Fighting Authoritarianism Beyond Left vs. Right

A People-Powered Movement

The U.S. is teetering on the edge of authoritarianism. As Trump consolidates power and Musk moves to privatize governance itself, we are seeing the makings of an administrative coup—one that threatens to dismantle democracy and replace it with corporate feudalism. But here’s the problem: too many people see this crisis as a partisan issue, as if authoritarianism is just another battle between Democrats and Republicans. That framing is a trap.

The fight against authoritarianism must be nonpartisan, and more than that, it must be rooted in something deeper than political ideology. It has to be built on the fundamental understanding that you are me and I am you—that our fates are intertwined, and authoritarian rule threatens all of us, regardless of our party affiliations. If we don’t organize around this truth, we will remain divided, leaving the door wide open for the ruling elite to consolidate their control.

Reframing the Struggle: Authoritarianism as a Ruling Class Problem

Authoritarianism is not a grassroots movement. It’s not an uprising of the people. It’s a top-down, elite-driven power grab designed to strip us of our rights, concentrate wealth, and silence dissent. And it’s not exclusive to the Republican Party or the political right—it’s a tool used by the wealthy and powerful to dismantle democracy and replace it with a system where they make the rules, and we just suffer the consequences.

When Trump and Musk undermine the administrative state, stack courts with loyalists, and privatize public institutions, they aren’t doing it to serve working people. They are doing it to cement an elite-controlled government that serves billionaires, not citizens and residents of the U.S.

This is why authoritarianism isn’t a simple left vs. right issue. It’s a ruling class vs. the people issue.

The mistake we must avoid is treating this struggle as just another partisan battle. That plays right into their hands. Authoritarians thrive on division. If we allow our resistance to be framed as a Democratic project, we alienate millions of people who oppose authoritarian rule but don’t trust the Democratic Party. And let’s be honest—the Democratic Party’s historic failures to stand up for working people, its ties to corporate donors, and its lackluster defense of democracy haven’t exactly inspired confidence.

We have to build a movement that is independent of party politics. A movement that speaks to people’s lived experiences, not just their political beliefs. And that means organizing around shared values, not party lines.

The Problem With a Purely Partisan Resistance

1. It leaves millions of potential allies behind. Not everyone who opposes authoritarianism identifies as progressive or leftist. Many conservatives, independents, and libertarians value democracy, civil liberties, and local self-governance. A partisan approach alienates people who should be standing with us.

2. It allows authoritarians to manipulate divisions. Trump and Musk frame democracy as a leftist project to keep their base in line. By allowing this narrative to dominate, we make it easier for them to mobilize their supporters against democracy itself.

3. It ignores the role of corporate elites in driving authoritarianism. Neoliberalism has concentrated wealth and power in the hands of an unaccountable elite, creating the conditions for authoritarian rule. The fight against authoritarianism is also a fight against corporate control over public life.

How We Fight Back: A Nonpartisan, People-Powered Resistance

1. Build Coalitions Based on Shared Democratic Values, Not Ideology

This movement isn’t about being progressive or conservative—it’s about protecting the democratic potential of the U.S, individual freedoms, and community control over public life. We need to unite people around fundamental democratic principles like free and fair elections, the right to dissent, and the idea that government should serve the people, not corporate oligarchs.

Ask people: Do you believe in freedom? Do you think billionaires should run the government? Should workers have rights, remembering that whatever employment we have, our employers aren’t just buying our labor with our wages, they are buying our free time, our freedom? Should the law apply equally to everyone? These are the questions that build broad-based solidarity.

2. Connect the Fight Against Authoritarianism to Economic Justice

People experiencing economic hardship are more susceptible to authoritarian strongmen who promise order and stability. If we fail to address economic injustice, we leave millions of working-class people without a reason to resist authoritarianism.

We must expose how Musk, Trump, and the billionaire class use authoritarian tactics to suppress labor, privatize public resources, and control information. A movement that fights authoritarianism without fighting economic exploitation is doomed to fail.

3. Take Back the Meaning of Freedom

Authoritarians manipulate the language of “freedom” to justify authoritarian rule. They claim that “freedom” means deregulating corporations, gutting public institutions, and silencing opposition. We must redefine freedom as something that belongs to the people—not the state, not corporations, and not billionaires.

💡 True freedom means:

• The freedom to vote without intimidation.

• The freedom to earn a living wage without corporate exploitation.

• The freedom to make personal decisions about your body and future.

• The freedom to organize, protest, and speak truth to power without fear of violence or repression.

• The freedom to balance work with time with our families, friends, communities, and ourselves and our free thoughts, musings, and imaginings.

4. Prepare for Mass Direct Action & Economic Disruption

Authoritarianism will not be stopped through elections alone. We must be ready to disrupt the economic and political systems that sustain it. That means:

• Organizing general strikes to shut down the economy if an authoritarian government tries to consolidate power.

• Creating sanctuary states and cities that refuse to comply with anti-democratic laws.

• Mass mobilization in workplaces, schools, and communities to resist authoritarian policies before they take root.

Learn from global movements—from the labor strikes that helped defeat Pinochet in Chile, to the protests that toppled authoritarian regimes in Eastern Europe. We must build the capacity for large-scale, coordinated resistance.

The Takeaway: We Must Build the Future We Want, Not Just Fight Against the Present We Fear

The fight against authoritarianism cannot just be about stopping Trump or Musk. It has to be about creating a world where democracy is real—where ordinary people have power, where corporations don’t rule, and where freedom isn’t just a slogan used to justify oppression. This is not an argument we can only make through discourse. We must tap our deepest desires, embrace our sensual selves, and inform our dreaming selves while building bridges between that which we dream of and direct political engagement.

We must make democracy tangible in people’s everyday lives. That means investing in community-based governance, economic democracy, and local resilience networks that prove another way is possible. If we don’t offer people a vision of the world we’re fighting for, they will settle for the world that’s being imposed on them.

The resistance must be nonpartisan, broad-based, economically grounded, and people-powered. If we succeed in making it so, we can win.