Often chilling and illuminating ... But what if a surer way to snuff out the political energy elevating would-be fascists is to deprive it of the oxygen of perpetual emergency and commit ourselves to thinking as sober-minded adults about our many real (but not apocalyptic) problems? Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor’s smart and provocative book doesn’t contribute to such a project. But it does demonstrate, perhaps unintentionally, the need for one.
Bold, clarifying ... There have been endless academic disputes over whether such a broad definition of fascism is useful. Personally, I think we shouldn’t get too hung up on terminology – the important thing is to write in a way that makes people alive to problems around them and leaves them feeling empowered to respond. The authors succeed on both counts ... Their valuable contribution is to map out the frightening new territory in which we find ourselves, and point to an escape.
Overall, the authors fall short in tying disparate political, economic, and religious groups back to the fascist state and the highest levels of government, namely Trump. By failing to do so, it seems more daunting to hold power to account when the target of resistance is not clear ... Perhaps the act of staying and fighting against fascism is a revolutionary act in itself, but it’s unclear if Klein and Taylor’s politics of hereness offers a coherent vision for how to fight the influences of religious extremists, tech, and ethno-nationalist end-timers. Is End Times Fascism just exposing a wound without a substantive cure to heal?
Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor make the case that the ruling class is not lording over our future, but trying to escape it, building walled-off utopias for themselves ... How should we resist these trends? Like any critique from the left, End Times Fascism concludes with a hopeful political prescription ... Klein and Taylor are optimistic about community resistance ... While they claim that some of the most militant opposition has emerged in conservative places, however, this activity has yet to bear fruit.
Acclaimed documentarians and activists Klein and Taylor cogently examine the way the technocrats, survivalists, and religious purists have rejoiced in the paradigm shift from societal sustainability to utopian upheaval ... While the message of impending doom pervades the narrative, the authors’ profoundly insightful analysis delineates concrete, achievable methods for navigating this daunting new territory.
From two of the left’s sharpest thinkers, this inspired book maps the ideas common to three virulent strains of contemporary politics ... Righteously alarmed, the authors have given us a new way to grasp some of our biggest problems ... An astute, original-minded analysis of the apocalyptic thinking that links tech, politics, and religion.
