Two Authors Warn: Some Powerful People Want the World to End

Two well-known authors are sounding an alarm about some of the most powerful people on Earth. Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor have written a new book called 'End Times Fascism and the Fight for the Living World.' In it, they argue that certain tech billionaires, religious groups, and far-right political leaders are not trying to fix the world's problems — they are making things worse on purpose. The book was discussed in a video interview with The New York Times, where the authors explained their ideas and warned readers to pay close attention.

Klein has been a well-known writer on the left for many years, and Taylor is an activist who helped start a group that fights for people who owe money. Together, they teamed up to explain what they see as a dangerous new form of fascism. Fascism is a word that describes governments or leaders who use fear and force to control people and take away their rights. The authors say this new version is especially dangerous because it accepts that the world may be destroyed.

The authors call this new threat 'end times fascism.' They say it is different from fascism in the past because today's world faces much bigger dangers, like climate change and powerful weapons. Old-time fascists like Hitler and Mussolini never had to worry about global warming or nuclear bombs. But today's leaders, according to Klein and Taylor, have decided the world is already doomed — and instead of fixing it, they are fighting over who gets to survive.

Klein and Taylor say three main groups make up this dangerous alliance. The first group is made up of religious people who believe the end of the world is coming soon and that their faith will save them. The second group is tech billionaires who think the future lies in space or artificial intelligence rather than on Earth. The third group is ethnonationalists, who believe their country is under attack from immigrants and want to shut out anyone they see as different.

One of the biggest examples the authors point to is Elon Musk. They say his focus on rockets and leaving Earth sends a troubling message — that this planet is not worth saving. Klein also says Musk has built massive data centers that use huge amounts of energy and create pollution but provide very few jobs. She argues that his support for cutting food and medical help to people in poor countries shows he does not value all human lives equally.

The authors say these very different groups have come together under leaders like Donald Trump. They point to Trump's second inauguration, where some of the world's richest people stood side by side in support. Klein says that just a few years ago, many of these same billionaires were criticizing Trump and launching projects to help the planet. She believes their change of heart is connected to artificial intelligence and the enormous amounts of energy it needs to run.

Even so, the authors are not without hope. They point to movements like the Green New Deal and newer political candidates who are winning local elections. They also highlight everyday people showing up to town hall meetings to fight against polluting data centers in their neighborhoods. Klein and Taylor believe that building a fair democracy is harder than building authoritarianism, but that it is still possible if people organize and fight back.

When asked what gives them hope, both authors got personal. Taylor said she finds joy in city life and in meeting people from all walks of life, saying there is real pleasure in not knowing where the day might take you. Klein said she lives near wild coastlines in British Columbia, Canada, where she has seen orca whales and water that glows with natural light at night. She said it fills her with sadness that the people with the most power on Earth are not moved by the beauty that already surrounds them.