The Norwich Radical - November 2024 Issue
Welcome to the November 2024 Issue of The Norwich Radical! The world has not, in fact, ended since last issue - despite an upsetting US election, the continuation of Western-backed genocides and war crimes in a number of countries, and increased targeting of the more vulnerable individuals in society both from local government and systemically from the top. This issue, we bring you a selection of alternative perspectives on the US election, as well as several other pieces which remind us that life goes on elsewhere in the world.
One of the pieces in this issue, by Mona Keys and Jon, summarises a lot of what we have been thinking about here at The Norwich Radical since the US election took over the entirety of every news cycle across the world (or at least, the West). They rightfully identify two things: the current system of governance in the US (and elsewhere, for that matter) only provides the illusion of choice, while remaining a tool of neocolonial, neoliberal, war-mongering white supremacy; and that the US election is not, or should not be, the sole focus of all news cycles, political analysis, and liberation efforts. We must bear in mind that, despite its attempts to stick its stubby fingers into every pie available, the US presidency does not control the entire world - nor even the entire US, where many of our readers, friends and comrades continue to resist bigotry and build alternatives in their communities.
With that in mind, Lee Marsden brings us an analysis of projected US foreign policy under a second Trump administration, along with a piece on Gustavo Gutiérrez and his liberation theology in light of his passing last month. Euan Burns looks at the failures and potential of a Trump government in the face of Umberto Eco's theories on fascism, and how parallels to historical cycles may not be entirely useful. Former contributor Howard Green returns to the Norwich Radical with an article on the potential of populism and whether it can be successfully employed as a progressive tactic. And finally, Carmina Masoliver offers a nuanced and uneasy review of Kentucky band GRLwood, in the light of sexual assault allegations and so-called "cancel culture" within queer circles.
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November 2024 Issue - Contents
WHAT DOES THE SECOND COMING OF TRUMP MEAN FOR US FOREIGN POLICY?
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FOOL ME - AGAIN
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DONALD TRUMP'S EVERY FLAVOUR FASCISM
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STARMER’S BRITAIN: CONCEPTUALISING A NEW LEFT POPULAR ALTERNATIVE
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GUSTAVO GUTIÉRREZ AND LIBERATION THEOLOGY
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GRLWOOD AT OSLO, HACKNEY – A CRITICAL REVIEW
WHAT DOES THE SECOND COMING OF TRUMP MEAN FOR US FOREIGN POLICY?
by Lee Marsden
Ushered to victory by the prayers of the Trumpvangelicals, the Republican Party, transformed into the image of The Donald, has achieved a clean sweep of the presidency and both Houses of Congress. That’s on top of having already secured the Supreme Court during the Trump 45 administration. The guardrails of constitutional checks and balances have disappeared until at least the mid-term elections in 2026. Trump has a free hand to appoint key people to positions in the administration based on loyalty, rather than ability. This will inevitably have consequences for American foreign policy.
FOOL ME - AGAIN
by Mona Keys & Jon
Polls closed in the US on an unseasonably warm 5th November in the UK. As the sky filled with exploding fireworks, and the rumble of military jets from nearby RAF Marham, it wasn’t Guy Fawkes and Parliament that came to mind, so much as Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iran.
But the “biggest election in our lifetime” was just another checkpoint in the West’s long, violent journey: George W Bush’s War on Terror abroad and its counterpart Patriot Act at home; Barack Obama’s lack of “change” with every drone and deportation; and the populist dog whistle of Donald Trump and his far-right alternative – something we have yet to grasp in the UK with Farage and Reform – are but the latest in a series of egregious examples.
DONALD TRUMP’S EVERY FLAVOUR FASCISM
by Euan Burns
When Umberto Eco wrote Ur-Fascism, he sought to give a definition of fascism able to encompass a relatively wide range of possible fascisms. Fascism is not a singular ideology. Instead, it’s more like a hot dog – it can contain many possible ingredients prepared in countless ways while still remaining unmistakably a hot dog. The list of features of fascism Eco outlined are not requirements – any one (or two or three or…) can be removed. The particular composition need not even be internally coherent.
STARMER’S BRITAIN: CONCEPTUALISING A NEW LEFT POPULAR ALTERNATIVE
by Howard Green
What is populism? The term is most often associated with an authoritarian and emotive field of right-wing politics that exploits reactionary tendencies in a polarised populace. This assumption is well-founded, and shared by many academics – but is that the only thing populism can be?
STARMER’S BRITAIN: CONCEPTUALISING A NEW LEFT POPULAR ALTERNATIVE
by Lee Marsden
Gustavo Gutiérrez, the father of Liberation Theology, died at the age of 96 in Lima, Peru on 22nd October this year. Gutiérrez was one of the most significant radical theologians of the past century and transformed the approach of the Catholic church in Latin America to issues of injustice.
Ordained in 1959, Gutiérrez first served as priest in the parish of the Church of Christ the Redeemer in Rimac, Peru. Alongside his priestly duties he became a revolutionary theologian who was to influence the direction of the Catholic church – initially in South America, but later throughout the world – through the development of a theology of liberation.
GRLWOOD AT OSLO, HACKNEY – A CRITICAL REVIEW
by Carmina Masoliver
CW: mentions of sexual assault
When I decided to review GRLwood’s show at Oslo in Hackney, I had been waiting six years to see them. I imagined I would reflect on the review I previously wrote of their debut album ‘Daddy’. Anticipating the third album of a 2024 triple release – ‘Blood’, ‘Sweat’ and ‘Tears’ – I stumbled upon some disconcerting information from 2020, which felt like it had been swept under the carpet.
The world, it bears repeating once more, has not ended. It's getting darker, it has done so for months - if not years - but it has not ended. Feeling overwhelmed, angry, powerless, or just fucking terrified is fully expected and allowed. Be kind to yourselves, extend that kindness to others, and find the hope in the dark we all need.
In Solidarity,
The Norwich Radical Team
