If both the new far-right and the liberal centre crave symbols untouched by history, then an eye for the absurd is crucial in moments such as this. Faced with a vision of America invading itself, the time is ripe to consider the breakdown of an empire which has thwarted popular struggles for decades. Only alternatives to this state of decrepitude can ward off even crueller self-parodies.

The “utopian” demands that we democratize our economy and do what we must to avert ecological collapse—by euthanizing our fossil fuel industries, investing in a green energy transition, and rehauling our foreign policy—are the only kind that could potentiate the mass movement necessary to gain ground in the electoral arena.