The United States descent into fascism has been ongoing for some time now, but the pace is quickening and a profound reckoning cannot now be that far off. Our political, economic and social institutions have devolved into something that American political theorist Sheldon Wolin referred to as inverted totalitarianism. In such a situation there remain some trappings of democratic process, but they are effectively managed via corporate control of the economic and political system. There is the appearance of democracy, but scratch the surface and one finds that all real power now resides with a wealthy, corporate, oligarchic elite that control, at least indirectly, most of the institutions of power in the society. An important aspect of this is that politics has become, paradoxically, apolitical. An example being the "stage-managed" media events that pass for elections every four years. In these media "superbowls" personalities are voted on, but never actual political alternatives to the status quo.
In terms of the daily economic life for most people, there has been, more or less, the re-establishment of a feudal order, but simply with new Lords of the Manor. Of course, our society now has many more technical advances than, for example, those present in medieval Europe, but from a social and political viewpoint the distribution of power and wealth is eerily similar to that of medieval feudalism. The masses of people are effectively serfs, but now with cellphones to distract them. Although some are still buoyed by the promise of religious salvation, many are either truly anesthetized--with alcohol and drugs--or engage in other forms of self-destructive virtual sedation, with addiction to gambling, games, and various forms of media entertainments replacing a functioning social support system. In such conditions, any serious challenges to the prevailing conditions become very difficult to organize. Sadly, for many citizens, anything is better than facing the empty existence afforded to most people as servants of our new corporate Lords.
This process has only accelerated further with the advent of a Trump administration bent on pillaging what remains of the public commons. This President, and more broadly the Republican Party, are not fit to govern, because they have no interest in actual governance that would benefit the nation as a whole. Their only interests are selfish. They desire power for its own sake, and to use it to enrich themselves and force their cult-like beliefs on anyone who will not worship them. They are willing to acknowledge as genuine Americans only themselves, their fellow travelers and any willing sycophants. All others are not "true" Americans, and are treated as the enemy other. They are literally at war with their enemies, as is clearly evident from watching just one evening's worth of the lies, distortions and vicious propaganda on their "State Media” outlet, Fox News.
These cultists of the self treat all others, their self-professed enemies, as simply means to their own ends, and not as ends in themselves. Empathy for others is completely absent. While the current Republican Party is but an extreme example, and Trump the most glaring symptom, sadly, these same values are now endemic within many of our political, cultural and economic institutions. We are taught to worship an economic system, oligarchic capitalism, that glorifies the accumulation of wealth and things above all else, and that is also inexorably destroying the natural environment that sustains life. As Wolin warned, the political system is now controlled, effectively owned, by those who benefit most from and enforce this economic system. At this point the only proper moral response to this culture of self-idolatry is complete, non-violent, non-cooperation. To actively participate, and pretend that things are "normal," and that the status quo is somehow desirable and sustainable, is now simply complicity with evil.
