It was a packed weekend, so I couldn’t publish the weekly update on Sunday. Another one-day-late edition. Fascism became a catch-all phrase for leftists to criticize their adversaries. It is a term that has a historical meaning, and I don’t want to repeat the same mistake of muddying the definition. By fascism I mean: consolidation of power in a single powerful leader, dismantling of all institutions to remove any safety brakes in the system, controlling a large part of the economy and corporations, ultranationalist rhetoric, cult of regenerative violence, separating society into two blocs: decent citizens and indecent others, cancelling elections or rendering them meaningless. Today, Turkey is at high risk of being ruled by a proper fascist government. Out of the pillars of fascism that I listed above, four of the seven are firmly in place, two are forming: Erdogan was the strong authoritarian leader from the start in 2002; he reached the peak of his power in 2017 by changing the…
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