Locked Up, Stalinist Model, and Trump TV

I. Locked Up
"For a long time, the consensus blamed three strikes, mandatory minimum sentences, stop-and-frisk, and the rest of the oppressive apparatus of a panicked anti-crime policy." "There were too many prosecutors who had the astounding freedom to indict anyone more or less as they chose and who could so overcharge the indicted that plea bargains were forced upon good and bad alike, as confessions were forced by the Inquisition." "All but about five per cent of criminal cases are resolved by plea bargains, and never go to trial." [1]

"Plea bargaining -- which typically means forcing someone to accept a long sentence out of fear of an even longer one -- is unknown in other liberal democracies." "Ours remains a singularly punitive society, a society obsessed, right and left alike, with inflicting punishment on our preferred villains."

"The quality of mercy has never been more highly strained than it is in America today." "The evidence is overwhelming that, even with the most seemingly noxious criminals, age and time wear away danger; little violent crime is done by middle-aged people, and eliminating all hope of release is one of the crueler, if unfortunately not at all unusual, punishments we impose." "We have to want to humanize the treatment of those we think 'belong' in prison with the same energy with which we agitate for those we don't."

II. The Stalinist Model
"In 1985, almost two-fifths of the world's population lived in countries governed by communist parties." "After the Second World War, it was the Stalinized model of the party that served as the basis for what was called the monolithic socialism of Eastern Europe, the 'people's democracies' that led to the imposition of rigid one-party rule." [2]

"In the early years of the Cold War, the spread of the Stalinist model made it clear that other kinds of parties would not be permitted to emerge, imposing a leader homogeneity on what remained, nonetheless a living global movement." "The voluntarism that infused the Great Leap Forward --the idea that sheer evolutionary enthusiasm would be enough to overcome the structural weaknesses of China's economy and society -- contributed centrally to the chaotic failures and the ensuring famine, in which at least 30 million people died."

"By  the start of the new century, precious little was left of the communist party as an ideal, and the only party organizations left standing seemed to have committed themselves to entirely different principles."

III. "Trump TV"
"For both Trump and Fox, 'fear is a business strategy -- it keeps people watching.' " The White House and Fox interact so seamlessly that it can be hard to determine, during a particular news cycle, which one is following the other's lead." "As; Edward Luce of the 'Financial Times' has noted, 'both men have tapped into anti-elitist resentment to connect with the public and to increase their fortunes." "Blair Levin observes, "The genius was seeing that there's an attraction to fear-based, anger-based politics that has to do with class and race." [3]

"Telecommunications is a highly regulated industry, and under Trump the government has consistently furthered [Robert] Murdoch's business interests to the detriment of his rivals." "Yochai Bankler, a Harvard Law School professor who co-directs the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society says, 'Fox's most important role since the election has been to keep Trump supporters in line.' " "Judging from the timing of Trump's tweets. Gertz [Matt, a senior fellow at Media Matters] believes that the President records 'Fox and Friends' and views it from the beginning, often with a slight delay. As Trump watches, he frequently posts about points that he agrees with. Since August 2018, Media Matters has tallied more than two hundred instances of Trump disseminating Fox News items to his fifty-eight million Twitter followers."

Footnotes:
[1] Adam Gopnik, "Locked Up," The New Yorker, April 15, 2019.

[2] Tony Wood, "Organization Over Ideals," The Nation, March 25, 2019.

[2] Jane Mayer, "Trump TV," The New Yorker, March 11, 2019.