The Austerity Politics of White Supremacy
Since the end of the Confederacy, the cult of the âtaxpayerâ has provided a socially acceptable veneer for racist attacks on democracy. A composite photograph of South Carolina s majority-black legislature created and circulated by opponents of Reconstruction (Library of Congress)
From the Southern strategy of the 1960s to Donald Trumpâs refusal to concede the presidential election, it is easy to trace the Republican Partyâs decades-long descent into racial authoritarianism. Despite the presidentâs unhinged response to the election results, the real locus of power is the Senate, where Republican legislators have been striking sober-sounding notes about the need for smaller government, an end to relief spending, and the danger of higher taxes. Those desperate to see a return to normalcy may hail this born-again fiscal conservatism as a departure from Trumpâs racist, antidem