The Chris Hedges Report: The Rise of Authoritarianism in the US and Around the Globe, with Vijay Prashad

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Dandelion Salad

with Chris Hedges and Vijay Prashad

TheRealNews on Jun 17, 2022

Chris Hedges speaks with historian Vijay Prashad on the rise of authoritarianism in the US and around the globe and what we must do to fight back.

The rise of neofascist movements across the globe differs from the fascist movements of the 20th century. Fascism in the last century arose to break radical worker’s movements, many organized by the Communist Party. That was the point of Mussolini and Hitler.

But the current neofascists, figures such as Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil or Narendra Modi in India, do not need to destroy worker’s movements and unions. These have already been decimated by globalization, which depletes trade union power and the instrument of nationalization.

The neofascists channel the anger of the unemployed and underemployed towards minorities and the vulnerable. This, of course, is the historic task of fascism. White men, who once believed there was a place for them in society, flock to the cult-like Republican Party built around Donald Trump, the Le Pen movement in France or Alliance for Deutschland. They attack migrants, as if migrants rather than the ruling financial elites are responsible for their misery.

Vijay Prashad, in conversation with Frank Barat, in his new book Struggle Makes Us Human: Learning from Movements for Socialism, addresses these deformations and explains how we can fight back.

Prashad, an Indian historian and journalist, is the author of thirty books, including Washington Bullets, Red Star Over the Third World, The Darker Nations: A People’s History of the Third World and The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South. He is the Chief Correspondent for Globetrotter and a Columnist for Frontline. He is also the Chief Editor of LeftWord Books.

Joining me to discuss his new book, Struggle Makes Us Human: Learning from Movements for Socialism, is Vijay Prashad.

Transcript

From the archives:

Police Are a Lie, by David Swanson

Chris Hedges: America’s Gun Fetish

Michael Parenti: Globalization, the New Imperialism

Eat the Rich! by Yanis Iqbal

21st Century Fascism: The Bid For Survival By A Dying Capitalist Order, by Rainer Shea

Fascism is Intentional, by Kenn Orphan

Vijay Prashad: The Coming Food Crisis: Ukraine War Is Wake-Up Call for Global South

As Long as Capitalism Exists, The Threat of Fascism Exists, by Pete Dolack

Beyond Passive Resistance: Against Democratic Surrender in a Time of Fascitization, by Paul Street

Chris Hedges and Paul Street: Neo-fascist Seizure of America’s State Governments

Chris Hedges: The Rise of Right-Wing Populism in India

How U.S. Imperialism Is Exploiting The World’s Growing Crises by Rainer Shea + William I. Robinson: How Capitalism’s Structural and Ideological Crisis Gives Rise to Neo-Fascism (Part I)

Fascism: A False Revolution by Michael Parenti