Red Pill Politics: Demystifying Today's Far Right

Description:

A smart and accessible dissection of twenty-first-century fascist politics, providing general readers with the tools to understand, and defeat, today's resurgent far right

"Fascism is the term that is everywhere and nowhere in contemporary political discussions." --David Ost

Around the globe, far-right political parties and movements are on the march, stoking fears of the revival of fascism. What to make of this dangerous drift?

In this masterly examination of far-right politics past and present, political scientist David Ost argues that in order to resist its revival, we must understand its often broad appeal, particularly to non-elites who have traditionally aligned with the Left. Ost shows that equating fascism only with violence and mass repression misses its distinctive populist elements, and thus keeps us from recognizing the dangers of a contemporary Right that, for now, downplays its repressive dimensions.

Drawing on a wide range of contemporary and historical examples, Ost argues that both classic fascism and today's right-wing populism should be seen as different versions of what he calls Red Pill Politics. Both promote authoritarian politics, intolerance, xenophobic outrage, and rigid gender roles. Yet they win support by speaking for the dissatisfied with anti-elitist rhetoric, while underemphasizing their repressive policies. They have their best chance of winning when the Left is failing.

Red Pill Politics draws on meticulous historical research and deep familiarity with current global developments to present a startlingly original analysis that helps us understand and challenge today's most pressing political threat.

Brief description: David Ost is a recently emeritus professor of politics at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, who has written widely on eastern Europe, left and right politics, and labor and democracy. He is the author of Solidarity and the Politics of Anti-Politics, The Defeat of Solidarity: Anger and Politics in Postcommunist Europe, and Red Pill Politics (The New Press), as well as editor/author of Class After Communism, and co-editor/author of Workers After Workers' States. He has done research in Polish factories, taught at European universities, and worked as a NYC taxi driver. He has written for a wide variety of scholarly and popular publications. He lives in Ithaca, New York.

Review Quotes:

Praise for Red Pill Politics:
"A robust and energizing dissection of a protean foe."
--Publishers Weekly

Red Pill Politics offers the most insightful discussion I have read of the parallels (and differences) between contemporary far-right parties and the fascist movements of the 1930s. [David Ost] reminds us that both then and now, fascism gains ground where the Left's ties to the working class are weak."
--Steven Levitsky, David Rockefeller Professor of Latin American Studies and Professor of Government, Harvard University and co-author of the New York Times-bestselling How Democracies Die

"David Ost has long been one of the most brilliant, astute and critical observers of the post-Cold War world. Ost invites us to take the allure of authoritarianism seriously, to come to terms with why reactionary politics have so often found devotion among . . . those who have been prime targets of exclusionary nationalism and racist violence. Ost has given us an extraordinary book that will reorient our thinking and politics, and it may even save our lives."
--Cedric Johnson, author of After Black Lives Matter: Policing and Anti-Capitalist Struggle

"Red Pill Politics sets aside tired questions to reveal the underlying pattern that links today's right-wing populisms with historical fascist movements: their ability to recruit once favored working-class people to malignant mass antidemocratic politics. This learned yet plain-speaking and engrossing short book is an urgent must-read for every concerned citizen and candidate hoping to revive their imperiled countries."
--Nancy MacLean, author of Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America

"Red Pill Politics offers an incredibly valuable framework for understanding today's far right. David Ost explains why authoritarian populism can feel persuasive to ordinary people--and why moral denunciation without material answers is a dead end."
--Bhaskar Sunkara, founding editor of Jacobin and president of The Nation

"A fascinating exploration of the appeal of right-wing populism and fascism."
--Library Journalz

"A revealing dissection of the different varieties of the present day's hard-right ideologies, as well as the unique dangers they pose."
--Inkstik