“Ideas matter — but they don’t matter enough, if you don’t have the institutions to propagate them. If you don’t have schools, if you don’t have public spheres, if you don’t have places where dialogue can take place, and people can come together and question and analyze — those ideas begin to evaporate. In the US, most of the pedagogical institutions, from schools to the media, are dominated by a corporate elite — these are not public spheres anymore, these are toxic spheres that align themselves with market-driven values that cultivate an ideology in which people don’t know how to deal with democracy and what its demands and responsibilities might look like.”
Cultural critic Henry Giroux examines the rise of authoritarianism in US culture and politics, and the collapse of democratic institutions and language that set the stage for the Trump Administration’s toxic blend of cruelty and capitalist supremacy that will rule until the left can reclaim the power of democratic ideas and action.
Henry is the author of the new book The Public in Peril: Trump and the Menace of American Authoritarianism from Routledge.
Trump is silencing political dissent. We appeal for your support.
Progressive nonprofits are the latest target caught in Trump’s crosshairs. With the aim of eliminating political opposition, Trump and his sycophants are working to curb government funding, constrain private foundations, and even cut tax-exempt status from organizations he dislikes.
We’re concerned, because Truthout is not immune to such bad-faith attacks.
We can only resist Trump’s attacks by cultivating a strong base of support. The right-wing mediasphere is funded comfortably by billionaire owners and venture capitalist philanthropists. At Truthout, we have you.
Truthout has launched a fundraiser to raise $34,000 in the next 5 days. Please take a meaningful action in the fight against authoritarianism: make a one-time or monthly donation to Truthout. If you have the means, please dig deep.