Donald Trump

Anti-Semitism

Hannah Arendt’s The Origins of Totalitarianism, which was published in 1951, reversed the then conventional wisdom about the emergence of fascist and totalitarian regimes. While many saw fascism and totalitarianism as the historical apotheosis of the nation, Arendt argued that fascism and…

Democracy in Name Only

by Madeleine Rosen, Bard High School Early College student and winner of our student essay contest, as part of our 2017 Fall Conference, “Crises of Democracy: Thinking in Dark Times,” addressing the question, “Has representative democracy failed?”

Thoughtfulness, truth and responsibility

On the uses and limits of political theory in dark times

In her essay “Truth and Politics,” Hannah Arendt writes that “no one has ever doubted that truth and politics are on rather bad terms with…

Populism and Totalitarianism

“Totalitarian politics — far from being simply antisemitic or racist or imperialist or communist — use and abuse their own ideological and political elements until the basis…

The Significance of Overt Racism

If I were to ask, “Is Trump racist?” most would agree that the answer to this question is yes. If I were to ask, “Are Trump’s supporters racist?” I think most would agree that many of them at least harbor racist views. But if I were to ask, “What is the significance of…

When Words Cease to Matter

As we struggle to understand the shock of the 2016 Presidential election, we realize how deeply language, on which productive debate depends, has been abused. Words matter. As so aptly and ironically put in Melania Trump’s plagiarized words at the Republican national convention…

Some Speculative Thoughts on the Trump Presidency

The accession to the Presidency by Trump, Clinton’s lead in the popular vote notwithstanding, has most likely many overlapping causes, I am sure. And I am allergic to post-mortem wisdom. My father, a distinguished and pioneering oncologist used…

What Comes After Denial? Thoughts on Donald Trump’s Movement

“In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses had reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and…