Why War?: Fascism 101

In the 80’s and 90’s I taught a course on “Political Ideologies.” We covered the basics of liberalism, conservatism, Marxism, socialism, anarchism, feminism, and fascism.  Whenever I taught the unit on fascism, I felt like I was teaching about an ideology whose tenets were long past, ancient history almost, long gone never to return.  The main examples, after all, were of Hitler and Mussolini, and no one wanted to embrace those despised principles or actors ever again. And then, as Camus said at the end of The Plague, the plague “ . . .will rouse up its rats again. . . .”[i]

That the Trump administration and the MAGA movement carry many of the hallmarks of fascism has become more and more apparent. Throughout the Trump presidencies and campaigns, evidence mounts of most of the defining characteristics of fascism -- nationalism, irrationalism, elitism, racism – but the last, glory, has been a bit of puzzle, until now.  

Nationalism requires the subordination of the individual to the state. It demands loyalty and obedience to the state, or in this case, Trump, above all else. The state controls everything – from the family to education, business, the media, arts and entertainment and more. We’ve seen this over and over again in Trump’s efforts to control universities; the dismantling of DEI initiatives in schools and businesses; his banning of certain media outlets from White House and military press briefings; his efforts – in the case of Stephen Colbert, successful – of having critics and comedians silenced and fired; his takeover of the Kennedy Center for the Arts; his overt influence over the courts and blatant refusal to follow court orders; the alliance of billionaire corporate executives and Trump in corporate takeover of media, law firms, universities, government agencies; the attacks on women’s reproductive freedoms; the firing of government employees on the basis of disloyalty and more. Moreover, the nation is conceived of as being defined by the Volk – a pure group sharing a common language and culture – in this case white Euro Christian culture.  We’ve seen this in the elimination of women and people of color from certain historical documents; the banning of teaching the accurate history of racial discrimination in the US; Trump’s attempts to remove birthright citizenship; the efforts to remove immigrants and people of color from the country.

Irrationalism plays on the emotions of love and hate -- so clearly depicted in Orwell’s 1984 in the love of “Big Brother” and the rituals of “The Hate.”   Nothing in the Trump administration has been a more blatant example of this than his calling the January 6th insurrection “a day of love.”  He seeks the undying love of his base, while at the same spewing hate towards immigrants, Democrats, people of color, Muslims. Irrationalism requires scapegoats, which is clearly the case in Trump’s demonization of immigrants, and relies on mob psychology to participate in acts of cruelty and barbarism clearly being engaged in by ICE agents.

Elitism discounts the possibility of democracy, believing that nations can only be effectively governed by elite leaders who have authoritarian power and rule.  Under this tenet, the leader is above the law, can do no wrong.  As Trump has reputedly said repeatedly, “I can do anything I want.”  And so he sends ICE goon squads and US troops into US cities and states overriding the wishes of city and state governments; declares an Energy Emergency authorizing him to stop renewable energy efforts, promote coal mining and oil drilling, and override tribal sovereignty in order to access oil and natural gas reserves; renames the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America; bombs boats off the coast of Venezuela and then proceeds to take over the Venezuelan government; attempts to take over Greenland; imposes tariffs without the consent of Congress – and is furious when the Supreme Court rules his actions unconstitutional  and responds by raising tariffs across the board. And his MAGA base agrees – he can do no wrong. It venerates their leader in a cult of personality, most recently displayed in the large banner of Trump being draped over the Department of Justice building.

Racism. Trump’s promotion of an agenda of white supremacy has been evident in his demonization of immigrants of color; his dismantling of DEI initiatives; his efforts to roll back voting rights; his appointment of white supremacists into key leadership positions – key among them being Stephen Miller; his attempts to dismantle birthright citizenship; his claims of Haitian immigrants “eating the dogs”; his characterization of the Somali people as “garbage” who are “poisoning the blood of our country”; and so much more.

And finally, glory – the glorification of violence, conquest, and war.  Certainly, we have witnessed Trump’s glorification of violence in his lauding of the violent insurrectionists who attempted to take over the Capitol building on January 6th; his endorsement of torture -- as he stated in the 2016 Republican primary debate, “I would bring back waterboarding. And I’d bring back a hell of lot worse than waterboarding;”[ii] his endorsement of the violent tactics of ICE agents; his macho speech and swagger.

But during the first months, even the first year, of the second Trump administration I kept wondering about what seemed to be the missing element of the glory of conquest and war.  He talked big about taking over Canada and Greenland in ways that almost seemed comical so absurd were these claims. He repeatedly claimed himself to be the “Peace President,” vowing to start no new wars, indeed declaring that he had ended many wars and deserved the Nobel Peace Prize.  And then he shifted his stance, first by bombing boats off the coast of Venezuela, then changing the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, and then on January 7th sending in US troops to take over the country of Venezuela and remove President Maduro to extradite him to the US.

And now this – an unprovoked war of aggression against Iran. News analysts and citizens alike have been puzzling over the issue of why.  Why did Trump start a war with Iran? We’ve heard all sorts of reasons from him – regime change, destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities, protecting US troops abroad from retaliatory strikes ahead of Israel’s assault on Iran.  The reasons shift from day to day.  Even he doesn’t seem to know why he did this.  However, I would suggest that the reason, the motivation -- though perhaps even an unconscious one -- underlying this thoughtless and reckless war is that Trump is seeking the final linchpin of a fascist regime – glory --  the type of glory that can only come from conquest and victory in war.  Trump has stated that he will continue to bomb Iran until they unconditionally surrender.  Of course, needing to insure his victory, he has said that doesn’t mean that Iran needs to declare unconditional surrender.  Rather, he has said that he will be the one to determine when Iran is in a position of unconditional surrender.  He will be the one to declare himself the conqueror, the victor, the hero worthy of the prize he has so desperately wanted -- glory.

Why did the US go to war against Iran?  I would argue that at base the reason lies in Trump’s desire for the glory he has not been getting at home or in the world.  His approval ratings are the lowest they’ve ever been.  He failed to be awarded his coveted Nobel Peace Prize. Key players in the international community – France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, even the Vatican -- snubbed him by refusing his invitation to join his so-called “Board of Peace.”[iii] Even his MAGA base has been beginning to erode over ICE agents killing US citizens and the Epstein files.  He needed glory.  With no thought to the consequences, he is responsible for the injury and deaths of schoolgirls, Iranian citizens, US troops; oil prices skyrocketing and the consequent impacts on the global economy and the cost of food, fuel, transportation, manufactured goods, medicines; energy crises in the many countries heavily dependent on oil shipped through the Straits of Hormuz; and the threat of nuclear war and World War III simply to feed his ego.

I fail to see the glory.

[i] Camus, The Plague, 278.

[ii] Trump, February 26, 2016, Republican primary debate. For this and more of Trump’s violent statements, see A Brief History of Trump’s Violent Remarks - The Atlantic.

[iii] Other countries that have declined his invitation are Austria, Greece, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden.