The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism
Bob's selection is written by a long-term, well-connected political journalist. Applebaum has personal connections to her homeland of Poland, Hungary, Great Britain, and the US. She is also an author and expert on the Soviet Union. This makes her an expert on both current right-wing as well as previous left-wing authoritarians of whom she makes little differentiation. Both seek to create a one-party system that controls the military, the press, and the judiciary.
Applebaum describes herself as politically center right. On the other hand, she uses the word liberal to describe the the need for democracies to demand participation, argument, effort, struggle and tolerance. I particularly like the way she explains the difference between reflective nostalgia and the restorative nostalgia used by authoritarians. The restorative nostalgia creates a past that fits their grim narrative that only they can fix. It is eerie how the four right wing parties share the same memes, conspiracy theories, and platforms. From George Soros, to Covid, to immigration, to racism. She explains how many of her former friends have been lost to the movements of their respective authoritarians.
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