Viewing Movement Conservatism

ADDED 08/23/2018

False Concepts of Liberty

FROM 08/23/2018 | New Republic

BY WIN MCCORMACK

A few years ago, at a panel discussion I attended among labor leaders about the condition of unionism in America, one of the speakers launched into a diatribe against the Koch brothers and their funding of anti-union “right to work” laws. The brothers’ arguments in favor of them, he said, were predicated on a phony […]

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ADDED 08/21/2018

Republican Senator Michael Williams Proves Why White Supremacy Will Never Die

FROM 08/21/2018 | The Root

BY Michael Harriot

“Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph.” -Ras Tafari Makkonen Perhaps no quote better captures the worldwide indifference to the […]

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ADDED 08/20/2018

Trump Exploited the Authoritarianism of White Evangelicals

FROM 08/17/2018 | Washington Monthly

BY Nancy LeTourneau

One of the most challenging things I faced as I began to question the fundamentalist Christian worldview in which I had been raised was to learn to think for myself. That is because it was an authoritarian system based on fear. John Fea documented the history of the connection between evangelicalism and fear in this country and Sara […]

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ADDED 08/15/2018

Towards a Progressive Political Economy in the Aftermath of Neoliberalism’s “Creative Destruction”

FROM 08/12/2018 | Global Policy

BY C.J. Polychroniou

The article argues that, after 45 years of ‘neoliberal destruction’, the time is ripe for moving forward with the adoption of a new set of progressive economic policies (beyond those usually associated with classical Keynesianism) that will reshape advanced societies and the global economy on the whole by bringing back the social state, doing away […]

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ADDED 08/13/2018

Observer Boris Johnson ‘Morally empty’ Johnson is courting fascism, says peer as Tory crisis mounts

FROM 08/12/2018 | The Guardian

BY Mark Townsend and Toby Helm

Ex-Cameron aide and Muslim leaders join condemnation over the former foreign secretary’s burqa comments. A Tory peer and former aide to David Cameron accused Boris Johnson of “moral emptiness”, casual racism and “courting fascism” as division over the former foreign secretary’s comments about Muslim women threatened to develop into a full-blown crisis for Theresa May and her […]

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ADDED 08/13/2018

The neo-fascist moment of neoliberalism

FROM 08/12/2018 | New Age - Bangladesh

BY Éric Fassin

How can we understand the simultaneous rise of the far right and the authoritarian evolution of neoliberalism? We need an anti-fascism that can highlight the latter’s role in this ‘neo-fascist moment’. ‘Hello, dictator!’ The president of the European commission thus welcomed the Hungarian prime minister to the Riga summit in 2015. If Senator John McCain […]

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ADDED 08/06/2018

Authoritarianism expert warns GOP candidates may use claims of Russian hacking to avoid conceding lost seats in midterms

FROM 08/04/2018 | Raw Story

BY TOM BOGGIONI

Appearing on MSNBC on Saturday morning, authoritarian expert Sarah Kendzior expressed worry about the upcoming midterm elections, casting doubt of election security at the polls as the Russians continue their hacking attempts. Speaking with AM Joy host Joy Reid, Kenzior explained hacking is “still directly focused on Democrats.” “People are not worried enough,” she explained. […]

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ADDED 07/26/2018

Bernie Sanders and Progressive Democrats Demand Lula’s Release

FROM 07/26/2018 | BrasilWire

BY Brian Mier

In a letter addressed to Brazilian Ambassador Sergio Silva do Amaral dated July 26th, a group of 29 US lawmakers, including Bernie Sanders and Congressional Black Caucus members Bobby Rush, Keith Ellison and Maxine Waters, demand that the Brazilian Government release the political prisoner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has been held in solitary […]

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ADDED 07/25/2018

HOW CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM BEGETS POLITICAL CONSERVATISM

FROM 07/25/2018 | Pacific Standard

BY Tom Jacobs

New research finds that fused identity apparently produces a predisposition toward authoritarianism. To outsiders, it may be difficult to comprehend the continued strong support for Donald Trump among self-described religious patriots. Policies like separating immigrant children from their parents, and housing some of those kids in cages, don’t exactly align with Christian teachings. And ideas like punishing National Football League players […]

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ADDED 07/21/2018

Steve Bannon plans foundation to fuel far right in Europe

FROM 07/21/2018 | The Guardian

BY Jamie Doward

Former White House chief adviser says he wants to rival to George Soros’s influence. Steve Bannon has announced plans to establish a foundation in Europe that he hopes will fuel the spread of rightwing populism across the continent. Donald Trump’s former chief advisor in the White House told the Daily Beast that he wanted to offer […]

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ADDED 07/21/2018

Authoritarians used to be scared of social media, now they rule it

FROM 07/21/2018 | Boing Boing

BY CORY DOCTOROW

A new report from the Institute For the Future on “state-sponsored trolling” documents the rise and rise of government-backed troll armies who terrorize journalists and opposition figures with seemingly endless waves of individuals who bombard their targets with vile vitriol, from racial slurs to rape threats. The report traces the origin of the phenomenon to a series […]

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ADDED 07/11/2018

What does a middle-class democracy look like when it comes apart?

FROM 07/11/2018 | Letters and Politics - KPFA

BY Mitch Jeserich

Today, Mitch Jeserich is in conversation with Thomas Frank on US History and Politics. Guest: Thomas Frank is a historian and columnist and the author of such books as  What’s the Matter with Kansas and Listen Liberal.  His latest book is a collection of essays called Rendezvous with Oblivion: Reports from a Sinking Society.

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