The piece starts with a brief introduction to MAGA communism’s leading advocates and its policies.
In the last few years, a self-styled political movement that sounds like a contradiction in terms has gained ground online: “Maga communism”.
Promoted by its two most prominent spokespeople, Haz Al-Din, 27, and Jackson Hinkle, 24, Maga communism comprises a grab bag of ideas that can seem lacking in coherence – ranging from a belief in the power of Donald Trump’s followers to wrest power from “global elites” to an emphasis on masculine “honor”, admiration for Vladimir Putin and support for Palestinian liberation.
The reader might wonder how ‘MAGA communism’ — two seemingly contradictory philosophies — can rationally coexist. And also how it is different from the original flavor, plain MAGA.
The answer is that MAGA communism has nothing to do with communism — or anything left-wing. But the name gets attention. It appeals to Gen Z males for whom ‘socialism’ is not an economic philosophy but an exciting anti-establishment position.
This is not the first time a political movement has used a name to attract members rather than describe core beliefs. In 1919, disaffected young German men, left unmoored by their country’s surrender at the end of WWI, looked for a new political home. A few founded the ‘German Workers Party’ (Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or DAP).
In 1920, the party sought to broaden its appeal by rebranding as the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP). ‘National’ spoke to the Germany First crowd. ‘Socialist’ appealed to workers, and was a lure used to attract members of the German Communist Party. The NSDAP is better known by its English take on the name — NAZI. And those fascists had as much love for socialism as their American descendants, the MAGAs, do.
Any doubts about MAGA communism’s true nature evaporate when you consider its fans. Alex Jones and Tucker Carlson have spoken approvingly of its pro-Russia, anti-Ukraine stance. Both have had MAGA communism’s spokesman, Jackson Hinkle, on their respective shows. He has also been on OAN (a pro-Trump American conspiracy channel) and RT (a multi-language, Russian propaganda site). And Trump’s short-term national security advisor and current ultra-right gadfly, Michael Flynn, is a fan.
Like Carlson and other right-wingers, MAGA communism stresses uber masculinity. This perversion appeals to those young men threatened by LGBTQ, and by their inability to have satisfactory romantic and intimate relations with women. Although, they claim they are not misogynists. As MAGA communism’s Haz Al-Din explains.
“It’s not that we’re against women. We just perceive that the discourse, culture, and the political sphere have seen a huge decline in the notion of honor. One of the reasons for that is the decline in basic masculine virtues, the rise of a kind of effeminization, especially of men.”
Hinkle is also obsessed with transgender issues. He has regularly spewed anti-trans comments on social media. Making declarations such as: “We need to protect our youth from trans terrorists and propagandists.”
This call to unmeasurable and mystic attributes like ‘honor' and the warnings against ‘effeminization’ — whatever that means — are symptoms of the movement’s lack of a concrete agenda.
MAGA communism, like original MAGA, does not bother with policy. If you need more than a bumper sticker to say it, they have no use for it. It is a happy place for people for whom thinking is a burden. And nuance is confusing.
Alexander Reid Ross — author of Against the Fascist Creep, a book that looks at the right-wing’s cynical use of left-wing language — explains:
“If you look at their policies, like what they actually propose, it’s clear that this is a deranged fringe movement that doesn’t really have a great deal of articulation. It seems ludicrous, but I would say it’s really a symptom of the erosion of rational political life.”
In other words, Ross is saying that MAGA communism is no more than a grunting vandal taking a metaphorical baseball bat to society’s store windows. In that sense, it is no different from original MAGA.
However, there is one fundamental difference between the two. MAGA thinks Israel is the rightful owner of the Biblical holy lands. And they revere Bibi Netanyahu as a sadistic strongman and evangelical ally. MAGA communism, on the other hand, is pro-Palestine.
This difference speaks to the age of their potential supporters. Older right-wingers are the tools of Christian nationalists with their religious mandates. Younger right-wingers are motivated by anti-Zionism. But they both hate American institutions, empathy, compassion, and decency. So they will bridge that schism.
MAGA communists are also not in thrall of Trump. They treat him like Muslims treat Jesus. They give him credit for pretty words, but they do not consider him divine.
I do not know if MAGA communism has legs. Probably not. As anyone who has tried to make money off the young knows, youthful tastes are fickle. And they crave novelty. If the horde were to adopt MAGA communism, the cool contrarian would be on to the next thing. And in the internet meme age, that could be in the next five minutes.
