The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot

The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot is a 2007 non-fiction book by Naomi Wolf, published by Chelsea Green Publishing of White River Junction, Vermont. Wolf argues that events of the early 2000s paralleled steps taken in the early years of the twentieth century's worst dictatorships and called Americans to take action to restore their constitutional values before they suffer the same fate.[1] The book illustrates what Wolf depicts as ten steps in the transition of open societies into closed regimes.[2]

This article is about the book. For the film, see The End of America (film).
The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot
AuthorNaomi Wolf
LanguageEnglish
Publication date
September 2007
Media typePrint
Pagespp. 192
ISBN978-1-933392-79-0

The ten steps

Wolf outlines ten steps that "closing societies" — such as Hitler's Germany, Mussolini's Italy, and Stalin's Russia — have historically followed. These steps, Wolf claims, are being observed in America now.

The steps are:

  1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy.
  2. Create secret prisons where torture takes place.
  3. Develop a thug caste or paramilitary force not answerable to citizens.
  4. Set up an internal surveillance system.
  5. Infiltrate and harass citizens' groups.
  6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release.
  7. Target key individuals.
  8. Control the press.
  9. Cast criticism as espionage and dissent as treason.
  10. Subvert the rule of law.[3]

Documentary

IndiePix Films produced a documentary of the same name based on the book. The film was released on DVD and online in October 2008.[4]

See also

References
  1. Fascist America in Ten Steps.
  2. ""The End of America": Feminist Social Critic Naomi Wolf Warns US in Slow Descent into Fascism". Democracy Now!. November 28, 2007.
  3. Wolf, Naomi (May 3, 2007). "Fascist America, in 10 Easy Steps". Scoop.
  4. Holden, Stephen (December 3, 2008). "When Laws and Liberties Test Each Other's Limits". The New York Times.
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