The Road to Fascism (and Are We on It?)

Podcast audio:

With Donald Trump back in the White House, many warn that fascism is gaining ground in America. But beyond the partisan outcry, what is fascism, and can it really happen here?

In his 2025 OCON talk, “The Road to Fascism (and Are We on It?),” Nikos Sotirakopoulos explains that fascism is best understood as a distinctive worldview: a collectivist outlook that elevates the state (or nation, or race) to a myth demanding the individual’s submission. To address the question of whether history is repeating itself, he explains the fascist playbook: fascism thrives on crisis and casts a messianic leader as the great savior who will restore the glory days.

Sotirakopoulos notes troubling parallels to the MAGA movement, such as its cult of personality, fear-mongering, and contempt for the rule of law. Yet he argues it is not quite fascism, which demands a depth of ideological commitment that MAGA lacks. Still, the authoritarian impulse is real, and resisting it requires upholding truth and reason: “the disinfectants of fascism” and the guardians of American freedom.

Among the topics covered:

• What fascism is;
• The tools fascists use to take power;
• How Trump and his movement share major traits with fascists;
• Why, despite the parallels, Trump falls short of fascism;
• Miscellaneous questions on fascism:
  • Whether there is hope in the Republican Party;
  • The connection between the “manosphere” and fascism;
  • Whether Trump’s opponents can prevent fascism’s rise.

This talk was recorded live on July 2nd in Boston, MA, as part of the 2025 Objectivist Summer Conference, and is available on The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast stream. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Watch archived podcasts here.

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