could witness a divorce between the two entities?
NC: Not very likely. I think the masters of humanity understand very well where their interests lie and will continue to support the pro-business elements of both parties, putting aside the rhetoric that they do not expect these to translate into policy. That support may be lavish now that Supreme Court decisions place few limits on election buying (Buckley vs. Valeo, Citizens United), which is just one of the means by which masters can ensure that their interests can be treated in the most peculiar way
.
CJP: There has been class warfare in America for the past 40 years, and it has been one-sided. However, there are recent political events that indicate that it is no longer one-sided. Do you agree with this evaluation?
NC: Class warfare is ongoing, but there are variations on how one-sided it is. For many historical reasons, the United States has had an extraordinarily powerful and class-conscious business community, which is the underlying reason for the violence and brutality of its labor history and the lack of social benefits, which is now extreme in comparative terms. . The New Deal period was a pause, extending into the 1970s, that was transitional and led to the resumption of high-intensity class warfare. In recent years there has been a renewed popular commitment to some form of social democracy, partly under the very effective leadership of Bernie Sanders, partly through popular movements.
Some measures are taken, albeit reluctantly, by segments of the business world that reflect popular concerns for survival. However, it seems to me that it is not enough to create a truce between the masters and the political organizations that for the most part have served them loyally.
CJP: The Schumer-Manchin reconciliation initiative, which Joe Biden signed into law, reaffirmed the idea that transformational politics is extremely difficult in the two-party system. What do you think of the political situation in relation to the Inflation Reduction Law?
NC: It was observed a long time ago that the United States is essentially a one-party state: the business party, with two factions, Democrats and Republicans. Now there is only one faction: the Democrats. The Republicans hardly qualify as a genuine parliamentary party. That is very explicit under McConnell’s leadership. When Obama took office, McConnell made it clear that his overarching goal was to make sure Obama couldn’t get anything done, so that the Republicans could return to power.
Now, with a handful of right-wing Democrats joining the unanimous Republican opposition, Biden’s platform has been severely curtailed. Perhaps the president could have done more, but he is unfairly blamed, it seems to me, for the failure of what would have been constructive programs that are sorely needed. One of them was his program on the weather, inadequate but much better than anything that had preceded it and which, if approved, would have been a step forward.
The political situation is horrible, and it is very likely to get much worse in November, if the Republicans take power. It’s likely to get so bad that it literally threatens survival. as no sane person can deny
to quote the highly esteemed Judge Powell.
Originally posted on truthout.
Translation: Jorge Anaya
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