Written in 2003

“I have defined postmodernism as a turning from rationality, and at the same time an embracing of spectacle . . . The image waits for a political life . . . . There are more reasons to fear fascism than communism in a postmodern world. For one thing, fascism is anti-intellectual (communism is predicated on ‘scientific’ theories). Fascism requires no rational basis other than the acceptance of a charismatic leader riding on sheer ‘will to power.’ However, it is also true that fascism likes to prey on demoralized and desperate societies. Hitler, for example, fed off desperate times that required desperate measures. While America is becoming more anti-intellectual (irrational), we are not yet demoralized or desperate. A consistently strong economy and a high standard of living has both spoiled us and kept us from danger. We seem to be safe for now, but the future arrives much faster than it used to . . . Such a landscape will eventually create, I think, some extraordinary opportunities for political sophistry . . . A dangerous soup is cooking” (Arthur Hunt, The Vanishing Word, p. 228).