Fascism or Genocide:How a Decade of Political Disorder Broke American Politics

A deeply reported look at how polarization and compounding crises, including the war in Gaza and threats to democracy, are reshaping the American political system

Fascism or Genocide is New York Times Magazine writer Ross Barkan’s sweeping report on the 2024 US election and the decade of political upheaval that led up to it. From the primary season that set up Biden and Trump to face off for the second time to the dramatic realization that Biden’s seeming senility had deeply wounded his campaign, Barkan tells a riveting story of epochal political disenchantment and chaos.

The specter of two elderly men waging a retread campaign has alienated large swaths of the electorate. During the Democratic primary season more than half a million Americans across the country cast votes for “Uncommitted” ballot options to send Biden a message about the urgent need to end the killing in Gaza, with some young voters tagging him “Genocide Joe.” These voters contrast with the sentiments of mainstream liberals, who believe Trump poses an existential threat to democracy and that Biden must be saved despite his weakened condition.

And yet millions of democratic voters are threatening to stay home and sit the election out. As the director of an influential Palestinian advocacy group told Barkan, “It’s a choice between genocide or fascism.”