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Temptations of Tyranny
Rod Dreher’s conflicted support for President Trump illustrates a broader crisis among intellectual conservatives who fear the "soft totalitarianism" of liberal institutions yet embrace the hard authoritarianism of executive overreach. Drawing on Hannah Arendt’s political thought, the essay contends that true freedom is preserved not through charismatic leaders but through the multiplication and decentralization of citizen power. Revitalizing democracy, it argues, requires stubborn, local acts of collective governance rather than the dangerous temptation to concentrate authority in a single figure.04-27-2025
Articles
December 11th, 2016
David Runciman asks the question: "Isn’t this how democracy ends?" But the answer he offers is not so simple.12-11-2016
December 4th, 2016
Ian Buruma looks at the special relationship between the U.S. and the U.K. in the wake of Donald Trump's election and the Brexit vote. He argues that both votes are in important ways responding to a similar distaste for certain kinds of citizens.12-04-2016
November 27th, 2016
Arthur Goldhammer argues that Trump's "farrago of falsehoods" threatens the common world that allows any society to exist.11-27-2016
November 20th, 2016
Leon Botstein offers nine "Speculative Thoughts on the Trump Presidency." Here are the first two.11-20-2016
November 13th, 2016
In writing about the evils of genocide and totalitarianism, Hannah Arendt insisted on the effort to understand.11-13-2016
November 6th, 2016
Writers are turning to Hannah Arendt's thinking about totalitarianism and fascism to try to understand Donald Trump.11-06-2016
October 30th, 2016
At the Arendt Center's "Real Talk" Conference two speakers (Erica Hunt and Claudia Rankine, both poets) recommended Sarah Schulman's new book Conflict is Not Abuse: Overstating Harm, Community Responsibility, and The Duty of Repair.10-30-2016
October 23rd, 2016
The Hannah Arendt Center had a spectacular Conference this week "Real Talk."10-23-2016
October 16th, 2016
Dylan Matthews contests those who say that those voting for Donald Trump are from the economic fringe. In fact, 50% of Trump voters are simply Republicans, and vote Republican in every election. The average income of the Trump voter is $72,000 per year, well above the average in the United States. So why are these voters supporting Trump? Matthews says its simple: Race.10-16-2016