Conspiracy theories hit differently depending on where you live in the world. The more outlandish ones; the moon landings were faked, we’re all being ruled by lizard people with orange fake tan; live in the West. In most of the Global South, conspiracy theories about government coups aren’t conspiracy theories, they’re just reality seen through a different lens. Ibram X Kendi’s Chain of Ideas feels a little reading about the Lizard People before you realise that, no, this IS how the far-right have come back with such a vengeance.
The ideas woven through this book aren’t necessarily new, linking the various far-right political parties from the UK, France, Hungary, and the US to explain how, using a lovely turn of phrase, they’ve “renovated Hitler’s house” to make autocratic ideas palatable again. The unifying idea behind the book is the Great Replacement Theory, that the dominant ethnic groups are being replaced through design by immigrants. It’s obviously insane, and easily dismantled by demographic census data but it’s a more popular belief than it’s absurdity suggests. A lot of the ideas being peddled by Fascism 2.0 are just repackaged anti-Semitic ideas stretching back over the last millennia, and this book captures that well.
It also neatly side-steps the more Gonzo side of “it’s all connected”. There are some obvious logistical and financial links between the various far-right parties, but a lot of their links are more memetic than obvious. The copying of an idea here, a visual there, links them more in spirit than in some shadowy cabal meeting in an underground bunker. It’s a common mistake to see there is some global puppeteers at work and it’s great to see this book avoid that by focusing on the linking themes.
Given the themes in the book and how they’re playing out on the global stage, this book could have been a harder read. It’s a credit to Kendi’s writing style (short chapter lengths help!) that this book is a lighter read than it might first appear. It makes it easier to see that although this house has had a fresh lick of white paint, its foundations are are dangerous as ever.
