Elites of all stripes dance around and play games with the larger population, intentionally and unintentionally. Elite infighting and jockeying impacts the wider population, elites do not hold universal views but fight over minutiae while championing a larger system. This is well known but often forgotten as it is easy for people to become fans of their pet elitist. This all is certainly hypocritical of me to say as an academic, I am part of the very same elitism that perpetuates systems of mass harm. But as I can academic, while far from being immune to idiocy, have attempted to pay attention to historic and ideological trends, even if I make the wrong synthesis on these trends.
The left in the United States is dead, this does not mean there is an impossibility of resurrection, but left-wing ideals especially leftism are dead to us. What we have is Neo-leftism which Benjamin Studebaker describes as, “radical liberalism.” Studebaker also points out the United States is caught in another trap, that the only two visions we have for the future are liberalism and fascism. There is not a real imagination of anything even resembling a mildly social democratic society let alone the hyper-social democratic society I advocate for and certainly not socialism nor communism. The imagination of the populous can only imagine Trumpism or liberal forces which fake or poorly oppose American fascism. The reforms proposed by American liberals are not ones that transform American society in due time, but ones that maintain dying systems.
The ‘leftist’ movement in the US has gone from demanding defunding of the police to abolishing just one aspect of the policing apparatus, ICE. American ‘leftists’ have largely gone from seeking universal healthcare to just trying to get some medicaid benefits back. The political movement started by individuals like Bernie Sanders, Kyle Kulinski via Justice Democrats, and Mike Fox has now certainly been co-opted by liberalism in the face of fascism. This is not to say that individuals such as AOC or Zohran Mamdani do not seek and espouse policies that are better for American’s material conditions; this is to say the American fascists at this point hold victory in preventing a needed alteration of society amid technological advancements that will alter labor relations. There is a refusal amongst all political wings in the United States to acknowledge that a post-labor future is a possibility, perhaps never universal but certainly for a large portion of Americans in a manner that could certainly exceed 50%. The only somewhat major political figure in recent memory that has had any sense of the need to react to the transformative nature of technology was Andrew Yang with his version of advocacy for universal basic income, and his advocacy came before the AI boom which is already helping trim labor participation rates.
Yet, the elites of America can only imagine a future where there is labor, because their elite positions are reliant on a system which necessitates labor. Let us take a policy such as universal childcare/universal Pre-K, a policy I am not fully against this policy under key conditions but it does not boost educational outcomes inherently, “the quality is a crucial determinant of the effects” (van Huizen & Plantenga). Instead more so childcare is meant to keep people working as blatantly stated by the Center for American Progress, “[It goes about] encouraging labor force participation, particularly among mothers of young children...[and helps with] boosting productive capacity” (Gibbs). Is a societal vision that is tied to mandatory labor or even one that wants to increase people’s working hours truly progressive, truly leftist? But America is not prepared to consider a vision of optional labor amid technological pressures. Instead, all the visions proposed by those in power either beat people with their bootstraps or try to catch people with a ripped up safety net.
Studebaker speaks to troubling cycle when a society can only think in terms of ‘liberalism or fascism’ these societies lose any sense of imagination and ability to adjust to emergent conditions. But there are those that live it up amid decay and rather keep a system in decay than lose their privilege. And when a system has no alternative visions the rivalries within that system do not matter, “Mamdani was asked if he still considered Trump a fascist. ‘That's OK, you can just say 'yes',’ Trump interjected, swapping grins with Mamdani and patting his arm twice. It's easier than explaining it’” (France 24). And in these situations the fascist vision wins out due to taking initiative over liberal passivity. And policies that help somewhat labor are incidental or for some other purpose. Both Studebaker and myself have spoken to how Trump’s tariffs are meant to increase America’s military capacities. The American vision and thus society is trapped in hyper-consumerism, militarism, and the grind-set. Not that America is the worst society to live in, but there is clearly room for transformative reform. Right now those with the power to make change in American society, the Neo-leftists and fascists, are in the fighting in the same club, they are certainly not the same, but true anti-fascism would shut down any club that allows for fascism.
I do think there is still room for hyper-social democracy via America’s constitutional, however as Youtuber Three Arrows points out, American needs something like reconstruction to root out Trumpism. But we cannot boot out Trump-style fascism and go back to the former systems, there is a need for at least a social democratic vision that accounts for technological advancements, if not some other system. The club will let everything else burn in due time if changes are not made, a series of real reforms are need, which include policies and system changes. And this can be done peacefully if elite concessions and realizations are made, but for now the pitchforks inch closer to the club.
- France24. “Trump Praises New York Mayor-elect Mamdani at Warm White House Meeting.” France24, 22 Nov. 2025, www.france24.com/en/americas/20251122-trump-praises-new-york-mayor-elect-mamdani-warm-white-house-meeting.
Gibbs, Hailey. “4 Reasons the U.S. Economy Needs Comprehensive Child Care.” Center for American Progress, 24 May 2022, www.americanprogress.org/article/4-reasons-the-u-s-economy-needs-comprehensive-child-care.
- Van Huizen, Thomas, et al. Universal Child Care and Children’s Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis of Evidence From Natural Experiments. 2015, www.sole-jole.org/assets/docs/16331.pdf.
- 1Dime Radio. “The Meaning of Mamdani (Ft. Benjamin Studebaker).” YouTube, 2 Jan. 2026, www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFn2WDsZjtw.
