The Godless/Lawless Rule

Even the world knows, the end is near. And, Israel is the time clock to eternity. Shalom.

End Times Fascism: A Review of Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor’s Warning

The video above presents an unsettling argument developed by writers Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor: that some strands of modern politics, technology, nationalism, and religious apocalyptic thinking are beginning to converge around a worldview they call “end times fascism.” Their forthcoming book, End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World, develops this argument more fully and is scheduled for publication on September 15, 2026, by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Because the book has not yet reached its official publication date, this is a pre-publication review based on the authors’ extensive Guardian essay, their public interviews, publisher information, and professional advance reviews.

What Do Klein and Taylor Mean by “End Times Fascism”?

Klein and Taylor are not arguing simply that society is approaching biblical “end times.” Their argument is political.

They identify what they believe are three increasingly interconnected currents: religious apocalypticism, technological survivalism among wealthy elites, and ethno-nationalist politics. In their analysis, these groups differ greatly in theology and motivation, but sometimes share the assumption that severe social, environmental, technological, or political disruption is inevitable—and that survival will depend upon protecting a favored group rather than preserving a common future for everyone.

Their April 2025 Guardian essay introduced the idea through examples including private “freedom cities,” billionaire interest in bunkers and technological escape routes, environmental instability, artificial intelligence, immigration politics, nationalism, and religious interpretations of catastrophe. The authors argue that these trends represent something more serious than traditional disaster capitalism because some powerful actors are no longer merely attempting to profit from crises; they may also be planning for a world in which catastrophe is accepted as unavoidable.

That thesis is also the subject of the video accompanying this post.

The Strongest Part of the Argument

The most valuable part of Klein and Taylor’s work is their attempt to connect developments that are normally discussed separately.

Technology is usually examined as a business issue. Christian nationalism is usually discussed as a religious and political issue. Climate policy, immigration, artificial intelligence, wealth inequality, privatization, and authoritarianism are often treated as unrelated subjects.

Klein and Taylor ask readers to consider whether some of these movements are beginning to reinforce one another.

Professional advance reviewers have found that argument noteworthy. Kirkus Reviews awarded the book a starred review and described it as an original analysis connecting apocalyptic thinking across technology, politics, and religion. The review says the authors examine religious extremism, technology billionaires, ethno-nationalism, artificial intelligence, environmental pressures, and the concentration of economic power as parts of a larger political phenomenon.

That does not prove every connection the authors make, but it makes the thesis worthy of serious examination.

Where Readers Should Be Cautious

The term “fascism” carries enormous historical weight.

Classical fascist movements involved authoritarian leadership, suppression of political opposition, intense nationalism, militarism, political violence, and efforts to subordinate individuals and institutions to the state or national movement. Applying the word to contemporary movements therefore requires careful historical analysis rather than using it merely as a synonym for political ideas one strongly dislikes.

This is an important limitation to keep in mind when approaching Klein and Taylor’s argument.

Christian nationalists, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, libertarians, populists, conservative voters, survivalists, and traditional religious believers are not a single ideological group. Their objectives can conflict sharply. Showing that some individuals within these movements share apocalyptic language or survivalist assumptions does not automatically establish that every person associated with those movements belongs to one unified fascist ideology.

The book appears strongest when it documents specific connections, statements, policies, financial relationships, and organizations. Its argument becomes weaker whenever broad categories of people risk being treated as though they all believe the same thing.

That distinction is especially important for anyone examining this subject from a biblical perspective.

The Religious Question Deserves Special Attention

For readers of this site, perhaps the most significant element is the authors’ discussion of religion.

Klein and Taylor argue that some political movements are influenced by forms of Christian apocalyptic expectation in which catastrophe is interpreted positively because it is believed to precede divine intervention. Their publisher specifically describes the book as examining an alliance involving Christian nationalists, technological reactionaries, and populist survivalists.

That claim should not be confused with saying that belief in biblical prophecy itself is fascistic.

Scripture contains extensive teachings concerning judgment, lawlessness, deception, war, persecution, the Day of YHWH, and the coming Kingdom. A person can believe those passages without advocating authoritarian government, racial supremacy, political violence, environmental destruction, or human suffering.

The real theological question is therefore not whether someone believes that judgment or difficult times may come.

It is how that belief changes the way the person treats other human beings.

Biblical prophecy repeatedly accompanies calls for repentance, justice, faithfulness, mercy, obedience, and care for the vulnerable. A theology that causes people to celebrate suffering, pursue domination, or become indifferent to human life deserves serious examination regardless of the political label attached to it.

The Video Is a Good Introduction to the Book

The Guardian video works well with this subject because it allows Klein and Taylor to explain their terminology rather than relying entirely upon political summaries written by others. A PBS interview with the authors likewise records them defining “end times fascism” as a form of politics that lacks a constructive vision of a shared future and instead organizes itself around survival, exclusion, and catastrophe.

Their forthcoming book takes that argument much further. According to Farrar, Straus and Giroux, the U.S. edition is approximately 384 pages and examines the intersection of apocalyptic religious thought, Silicon Valley ideology, nationalism, artificial intelligence, climate pressures, and political power.

Whether readers ultimately accept the term “end times fascism” or reject it, the questions raised by Klein and Taylor should not be dismissed merely because they are politically uncomfortable.

Final Assessment

End Times Fascism appears to be most useful not as a prophecy book, but as an investigation into what happens when powerful people begin constructing political systems around the assumption that there may no longer be a future worth sharing equally with everyone else.

That is a disturbing idea, and one that deserves investigation.

Klein and Taylor clearly write from the political left, and readers should understand that perspective before treating their terminology as neutral historical classification. Their use of the word fascism should therefore be tested carefully against the evidence they present rather than simply accepted because of the authority of the authors.

At the same time, dismissing their argument solely because of their politics would be equally unwise. The documented relationships among enormous concentrations of wealth, emerging technology, nationalism, political power, catastrophe planning, and some forms of religious apocalypticism raise legitimate questions.

For students of Scripture, perhaps the most important question raised by the video and the book is simpler than partisan politics:

When people believe the world is approaching judgment or catastrophe, does that belief produce repentance, righteousness, compassion, and faithfulness—or domination, indifference, hatred, and a desire to preserve only themselves?

That is a question worth examining regardless of political affiliation.

Sources and Further Reading

Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor, “The Rise of End Times Fascism,” The Guardian, April 13, 2025. This is the major essay behind the argument presented in the video and forthcoming book. Read the Guardian essay

Farrar, Straus and Giroux / Macmillan — End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World. Official publisher information, publication date, description, and bibliographic information. Macmillan book page

Naomi Klein — Official End Times Fascism page. Klein’s description of the book, its argument, publication information, and research project with Astra Taylor. Naomi Klein’s book page

Kirkus Reviews — End Times Fascism. Professional advance review discussing both the originality of the authors’ thesis and the political program they propose in response. Read the Kirkus review

PBS, Laura Flanders & Friends — “Naomi Klein & Astra Taylor: Is This End Times Fascism?” Extended interview in which the authors explain what they mean by the term and how their argument differs from older models of fascism. Watch the PBS discussion

---