Anatomy of Disintegration

A leading political philosopher dissects the global far right’s appeal through the lens of Bolsonarismo, tracing its roots to the social disintegration caused by the crisis of neoliberalism and looming climate change

For four years, Jair Bolsonaro led Brazil and the popular, far-right movement that bore his name. His rise, defeat, and the chaos he left in his wake reflect patterns that are playing out in several countries, from the US to Argentina to India. In Anatomy of Disintegration, Rodrigo Nunes uses Brazil as a point of departure to make sense of why the far right is on the rise all over the world, where its appeal comes from, and explain the dystopian horizon it is moving toward. 

Through sharp, original analyses of the social composition of its supporters, the material and affective conditions that underpin it, and the mainstream’s inability to respond to it, Rodrigo Nunes argues that the contemporary far right is better understood not as an effort to block but as an attempt to harness and accelerate forces of social disintegration set in motion by capital and intensified by the crisis of neoliberalism.