The Economics of Faltering Fascism

Paul Krugman: “I believe that most successful authoritarian takeovers occur in the aftermath of economic crises — crises that the newly installed dictator can claim to have solved. In an ideal world people wouldn’t accept tyranny just because the tyrant appears to deliver a higher standard of living. In the real world, however, they often do.”

“But that tactic is unavailable to Trump. While he can and does lie about the Biden economy, claiming that it was catastrophically bad, while touting the current economy as the greatest ever, people aren’t buying it. A plurality of Americans now say that Biden was a better president than Trump, and a majority say that the economy under Biden was better. Trump simply can’t gaslight Americans into disbelieving their lying eyes and wallets.”

“Could Trump possibly adopt policies that win broad public approval, thereby greasing the rails for his demolition of democracy? Maybe, but he would have to become a genuine populist. Trump would have to implement policies that actually help working families while at the same time taking on the plutocracy.”