Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor have released a new book, “End Times Fascism and the Fight for the Living World,” in which they explore the intersection of far-right politics and global existential crises. The authors argue that a coalition of religious fundamentalists, ethnonationalists, and technology billionaires is accelerating the destruction of the environment and social order, driven by a belief that they will prosper amid widespread collapse.

Klein, known for her previous works including “The Shock Doctrine” and “Doppelganger,” defines “end-times fascism” as a modern form of fascism intimately linked to planetary-scale emergencies such as climate change. Unlike the fascism of the early 20th century, this contemporary iteration embraces inevitable catastrophe and focuses on who will survive it. She pointed to figures like Elon Musk and institutions such as SpaceX as emblematic of this mindset—a vision that accepts environmental devastation as a given and prepares to escape it rather than prevent it.

Astra Taylor, an author, documentarian, and co-founder of the Debt Collective, supplements Klein’s analysis by identifying three main groups that compose this end-times alliance. The first group consists of religious end-timers, particularly evangelical Christian Zionists in the United States and supporters of similar movements in Israel, who anticipate and seek to hasten a cataclysmic event tied to their religious beliefs. The second group includes tech oligarchs who are focused on virtual realities and artificial intelligence, willing to permit environmental collapse as long as they can transition to a digital future. The third is ethnonationalists, who perceive immigration and cultural shifts as existential threats to the nation and advocate for defensive, exclusionary policies.

Taylor acknowledges that while these groups have divergent and sometimes contradictory objectives, they have formed a pragmatic, if uneasy, alliance rooted in a shared response to what they see as an increasingly dangerous and unstable world. This coalition is not yet a dominant political force on its own, but its presence among influential leaders and organizations is significant.

Klein points to the Trump administration as a concrete example of this alliance in action. She describes the administration as a “Frankenstein-like coalition” that brought together religious fundamentalists, nationalist movements, and technology-backed interests, reflecting the diverse but interconnected political forces outlined in the book.

Despite the stark warnings, both Klein and Taylor maintain a measure of hope, emphasizing that the current trajectory is not inevitable. Their work aims to expose these dangerous alliances and encourage resistance to policies and ideologies that embrace societal and environmental collapse.