/169/ Authoritarian Liberalism and Its Discontents ft. Amber A'Lee Frost & Daniel Bessner (Patreon)

On the Biden administration and Trumpist reaction.

We discuss the riot at the US Capitol and why it was not a (failed) coup attempt. How serious was the event, and what next for Trumpist reaction - will it lead to a split in the Republican Party?

Our guests - journalist Amber Frost and political science academic Daniel Bessner - help us preview what the Biden administration has in store for the US. With Democratic control of both houses, it should be able to pass legislation - but does it have any substantial plans to do so? In foreign policy, we can expect more foreign adventurism and at home, an ominous anti-domestic terrorism bill. Does the alliance of the Democrats with an increasingly domineering Silicon Valley signal the coming-out moment of authoritarian liberalism?

Readings:

• Riot on the Hill, Mike Davis, NLR Sidecar blog
• Render unto Ourselves, What is Ours—or Caesar Will Seize It, Alex Hochuli, Damage
• What Experts on Extremism Want From the Biden Administration, James D Walsh, NYMag
• Morbid Symptoms Can Persist for a Long Time, Barry Eidlin, Jacobin
• Violence in the Capitol, Dangers in the Aftermath, Glenn Greenwald, Substack
• The revenge of the blob, Alex Ward, Vox