When Jonathan Rauch Says It’s Fascism, It’s Fascism

Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a contributing writer at The Atlantic, and one of America’s leading scholars on liberal democracy and constitutional governance. He’s the author of several books including The Constitution of Knowledge (2021), which examines how liberal science and free inquiry create reliable knowledge, and Kindly Inquisitors (1993), a seminal defense of free speech.

Last Sunday The Atlantic published his piece Yes, It’s Fascism. Five days later I said the same thing, having come to my own independent conclusions.

We were both highly reluctant to use the F-word.

When the facts change, I change my mind. Recent events have brought Trump’s governing style into sharper focus. Fascist best describes it, and reluctance to use the term has now become perverse.

Jonathan Rauch

Rauch is of course far more intelligent, experienced, educated, and observant than I am, so I’m quite happy to concede the win to him for saying it first. He’s known and well-respected for his measured, careful analysis that avoids hyperbole—a classical liberal who’s spent decades defending institutional norms, free speech, and democratic principles—which makes his use of the F-word particularly significant.

This man isn’t a partisan activist or bomb-thrower. This is someone who built his entire career on defending liberal institutions, avoiding inflammatory language, and making careful distinctions. When Jonathan Rauch says “Yes, it’s fascism,” he’s not being hyperbolic—he’s documenting that the evidence has become impossible to deny.

I just read his piece today, and it’s damning. If you only have time to read one article on the topic, read his.

Where the hell are the conservative gun owners on this?

Sam Harris

Sam Harris is a neuroscientist, philosopher, and author known for rigorous, careful analysis and resistance to tribal thinking. He’s written several bestsellers including The End of Faith, The Moral Landscape, and Free Will. He hosts the Making Sense podcast, where he conducts long-form conversations on science, ethics, philosophy, and politics.

Harris is famous for being measured to a fault—sometimes maddeningly so. He’s been criticized from both left and right for refusing to fit into partisan boxes. He’ll defend free speech absolutism while criticizing the religious right. He’ll critique woke excesses while calling out Trump’s authoritarian tendencies. He values precision, evidence, and intellectual honesty over tribal loyalty.

Today Sam Harris hosted Jonathan Rauch on his YouTube channel in an episode titled American Fascism: A Conversation with Jonathan Rauch (Ep. 456).

The first thirty minutes are free in the link; the full interview is behind a paywall, but it’s well worth the price of admission.

Rauch is clear we aren’t at the stage of full-blown capture of government and society by a fascist regime—we’re not at the climax of Hitler’s Germany—and he’s actually more optimistic now that we can avoid reaching that point, but he and Harris agree Trump and his enablers are, unquestionably, fascists.

There’s no better word for it.