American Volk

Fascists exalt a subset of the nation's population. "Volk" is a good jargon for that subset. They're the "us" set in opposition to the "them" of both the external and internal enemy.

America has long had a Volk. Unlike nations like Germany and Italy, Americans define the Volk less by ethnicity and language and even history than by... what?

I'm not a huge fan of necessary-and-sufficient conditions that give sharp edges to categories. I prefer Wittgenstein's family resemblance theory of meaning: "things [like the concept of "game"] which could be thought to be connected by one essential common feature may in fact be connected by a series of overlapping similarities, where no one feature is common to all of the things." (In "Ur-Fascism ", Eco uses this idea: there's no essence of Ur-Fascism, just a variety of indicators, each of which makes you more likely to say, "Yup. Fascism.")

So what can we say of the American Volk, the "real Americans" Republican politicians like to talk about?

This list is not in order of importance.

* More likely rural or suburban than urban. (The bigger the city, the less Völkisch the inhabitants.)

* White (I really thought that upper-caste Indians had made the transition to White, but now I don't think so. They seem to be increasingly the target of resentment.)

* Christian, especially evangelical Protestant. But Catholics count. You don't have to actually attend church or be particularly devout, so long as you say the right words.

* Male more than female. Female married to a male: more likely. Single female with a kid: less likely.

* Better to live in "flyover country" than near the east or west coasts. (Coasts adjoining Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico are OK.)

* Married is better than single. Married life is more stable.

* College education makes you less Völkisch, postgraduate education even less so. STEM degrees and Law are more OK. The "Science" part of STEM is falling out of favor. The "Medicine" part is hanging on when it comes to primary-care physicians or nurses, *not* when it comes to researchers, public health officials, etc.

* Farmer or factory worker is best. Being in the professional-managerial (white collar) class is bad. Homeless is bad. Artist in the big city is bad.

* If male, it's a big plus to be "toolsy," to be able to fix cars, doors, dishwashers, etc.

* Gun owner. (Note Kamala Harris tried to present as more Völkisch by advertising that she owned a gun.) A hunter is the best kind of gun owner.

* A native English speaker. You get demerits if you have a foreign accent, even if it's an accent from an English-speaking culture (Brits, Irish, South Africans – though there are status differences among the accents).

* Not a snob about food. Fast food fine. Hamburgers fine. You use the right kind of condiments .

* Trucks are better than cars. Bicycles are OK for fun, not for transportation.