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Despite the chaos and misery of Trump's first term in office, his recent re-election bodes an extreme, tumultuous, and dangerous next four years. This is not just the case for the United States, where it will have the greatest and most immediate effect, but also with other advanced economies in Europe and Australia; the far right is already ascendent in France and Germany, and it is likely to gain power in Australia. In all these cases, the success of the far-right will come from populism aimed at disenfranchised voters with lower levels of education and wealth, the collapse of the centre-right, and an ongoing identity crisis in social democracy. The current and future far-right demagogues that will rule the world in the foreseeable future will enact a program of punishment toward their opposition, reward their favourites (regardless of legality), engage in a culture war against minorities, and, with great awareness of their ironic punishment of their supporters, engage in a wealth transfer from the lower and middle classes to their business allies. It is more than plausible that they will, given the opportunity, transform into a militaristic socialisation of labour in the interests of national capital. That is, a war of aggression against the developing world. Understanding this trajectory suggests not only the dire need for organised and effective political strategy but also a working reconsideration of democracy to prevent another rise of reactionary extremism.
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Kakistocracy: Rule of the Worst
A characteristic of extremist States that operate with authoritarian and totalitarian agendas is the need for constant violence and chaos of varying levels. The concern that the Trump administration, having captured the institutions of governance, could transform into a fascist regime is far from hyperbole. If they do so, it will come with the spectre of war, and one which hawkish commentators have been already ear-marked 2027 for a potential conflict with the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China over Taiwan. Such a war almost certainly will not eventuate, but the possibility can be used as an excuse to crush what remains of the one body that is capable of stopping the crushing rule of the far-right: an already weakened organised labour.
Of course, the rise of this international demagoguery is a sign of the times, a combination of social media rumours that circulate without responsibility among those least able to asses their validity and a major selection of the rentier-capitalist elite who are only capable of aggrandisement at the expense of others. The control of the former over the latter is the fundamental cause of our current circumstances; developing political economies and processes that prevent such a coup from ever occurring again is a subject for further inquiry. At the moment, one is ultimately reminded that politics is primarily determined by extra-parliamentary means, with the law and institutions dragging rather than leading. Strap yourself in and show solidarity to all, for this is going to be an extremely rough next four years, the worst in living memory.
