Giorgio Agamben offers us a useful way to conceptualize postmodern totalitarianism. Like many brilliant concepts—such as Max Weber’s ideal type of the ‘state’—it condenses so much that to grasp its insight one needs to thoroughly unfold and expand it.
It's interesting that, from a long term perspective, the regime ran an effective, totalitarian operation, with the movement of peoples, lower wages, the semi-controlled mayhem to break up and prevent livable urban areas. However, since the Bad Orange One came on the scene, they've lost their touch. They do cruel half measures now, like persecute some MAGA journalist or brutalize some yokel who sat at a desk in the capitol. Many cases of bizarre, seemingly counter productive, or badly half-assed projects/operations. Maybe they think they are 'encouraging the others', but Lenin never took half measures. It seems they are determined to make millions of people hate them, but not to immediately destroy those people. Strange.
There are many post-modern totalitarians around... and not a few good old fashioned totalitarians. But they are not a majority in the USA, and even as we speak there is pushback against them. It is even possible that conservatives have learned something in recent months and years, and will use power more effectively when take control of Congress in 2022. Maybe.
It's interesting that, from a long term perspective, the regime ran an effective, totalitarian operation, with the movement of peoples, lower wages, the semi-controlled mayhem to break up and prevent livable urban areas. However, since the Bad Orange One came on the scene, they've lost their touch. They do cruel half measures now, like persecute some MAGA journalist or brutalize some yokel who sat at a desk in the capitol. Many cases of bizarre, seemingly counter productive, or badly half-assed projects/operations. Maybe they think they are 'encouraging the others', but Lenin never took half measures. It seems they are determined to make millions of people hate them, but not to immediately destroy those people. Strange.
There are many post-modern totalitarians around... and not a few good old fashioned totalitarians. But they are not a majority in the USA, and even as we speak there is pushback against them. It is even possible that conservatives have learned something in recent months and years, and will use power more effectively when take control of Congress in 2022. Maybe.