Let’s consult some of the experts who co-wrote their opinions in the New York Times on 10/12/26.
By David Broder, Caroline de Gruyter, Mattia Ferraresi and Tim Schneider
Mr. Broder is the author of “Mussolini’s Grandchildren.” Ms. de Gruyter is a columnist for the Dutch newspaper NRC. Mr. Ferraresi is a writer for the Italian newspaper QN. Mr. Schneider is an editor in Times Opinion.
They begin: “For the first time in Germany’s postwar history, a far-right party stands on the brink of power. The AfD joins a legion of others, not least Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy and Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in France, either in office or perilously close to it.”
What Are They Attempting to Explain?
What the pundits are trying to do is explain the upsurge of reactionary parties in Europe. It’s possible that some of their observations might also help us understand the triumphant reactionaries in South America, where reaction has made much more progress.
We have to have a caveat before we can even talk about their ideas: they are talking about parliamentary situations where different political parties can have shades of differences; it’s not the highly contrasting two-party system that Americans are yoked with.
Before I’m done, I’m going to say that they are wrong about almost everything. But let’s take advantage of their intelligence and point of view, which is far superior, on their subject, to ours, and see what things they got right.
What Do They Say That We Can Use?
They agree that 2008’s economic crisis was the beginning of the political period being examined. At that point, they say, traditional governing parties were exposed as unable to provide good standards of living. Everything went to saving the corporations; almost nothing sent to helping the people. Austerity measures became common. It’s as good a place to start as any.
“Caroline de Gruyter: The world is changing fast. Governments can’t keep pace, are incompetent or, for various reasons, don’t meet voters’ demands. Far-right parties jump into the void.”
What Issues Are Causing Change?
Certainly, immigration has been very useful for reactionaries. Can there be any question that basic racism and national chauvinism are at the heart of the anti-immigrant drives? It’s likely true in other countries, and it’s certainly true here in the U.S.
“Broder: Often these parties are called “welfare-chauvinist,” in that they seek to protect social services by barring new arrivals. I think this is simplistic.”
Maybe it’s not all that simple, but it does seem to be universal
What Is the Trump Effect?
“Schneider: We clearly need to talk about Mr. Trump. Let’s start with his administration’s support for these far-right parties, especially the AfD: How significant is that?”
“Ferraresi: It’s hard to prove or measure, but I think the AfD benefited very much from the Trumpian endorsement.”
I’d like to add that the Trump effect seems much more powerful in South America.
“De Gruyter: Well, it doesn’t always work: When the United States went all in for Viktor Orban in Hungary, he lost! Mr. Trump is incredibly unpopular in Europe, including with far-right voters.”
She also summarized the discussion very well:
“De Gruyter: What you see in America is exactly what you saw in Poland and Hungary during the reign of the far right. Most people did not vote for [reactionaries] Law and Justice or Fidesz because they wanted to abolish democracy. They voted for them because of gasoline prices or other dissatisfactions with the performance of the previous government. When the parties started to attack democracy, voters turned away from them. That’s why, in the end, they lost.”
Nearly Hit Gold
I think I like Ms. De Gruyter more than the other pundits. At one point in the article, she shifts the conversation away from all the poli-sci majors and stops speculating about voting blocks and changing attitudes.
“De Gruyter: I think it is a myth that voters are shifting to the right. Parties are shifting to the right!”
What Do They Think We Can Do About It?
“So the last question is simple: How can they be stopped?… De Gruyter: By other parties. The far right needs other parties to get into government. So if center-right parties stay the course and make clear they will not work with the far right, many unhappy voters will not go for the far right — because that would make their vote pointless.”
That may be a good recipe for Europe, but it’s no help in America where one of the two parties has already gone fascist. For us in America, it’s stop the reactionaries in November or go under.
Where They Went Wrong
Political pundits and poli-sci majors, even the best of them, are in a dark rainstorm of sociological information about individuals and voting blocs. They invariably lose sight of the underlying forces that determine history – the conflict of classes.
We should clear away a lot of uncertain terminology. Forget “left,” “right,” “conservative,” “liberal” and things that can’t really be defined. “Progressive” is an adequate term for those who would like a better future world, and “reactionary” is a good way to tag those who want to go backward toward suffering and slavery.
If you start with the two important classes, the billionaires and their employees, history and current developments become more clear.
The pundits chose 2008 as their reference point for political change, and we could do the same.
The Real Reason for the Changes
Since 2008, it has become more clear that the people running the so-called western democracies can no longer provide improvements in living standards for the working class. While they tried to resolve their crises, they began to awaken the opposition of the workers, they also observed a rising economic force and world influence in the East. China, with its mixture of corporate and state-owned industries, was overtaking the white men who had been ruling the world for the last four centuries.
In their desperation, some of those rich white men decided to take desperate measures to maintain their power over the world. They probably had a lot of misgivings about it, but they settled on Donald Trump as spokesperson. The German elite had the same misgivings about Hitler.
The American fascists schemed and distorted the political turf. Most of all, they poured their billions of dollars into shoving aside the less-desperate billionaires and asserting full control over their governments. To the extent that they could, they used the same methods to take over governments elsewhere.
It isn’t the people who are shifting. It isn’t political blocs or even political parties. It is an intentional change in strategies from the billionaires. They are using their money to create the illusion of a shift, but the origin and cause of the shifting being done is coming from the shifty billionaire class.
And What Can We Do About It?
Explaining helps, but only action will make a difference. A landslide vote against the Trumpsters on November 3 will help, and it will lend credibility to the anti-reactionary side in future struggles. If the Trumpster reactionaries continue to take extra-legal measures, and they almost certainly will, then our solutions are on the streets. Strikes and boycotts will stop the billionaires. Remember, there are only a few of them!
–Gene Lantz
You can hear me on KNON.org or 89.3FM in Dallas at 9:03 Central Time every Saturday morning. I’m on various platforms, including Substack, all the time. My darkest secrets are on https://lilleskole.us
