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Fighting the Next Cultural Revolution [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-02-18

I have been trying to understand the logic behind firing IRS workers right before tax season or park workers just before summer. While elements of royalism and fascism are evident in Trump's agenda, the most useful lens for understanding it might be events in China from the late 1950s through the mid-1970s, the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution.

The Great Leap Forward involved the creation of people’s communes, which were intended to be self-sufficient in agriculture, industry, governance, education, and healthcare—ironically similar to what some modern technocrats envision. The campaign also sought to industrialize the countryside through millions of backyard furnaces. However, technical competence was subordinated to ideological fervor, resulting in an economic and social disaster. The resulting famine led to millions of deaths and severely weakened Mao’s control over the Communist Party. In response, Mao launched the Cultural Revolution, mobilizing youth against the intellectual, social, and cultural elites, targeting those in positions of authority whom he perceived as threats to his power.

We are witnessing similar patterns today. Trump and his allies demand performative loyalty from public institutions (the “Gulf of America”), create international instability by abandoning long-term international allies in favor of authoritarian leaders, and justify oppressing various subsets of our population on ideological grounds. Meanwhile, they operate in secrecy to destabilize the normal functions of government at an alarming rate.

It is only a matter of time before such actions disrupt more than just the daily operations of government. Public health and food security are likely to be among the first casualties, but the deregulation of financial institutions could easily lead to financial crimes reminiscent of those that triggered the 2008 crash. Additionally, opportunistic actions by China or North Korea, or terrorist strikes against America in response to Trump’s reckless proposal to annex Gaza, have become far more probable as he continues to erode America’s reliability as an ally.

None of this is difficult to predict, which raises the question: What is the end goal? Perhaps some in Trump’s circle truly believe this approach will succeed, with AI taking the role of ideological fervor. More likely, however, the intent is deliberate destabilization, paving the way for a fundamental transformation of American governance.

So how do we respond? Trump seeks to divide us; we resist by building solidarity with everyone who can be reached—including some of those who initially supported him. Trump’s betrayal of his own followers began the day he took office, and it will continue. That betrayal provides the best opportunity to end this travesty—by forging alliances with independents and those among his supporters who still uphold traditional American values and have learned from first-hand experience that he cares only for himself.

It is the Democratic Party that now carries the mantle of traditional American values. Right now, we are the party of individual liberty and the preservation of the rule of law. I would even argue that we, not Republicans, are the only party capable of defending American interests abroad, especially in contrast to Trump surrendering to Russia and literally promoting the interests of fascist regimes and parties in other nations. All of these, plus the fact that our policies support people, not plutocrats, are avenues we can offer to bring disaffected Trump voters to support the right Democratic candidates.

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[1] Url: https://dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/18/2304675/-Fighting-the-Next-Cultural-Revolution?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web

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