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KPFA - Against the Grain · Tuesday · 59 min

Justifying Authoritarianism

While Trump’s brand of reactionary politics is crude and often incoherent, a group of intellectuals have sought to legitimize his authoritarianism in the service of the greater good. Historian Hannah Gurman describes the ideas and influence of postliberalism, promulgated through publications like Compact and counting J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio as fellow travelers. Hannah Gurman, The Opportunists: The Post-Liberals and the Reinvention of Reactionary Politics New Press, 2026 Photo credit: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0 The post Justifying Authoritarianism appeared first on KPFA.

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While Trump’s brand of reactionary politics is crude and often incoherent, a group of intellectuals have sought to legitimize his authoritarianism in the service of the greater good. Historian Hannah Gurman describes the ideas and influence of postliberalism, promulgated through publications like Compact and counting J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio as fellow travelers.

Hannah Gurman, The Opportunists: The Post-Liberals and the Reinvention of Reactionary Politics New Press, 2026

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0

The post Justifying Authoritarianism appeared first on KPFA.

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