Thinking about…

Trumpomuskovia is a word I introduced in an essay about some historical moments that might help us to understand the coming reality. Some of you asked why. Here are five reasons.

1. Novelty. We need a new name for the coming regime because we need to recognize the novelty of the situation — legally, structurally, and morally.
2. Personalism. Part of the novelty is the prominence of the two personalities. This is why the regime should bear the personal names “Musk” and “Trump.”
3. Russia Why the “Muskovia” part of “Trumpomuskovia”? It is Musk’s name, of course. But it is also a name for Russia, and this is an association we need
4. Oligarchy. The stronger connection to Russia, though, is a resemblance to the 1990s, which also suggests the name Trumpomuskovia.
5. Instability. The word “Trumpomuskovia,” with its length and awkward accents (like “Czechoslovakia”) is meant to suggest the inherent weakness of the new regime. New things are unstable. Personal politics are unstable. The Russia of the 1990s was unstable. Oligarchies in general are unstable.