Books: Roots of our authoriarian age

The Ink -  Chain of Ideas: The Origins of our Authoritarian Age is the How to Be An Antiracist author Ibram X. Kendi’s groundbreaking new book — and it’s already a New York Times bestseller. As Trump and other would-be autocrats around the world move to turn back the clock on progress so many have worked long and hard to achieve, Chain of Ideas traces the spread of our current xenophobia to the promulgation of “great replacement theory,” popularized by French novelist and immigration conspiracist Renaud Camus in his 2011 book The Great Replacement.

For those unfamiliar with the idea, great replacement theory proponents hold that “powerful elites are enabling disadvantaged groups to steal the lives, livelihoods, cultures, and electoral power and freedoms of privileged groups, who now need authoritarian protection.” Under this view, “One’s life, one’s job, one’s status, one’s way of living, one’s freedoms, one’s nation — all can be perceived as lost, slipping away, in need of authoritarian protection and restoration.” Democracy becomes collateral damage in this worldview, as white privilege is prioritized over all else.

Obviously, this rings a lot of bells. Trump’s entire playbook vis-à-vis his opposition to immigration, diversity, abortion, women’s rights, and LGBTQ rights; his suppression of the history of slavery; and countless other policies can be understood as growing out of the embrace of great replacement theory.