Inevitably, a work of such sweep, making broad comparisons between
historical eras, will lightly skip over some events and concepts. There
is little analysis here of the Populist movement at the end of the
nineteenth century, which did, at least initially, offer a powerful
rebuke to the oligarchs. And at the end of her analysis, Richardson says
that fascism is “the modern form of hierarchy,” but offers little
analysis or illustration. But such gaps do not detract from the overall
strength of her most important insights. The book is well-written,
well-argued, and frighteningly timely as America tries to dig itself out
from the abyss of the Trump era. And her work is an implicit warning to
modern Democrats, who must learn that politics depends on symbolic
narratives as much or more than on rational discourse. Anthony Weiner,
the disgraced former Democratic Congressman, once said that the problem
with Democrats is that they bring a library book to a knife fight.
Richardson has shown us what kind of knife oligarchs have used. They’ve
been using it for a long, long time.
https://www.clereviewofbooks.com/home/2021/2/3/a-library-book-to-a-knife-fight
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