The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America

As we begin this journey through the complex and chilling landscape of modern political transformation, it is vital to understand the profound tension between individualism and totalitarianism that underlies much of our contemporary world. Imagine a world where the very idea of individual responsibility and freedom is supplanted by a mystical leader who embodies the nation's innocence and destiny. This is not a distant fantasy but a reality shaped by the revival of early 20th-century fascist philosophies, particularly those of a forgotten Russian thinker whose ideas have been resurrected to justify a new form of authoritarianism.

Ivan Ilyin’s philosophy rejects the very notion of individuality, instead promoting a collective unity under a sovereign leader who embodies divine totality. He argued that the fragmented human existence is a flawed condition, and true harmony requires submerging individual reason into national submission. This ideology sanctifies a leader who transcends law and history, justifying the use of violence as a redemptive act. Such ideas provide the ideological scaffolding for a kleptocratic state where the rule of law is replaced by the caprice of a leader, and where political fiction replaces democratic reality.

The political landscape shaped by these ideas is defined by what can be called the politics of eternity, a worldview that denies the possibility of progress and instead sees history as a cyclical struggle against eternal enemies. This contrasts sharply with the politics of inevitability, which promises a better future and assumes that history moves forward through progress. When the politics of inevitability collapses, it gives way to eternity, where manufactured crises and perpetual victimhood narratives dominate.

In this eternal politics, facts are suppressed, and every event is interpreted as part of an unending conflict. This creates a fertile ground for oligarchs and authoritarian leaders to consolidate power by spinning tales of innocent victimhood and external threats, distracting citizens from the realities of inequality and corruption. The rise of fake news, a tactic pioneered in Russia to discredit journalism and sow confusion, exemplifies this strategy.

Consider how these ideas manifest in the real world: a leader emerges from obscurity, portrayed as a redeemer who alone can save the nation from its enemies. Elections become rituals rather than genuine expressions of popular will, and laws serve to enforce obedience rather than justice. The middle class, often a bastion of civil society and individual advancement, is marginalized or crushed to preserve the existing hierarchy. This environment breeds a politics where personal loyalty to the leader replaces institutional accountability, and where history is rewritten to support the myth of eternal innocence.

As we move forward, we will see how this fragile balance between individualism and totalitarianism unravels further, leading to crises of succession and the erosion of democratic principles. But before that, let us delve deeper into how the absence of legitimate political succession mechanisms destabilizes states and paves the way for political stagnation and perpetual rule.