In Timothy Snyder's The Road to Unfreedom, he uncovers a fascist philosopher demon, Ivan Ilyin, whose politics are spreading like a malignant cancer throughout the world. Snyder connects Ilyin to Putin who in turn connects to Trump. To understand Ilyin's fascist philosophy is to understand his particular kind of narcissism. Snyder writes:
"Like all immorality, eternity politics begins by making an exception for itself. All else in creation might be evil, but I and my group are good, because I am myself and my group is mine. Others might be confused and bewitched by the facts and passions of history, but my nation and myself have maintained a prehistorical innocence. Since the only good is this invisible quality that resides in us, the only policy is the one that safeguards our innocence, regardless of the costs. Those who accept eternity politics do not expect to live longer, happier, or more fruitful lives. They accept suffering as a mark of righteousness if they think that guilty others are suffering more. Life is nasty, brutish, and short; the pleasure of life is that it can be made nastier, more brutish, and shorter for others."
The infantile fantasy that my group and I are superior and innocent and the rest of the world is evil and I will gaslight till the death to prove I'm right is at the heart of this fascism.
Applied to Russia, Snyder writes: "Russia does no wrong; wrong can only be done to Russia. Facts do not matter and responsibility vanishes."
The same mentality is at the core of Trumpism.
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