On Tue, Feb 4, 2025 at 08:32 PM, Douglas W. Rae wrote: > > It’s a modern day version of the 18th Brumaire of Louis Napoleon.
The reference to Trump as a Bonapartist or even a fascist has become commonplace on the left, and is misleading as to the nature of both. Essential to each is abolition of opposition parties and other forces opposed to dictatorial rule. It's far from assured that class antagonisms between and within classes in the United States are creating the conditions for Trump to dissolve Congress and assume dictatorial powers as did Louis Napoleon, first as president and then as emperor. It's more accurate to see Trump as an instrument for the most reactionary wing of the US bourgeoisie which sees an opportunity *within the current constitutional framework* to radically deregulate and privatize government services and cut taxes in line with Project 2025. Some might describe Trump as a "grotesque mediocrity" as Marx described Louis Napoleon, but that would be to deny his demagogic genius in securing popular legitimacy for that project from slightly more than half of the US voting population. So long as the current electoral system remains intact, the Democrats stand to regain control of Congress and the presidency if even a small percentage of voters turn against the Republicans. It is possible the Republican-controlled Congress and Supreme Court could sanction more executive authority and gerrymandering in what we might call “creeping Bonapartism”, but the point remains, you don't need to characterize Trump as a Bonapartist or fascist to recognize and resist the threat which his administration poses to the democratic rights and social gains won by the the organized working class and its allies over several generations. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#35016): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/35016 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/111004330/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: marxmail+ow...@groups.io Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [arch...@mail-archive.com] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
