A deeply reported look at how polarization and compounding crises, including the war in Gaza and threats to democracy, have reshaped American politics
Fascism or Genocide is New York Times Magazine writer Ross Barkan’s sweeping report on the 2024 US election and the decade of political upheaval leading up to it.
As in 2020, Joe Biden campaigned on a platform to save democracy, but fewer voters were persuaded this time. During the Democratic primary season, more than half a million Americans cast votes for “Uncommitted” ballot options to send Biden a message about the urgent need to end the killing in Gaza, with some tagging him “Genocide Joe.”
In contrast, mainstream liberals backed the Democratic ticket in the belief that Trump would put America on the road to fascism. As the director of an influential Palestinian advocacy group tells Barkan, “It’s a choice between fascism or genocide.”
Biden’s withdrawal from the election and Kamala Harris’s subsequent nomination barely changed the narrative. Millions of Democrats stayed home after souring on the party, while others switched allegiance and got behind the Trump team. Fascism or Genocide takes a hard, informed look at the election, focusing on the future of the Democratic Party, the influence and potential of the progressive “Squad,” and ongoing culture wars within the party.
"One of the sharpest state policy minds I know." —Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
"Consistently one of the most interesting and original essayists of his generation." —Shadi Hamid, Washington Post columnist
"A writer with real literary flair. Like I.F. Stone, Barkan works independently with a left point of view, but it’s his shoe leather, his working the phones and hitting the street, that's invaluable because, sadly, it’s so scarce." —Christian Lorentzen, critic and contributor to the London Review of Books
"Every now and then, one discovers a writer with great style who is also capable of making you think about things in new, more sophisticated, and more interesting ways. Ross Barkan is one such writer. His work is among the best the millennial generation has produced and you know he’ll be someone we’ll be reading for years, helping us navigate the present and future morass." —Daniel Bessner, co-host of the American Prestige podcast and author of Democracy in Exile
Ross Barkan is the author of several works of fiction and nonfiction, including the novel Glass Century. He’s a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine, a columnist for New York magazine, and the editor-in-chief of The Metropolitan Review, a books and culture review publication.
A deeply reported look at how polarization and compounding crises, including the war in Gaza and threats to democracy, have reshaped American politics
Fascism or Genocide is New York Times Magazine writer Ross Barkan’s sweeping report on the 2024 US election and the decade of political upheaval leading up to it.
As in 2020, Joe Biden campaigned on a platform to save democracy, but fewer voters were persuaded this time. During the Democratic primary season, more than half a million Americans cast votes for “Uncommitted” ballot options to send Biden a message about the urgent need to end the killing in Gaza, with some tagging him “Genocide Joe.”
In contrast, mainstream liberals backed the Democratic ticket in the belief that Trump would put America on the road to fascism. As the director of an influential Palestinian advocacy group tells Barkan, “It’s a choice between fascism or genocide.”
Biden’s withdrawal from the election and Kamala Harris’s subsequent nomination barely changed the narrative. Millions of Democrats stayed home after souring on the party, while others switched allegiance and got behind the Trump team. Fascism or Genocide takes a hard, informed look at the election, focusing on the future of the Democratic Party, the influence and potential of the progressive “Squad,” and ongoing culture wars within the party.
Praise
"One of the sharpest state policy minds I know." —Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
"Consistently one of the most interesting and original essayists of his generation." —Shadi Hamid, Washington Post columnist
"A writer with real literary flair. Like I.F. Stone, Barkan works independently with a left point of view, but it’s his shoe leather, his working the phones and hitting the street, that's invaluable because, sadly, it’s so scarce." —Christian Lorentzen, critic and contributor to the London Review of Books
"Every now and then, one discovers a writer with great style who is also capable of making you think about things in new, more sophisticated, and more interesting ways. Ross Barkan is one such writer. His work is among the best the millennial generation has produced and you know he’ll be someone we’ll be reading for years, helping us navigate the present and future morass." —Daniel Bessner, co-host of the American Prestige podcast and author of Democracy in Exile
Author
Ross Barkan is the author of several works of fiction and nonfiction, including the novel Glass Century. He’s a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine, a columnist for New York magazine, and the editor-in-chief of The Metropolitan Review, a books and culture review publication.
