Oppression Creep: Authoritarian Regimes Rely on Voluntary Complicity
In early February twenty state attorneys general signed a letter warning pharmacy giant Walgreens that it should reconsider dispensing Mifespristone, the so-called “abortion pill,” in its locations in their states. While the drug is legal in several of these states, Walgreens acquiesced and pledged to comply.
The disappointing development came after the Biden Administration attempted in January to respond to the overturning of Roe V. Wade and subsequent rollbacks of abortion rights in Republican controlled states by greenlighting commercial chains carrying the pill and represents a veritable checkmate in the ongoing struggle to ensure bodily autonomy for women.
What’s most frustrating here is that Walgreens was under absolutely no obligation to choose this path. There will undoubtedly be legal challenges in the near future, and anti-abortion activists have mobilized protests and pressure campaigns against the company, but this capitulation was so quick, and so obviously fueled by a cost-benefit analysis vs. concern for women and their rights, that it represents an alarming development.
The worrisome aspect of profit-motivated corporations working hand-in-hand with these regimes is a topic we have discussed and will continue to discuss as conditions continue, but it is worth a quick note that our current economic landscape - that of corporate monopolies freed and fed by radical deregulation and redistribution of wealth from the working and middle classes - is absolutely primed for nearly corner of our world to be defined by businesses like Walgreens rolling over at the slightest perception of pressure. That is a recipe for absolute disaster.
But what we must talk about is the developing story of our time.
Simply put, the authoritarian agenda being spearheaded by the Republican Party is not only working, but is gaining momentum as companies, institutions, and individuals surrender with hardly a fight. Whether it’s the attack on bodily autonomy or the all-out war on public education, strongmen like Ron DeSantis, backed by funding and concentrated campaigns fueled by billionaires hellbent on destroying democracy, the leveraging of the power of the state now feels nearly insurmountable, leaving everyone to make a decision: go along to protect yourself or risk suffering terrible consequences.
Unsurprisingly, this has always been the case when it comes to constructing these regimes as the Right relies on a predictable pattern when it comes to remaking society according to its whims.