MAGA Perspectives: Deleuze

AI discussions

Analyze the emergence and evolution of MAGA from a Deleuze perspective.

Answer:

Analyzing the emergence and evolution of MAGA (Make America Great Again) from the perspective of Gilles Deleuze involves looking at it through concepts like assemblages, deterritorialization, reterritorialization, and the rhizome. Here's how we can approach this:

Assemblages

• MAGA as an Assemblage: Deleuze and Guattari's concept of an assemblage refers to a multiplicity that brings together heterogeneous elements in such a way that they form a consistent whole. MAGA can be seen as an assemblage of various political, cultural, economic, and social elements. It includes symbols (the red cap), slogans, personalities (Donald Trump), ideologies (nationalism, populism), and media (social media platforms, Fox News). This assemblage doesn't have a fixed identity but is a dynamic, ever-changing entity where each component interacts with and modifies the others.

• Components and Relations: Within the MAGA assemblage, you have elements like:

  • Territorialization: MAGA territorializes around nostalgia for a past "greatness," creating a bounded identity or community around conservative values, white identity politics, and economic protectionism.

  • Deterritorialization: Simultaneously, MAGA deterritorializes traditional Republican politics by disrupting the GOP's established norms, embracing populism, and challenging political correctness.

Rhizomatic Nature

• Non-hierarchical Spread: Deleuze and Guattari describe the rhizome as a non-hierarchical, non-linear network where any point can connect to any other point. MAGA's spread through social media, grassroots movements, and local political actions exemplifies this rhizomatic growth. It's not confined to one leader or structure but proliferates through memes, local activism, and decentralized support groups.

• Lines of Flight: The movement has taken on numerous "lines of flight" or directions of escape from established political discourse, often leading to unpredictable political actions or shifts in focus (e.g., from tax policy to election fraud claims).

Becoming and Difference

• Becoming: From a Deleuzian perspective, MAGA can be seen in terms of "becoming" rather than "being." It's not a static political movement but one that's constantly becoming something else, adapting to political climates, legal challenges, and cultural shifts. This becoming involves both the movement and its participants, who are transformed by their involvement in the assemblage.

• Celebration of Difference: Although MAGA often appears to be about homogenization (e.g., around a mythical American past), from Deleuze's viewpoint, it also celebrates difference by breaking with political norms, embracing a mix of conspiracy theories, and redefining what it means to be conservative in the 21st century.

Control and Simulation

• Deleuze’s Control Society: Deleuze's idea of control societies, where mechanisms of control become more pervasive and less visible, can be applied to how MAGA uses media and information to control narratives, shape public opinion, and manage dissent. The use of social media for political mobilization and the propagation of alternative facts or realities aligns with the notion of control through simulation.

• Hyperreality: The MAGA phenomenon can also be viewed through the lens of hyperreality, where the image of "America" and "greatness" becomes more real than the actual socio-economic conditions. The nostalgia for a past that might not have existed in the way it's imagined is a form of hyperrealism.

Political Implications

• Reconfiguration of Political Space: MAGA has reconfigured political space by deterritorializing the traditional left-right spectrum, introducing new political fault lines around identity, culture, and nationalism.

• Ethics of Multiplicity: Deleuze’s ethics of multiplicity and becoming suggest that instead of seeking to define MAGA in fixed terms, we should acknowledge its fluidity and capacity for change, which might offer insights into how to engage with or counter its influence.

In summary, from a Deleuzian perspective, the emergence and evolution of MAGA can be seen as an ongoing process of assemblage creation, deterritorialization, and becoming. It reflects a political movement characterized by its adaptability, its use of media and symbolism, and its challenge to traditional political structures, embodying both the chaos and creativity of political life.

---

Schizo-Dialectic[s]

---

Deleuze - Ideas and The Synthesis of Difference - Epoché Magazine