"If the Liberal Left Doesn't Use Some Trumpist Tricks, It's Doomed"
A new book by Dr. David Gurevitch explores the cultural roots of Trumpism. The author argues that liberalism lacks emotion and mythology, urging the left to adopt some of Trump's methods.
"The revolution will not be televised," sang protest singer Gil Scott-Heron in a famous 1971 song. This song accompanies Paul Thomas Anderson's film "Inherent Vice," as if calling on tired underground members to revive the fervor of the revolution. This is also the title of the new book by cultural researcher Dr. David Gurevitch: "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, on the Cultural Images of Trumpism" (Yetzira Ivrit Publishing, in collaboration with Dr. Amit Varshitzky and Oded Yaniv Strauss).
It is a kind of "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Trumpist Galaxy" — an examination of the cultural codes, communication language, and works of art created in the turbulent era of Donald Trump as President of the USA. The book describes the political and social roots of Trumpism, its philosophical roots (Nietzsche, Heidegger), and their expressions in popular films and series. It examines how Donald Trump became a political superhero, changing the rules of the cultural and media game in the Western world through a combination of entertainment populism, the politics of emotions, and a rebellion of the masses against neo-liberal elites.
Kafka and Trump's America
Years ago, Gurevitch published "Has the Tribe Spoken?" and "Kafka's America." What is the connection? "Both Kafka and the reality of Donald Trump present an America whose foundation is the mob. Democracy is a business for the masses; they decide the elections. In Kafka's 'America,' the hero is struck by the American dream. Kafka describes a mob that gets excited by billboards, carrying a candidate on their shoulders, unsure if they want to execute or crown him. There is a feeling of an infinite mob creating a democracy that is ultimately a show. Is this far from the populist democracy of Donald Trump? Is this not the same popular fair of the current political reality?"
Regarding why 74 million voters trusted Trump, Gurevitch says: "That is the million-dollar question. We see a madman, but his working-class voters saw a messiah. A man willing to risk everything to expel the liberals who hijacked America." According to the author, Trumpism provides a sense of public intimacy and belonging that liberalism lacks.
The Need for Emotion
"Man needs not only freedom but also tyranny, to be told what to do. He does not want to be free. History proves it," Gurevitch notes. In the book, he analyzes films like Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight," "Triangle of Sadness," and the western "Eddington" as harbingers of Trumpism. "The revolutionary spirit once identified with the left is now identified with the right. The new revolutionaries are actually the Trumpists."
What should liberals do? "What liberalism lacks is imagination and emotion. If the liberal left does not recruit some of the Trumpist tricks, it is doomed. Because people need emotion, family, nation, religion, identity—all the things that liberalism rejected in the name of abstract principles. It is not necessary to eliminate liberalism, but to fix it."
