In the heated run-up to the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Vice President Kamala Harris has increasingly focused her campaign rhetoric on portraying former President Donald Trump as an existential threat to American democracy. Her warnings, particularly regarding Trump's recent comments about eliminating the "enemy within," have struck a chord with many voters concerned about the potential for authoritarian overreach. However, this narrative, while addressing a genuine concern, risks oversimplifying the complex realities of the American political system and its relationship with capitalism.

Trump's portrayal of those who oppose him as enemies of the state aligns with a global trend of populist leaders leveraging such rhetoric to consolidate power. From Hungary’s Viktor Orbán to Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, populist leaders have employed similar narratives to justify authoritarian policies that weaken democratic institutions, muzzle the press, and erode civil liberties. Harris is positioning herself as a staunch defender of the rule of law and democratic norms in this broader context. She frames Trump’s potential resurgence as an existential threat to American democracy and underscores the importance of resisting the erosion of democratic principles that have, thus far, defined the U.S. political system.

Yet, while Harris is right to sound the alarm on the dangers of authoritarianism, her narrative risks oversimplifying the complex relationship between democracy, inequality, and power in the United States. By focusing solely on Trump’s authoritarian threat, Harris potentially reinforces a narrow conception of American democracy that ignores deeper, structural forces. Specifically, it neglects how the capitalist underpinnings of the U.S. political and economic system have long facilitated the marginalization and criminalization of vulnerable populations—particularly poor and working-class communities—through neoliberal policies that commodify punishment.

Trump's recent statement on Fox News that "the enemy from within... is more dangerous than China, Russia and all these countries" has sparked widespread alarm. Harris, seizing on these comments, has positioned herself as a defender of democratic norms against what she describes as Trump's "unstable and unhinged" pursuit of "unchecked power."

At a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, Harris played a recording of Trump's comments, telling the crowd, "A second Trump term would be a huge risk for America." This framing of the election as a battle for the soul of American democracy has become a central theme of Harris's campaign.

The vice president's focus on Trump's authoritarian tendencies is not without merit. Trump's presidency was marked by numerous challenges to democratic norms, from attempts to overturn the 2020 election results to his handling of the January 6th insurrection. His recent comments about the "enemy within" echo authoritarian rhetoric used by leaders who seek to consolidate power by demonizing opposition.

The real challenge to U.S. democracy lies not just in resisting populist leaders, but in addressing the structural inequalities that render large segments of the population politically and economically disposable.

Harris's running mate, Tim Walz, has gone even further, suggesting that Trump's musings about using the military against domestic foes was unAmerican, proclaiming at a recent rally “He crossed a line that, I have to tell you, in my lifetime, I would have never imagined because we know our history.” This escalation in rhetoric reflects the Democratic campaign's strategy to paint Trump not just as a political opponent, but as a fundamental threat to the American system of government.

However, while the threat posed by Trump's rhetoric is real and concerning, the narrative put forward by Harris risks reinforcing a simplistic view of American democracy that overlooks deeper, systemic issues. It also raises questions about the role of fear in political discourse and the potential consequences of portraying political opponents as existential threats.

While Trump’s rhetoric undeniably carries authoritarian overtones, the existence of an “enemy within” is not solely a product of populist demagoguery. It is, in fact, a feature that has long been ingrained in the U.S. capitalist system. Underlying the fabric of American democracy is a system that routinely designates certain populations as “disposable” for the sake of profit and control. These populations—often defined by race, class, and immigration status—are rendered politically and economically expendable, targeted by punitive systems that feed into the broader machinery of profit-driven incarceration and surveillance.

The prison-industrial complex in the U.S. is one of the clearest manifestations of how capitalism creates and profits off a constructed “enemy within.” The United States, with only 4% of the world’s population, houses nearly 20% of the world’s prison population. The private prison industry, coupled with the massive expansion of surveillance technologies and for-profit rehabilitation services, has transformed incarceration into a multi-billion-dollar industry. This system is deeply racialized and class-based: people of color and economically marginalized groups are disproportionately represented in the incarcerated population, while wealthier individuals are more likely to escape punitive measures altogether.

Kamala Harris, in her previous role as a prosecutor and later as California’s Attorney General, was often seen as part of this very system. Though she has since positioned herself as a reformer,........

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