Russian-American Masha Gessen Sees Putin In Trump, Trouble In Future
Americans are suddenly consumed with multiple crises. Even before the outbreak of social unrest following yet another African American's death in police custody, the ravages of COVID-19 and economic freefall had disrupted the national life.
All of which means conditions are ripe for President Trump to assume more power and move closer to the status of autocratic ruler, says New Yorker writer Masha Gessen in a new book Surviving Autocracy.
Gessen's viewpoint may be head-spinning for many, especially those who believe today's maelstrom of disease, unemployment and racial violence represent failures by the incumbent president. Yet Gessen argues that Trump may see it all as an opportunity, not just in his pursuit of re-election, but in what Gessen believes is his longer-term concept of his own career trajectory.
"He may inadvertently have created perfect conditions for autocratic consolidation," Gessen writes, a climate of "more anxiety and fear of change." Gessen quotes the 20th century scholar Hannah, who observed how future dictators used instability "while at the same time dangling the promise of stability."
