DeepSummary
Matthew Sitman criticizes a group of people who saw the Trump presidency as an opportunity to 'smash liberalism' rather than being concerned about Trump himself. He views this perspective as misleading and a rejection of democratic norms.
Sitman uses the example of Jimmy Dore, a commentator who prioritized anti-establishment rhetoric over substantive policy discussions, even aligning with far-right groups like the Boogaloo movement in the pursuit of disrupting the system.
Sitman and Sam Adler-Bell suggest that this anti-liberal, anti-organizational sentiment has fascist undertones, prioritizing chaos and destruction over meaningful political change through existing institutions.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Matthew Sitman strongly criticizes those who viewed Trump's presidency as an opportunity to reject liberalism rather than a threat to democracy.
- He uses Jimmy Dore as an example of someone who embraced anti-establishment rhetoric and aligned with extremist groups in pursuit of disrupting the system.
- Sitman argues that this anti-liberal, anti-organizational perspective has fascist undertones, rejecting democratic norms and procedures in favor of chaos and violence.
- The discussion frames the Capitol riot as an embodiment of this anti-democratic viewpoint and a direct attack on the American democratic system.
- Sitman sees a danger in conflating left and right-wing anti-establishment sentiment, as it can lead to a breakdown of substantive policy debates and a prioritization of disruption over meaningful change.
- The overall perspective being criticized is one that rejects liberal democracy and existing political institutions in favor of a destructive, authoritarian impulse to overthrow the system entirely.
- Sitman suggests that this viewpoint is ultimately unproductive and incompatible with genuine leftist goals of building a more just and equitable society through democratic means.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “I mean, how could you think that this total inane thing could have any kind of productive meaning? Is just baffling to me.“ by Matthew Sitman
- “So I saw in the wake of the Capitol riot a lot of these voices wanting to find something redeeming about this, which I just thought was a horrible attack on what we do have of a democratic rule in our society.“ by Matthew Sitman
- “And Dor wanted to have, like, some kind of crazy plebiscite that would prove, like, through this m for, a thing that would expose the corruption of the system and cause a revolt, right?“ by Matthew Sitman
- “And this is just kind of, let's just face it, it's kind of fascist. I mean, like, yeah, this kind of confusion of left and right, this actionism and hatred of the old normative republican procedures.“ by Matthew Sitman
Entities
Person
Jimmy Dore//Sam Adler-Bell//Matthew Sitman//Matt Stolar
Organization
Boogaloo movement
Episode Information
Podcast Title
Know Your Enemy
Host
Matthew Sitman
Publish Date
2/6/21
Categories
Subcategories
Website URLhttps://know-your-enemy-1682b684.simplecast.com/episodes/teaser-laffaire-w-john-ganz-lKSfkYej
Episode Notes
Listener favorite John Ganz returns to explain how the Dreyfus Affair (and the French Third Republic) help us understand the Trumpian right, fascism, and the left's response to both. Subscribe on Patreon to hear the rest!