“The first Trump election was shocking to feminists because they assumed that the country as a whole would reject somebody who had a past of sexual assault and talked about pussy-grabbing,” the distinguished political theorist Wendy Brown told us in an interview for Issue Fifteen. “That shock is over; now, we’re looking at a regime as opposed to an individual.” As revelations about the scope and depravity of Jeffrey Epstein’s network continue to unfold, it seems we may be looking at even more than that: a whole ruling class, in addition to a regime.
In this light, it is worth revisiting Brown’s insights about the importance of a robust feminism for confronting the “power to dominate” that Trump both embodies and celebrates. As Brown insists, instead of fighting a rearguard action in defense of an established political order now unmasked as morally bankrupt and exhausted, we must embrace the need for transformational social and cultural change, and figure out how to build and wield power to construct something new on the “ash heap” of the norms and institutions that brought us to this point. Read the interview online today.
“They’re Using Megaphones” | Wendy Brown
I’ve been criticizing liberal democracy my whole life for the way that it subtends capitalism, racism, sexism, and the rest of it. I can’t stand this desire to resurrect it. It’s old; it’s exhausted. We need a new form.
OK, when the robust feminist cavalry comes riding over the hill to save us from this idiot, I'll be the first to cheer, but where the hell were all these strong, informed & effective Amazons when Kamala was carrying the colors? If progressives aren't connecting, it's because they simply haven't come grips with the fact that large chunks of the American electorate are barely functional crowd extras who have no immunity to social media dumpster-divers who've successful sold us the idea that failure is definitely an option- why sweat it? Sitting around engaging in a lot of thoughtful navel- gazing and expression about how shocked we all are is a huge waste of time. Right now, Gavin Newson is the only player who has any weapons that work. Get real or go home....