gilead might be closer than we think: the shift to authoritarianism
yes, this is real
"We lived in the blank white spaces at the edges of print. It gave us more freedom." – The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred
As 2025 unfolds, it’s hard not to feel like the world is rapidly slipping into chaos. News bombards us daily with absurdities, contradictions, and a growing sense that the world is spinning out of control. But what’s more disturbing isn’t just the deepening abyss we seem to be falling into; it’s the apparent indifference of those around us.
Let’s get real, though: what we’re experiencing isn’t a transition — it's the slow, painful construction of a dystopia. If you think I’m exaggerating, just take a moment to think about the following: Trump’s re-election, Elon Musk making speeches at his inauguration, and even making Nazi salutes (yes, that really happened), the oligarchy in the USA, a former lawyer for Mark Zuckerberg openly talking about the rise of neo-Nazism in politics, and, to top it off, Brazil’s far-right advancing rapidly, the rise of the right across Europe, hate speech becoming mainstream — is this fiction? No, it’s our reality.
And that’s where we need to pause and think: how does all of this impact us personally? How does this global political dynamic affect our daily lives? And, well... how does it mirror the world Margaret Atwood created in The Handmaid’s Tale?
The Handmaid’s Tale Isn’t Actually Fiction
At first glance, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood may seem like a dystopian fiction. The story follows Offred, a “handmaid” whose sole purpose is to bear children for powerful families.
The society in The Handmaid’s Tale (Gilead) didn’t fall into oppression overnight; it was a gradual shift, much like the subtle erosion of freedoms we see in the real world today. This isn’t just a tale of women’s oppression—it’s a commentary on power, fear, and how societies can become numb to injustice.
Let’s dive deeper into how this is realer than it looks and why the lessons from the book aren’t just fictional warnings, but urgent reminders of the dangers we face today.
The Conservative Movement and the Quiet Surge of Authoritarianism
First, let’s separate two important ideas: conservatism is not synonymous with authoritarianism. But, when you take a closer look, you’ll see how one feeds the other. Conservatism, at its core, seeks to preserve certain values, protect traditions, and ensure society doesn’t lose its foundation. So far, so good. Preserving values is important, right? But the problem begins when, in the name of "protecting" those values, it becomes necessary to dismantle everything that challenges the norm.
In The Handmaid’s Tale, Gilead (it's world) rises from a seemingly simple premise: "Protect morality and order." But the deeper message at play is this: authoritarianism doesn’t announce itself as a force to tear everything down — it arrives promising to restore what’s been lost. Sound familiar? This is exactly the rhetoric used by the global far-right today. The promise of a "restoration" of something that never truly existed or, if it did, was deeply exclusive.
This is the big trick. People don’t realize that the restoration of something "lost" is, in reality, a disguised regression. Take Brazil, for example, when we talk about "protecting the traditional family," what’s actually happening is the justification for the oppression of marginalized groups — women, LGBTQIA+, Black people, Indigenous people, and others. The far-right thrives on two things when it’s in crisis: fear and division. These are the same tools used to build Gilead, and they’re the same tactics we see being used globally.
"Better never means better for everyone... It always means worse, for some." – The Handmaid's Tale, The Commander
The Acceptance of the Unthinkable
Authoritarianism doesn’t arrive with a bloody revolution. It seeps in slowly, disguised as normalcy. This is the concept of "normalizing the absurd," where everything starts with small signs. And if you take a moment to reflect on what’s happening in the world today, you’ll realize we’re far from something small. Once again, Atwood is spot-on. Gilead wasn’t built in a day. It was constructed piece by piece, with society gradually buying into the idea that the “new order” was necessary to preserve stability and morality.
"Nothing changes instantaneously: in a gradually heating bathtub, you are boiled to death before you know it."
– The Handmaid's Tale, Offred
Can you see this happening today? The rhetoric that women should be objectified or that their bodily autonomy should be questioned in the name of “family values” is becoming more and more common. Even worse, many fall into the trap of thinking this is somehow for "the greater good." Just like in fiction, the absurd begins to be tolerated until it’s fully accepted as part of everyday life. It’s no longer just the alarmist talk of extremists — it’s rhetoric that pervades government, social media, and schools.
How do we know this is happening? When we hear people repeating extreme right-wing arguments as though they’re reading a textbook on manners, it’s clear that the absurd has been normalized. Trump, Musk, and others are merely the face of something much larger. They reflect a system already in motion, spreading its seeds into the minds of an increasingly alienated public.
The Double Standards of Morality
One of the most disturbing features of authoritarian regimes is how they use morality as a façade to legitimize inhumane practices. The Handmaid’s Tale doesn’t just critique gender oppression; it exposes how authoritarian regimes try to paint their oppression as an act of “protection.” The women in Gilead aren’t subordinated because men hate them; they’re supposedly "protected" from their own desires and freedoms.
This logic mirrors the behavior of far-right leaders today: they aren’t just imposing their views on others — they’re asserting that they’re acting to "save" those who oppose them. Morality, then, becomes the veil hiding the real game of power. When a government bans abortion or decides that women should have fewer rights than men, the justification is almost always the same: "We’re protecting society." This imposed morality is what sustains authoritarianism. And when you start looking at the facts, it’s clear that hypocrisy knows no bounds.
Chaos is Not Accidental, It's a Strategy
There’s no such thing as chaos without a plan. In Gilead, the transition to a totalitarian regime is carefully orchestrated — not all at once, but step by step. Each move is justified by the need to "restore order." The system begins to take shape in the midst of a crisis — political, economic, or social. And, as you’d expect, a successful crisis is one that confuses the population, turning simple, easy solutions into "normal" ideas. The result? People accept the loss of rights as something natural, as if it’s a fair price to pay for a false sense of security.
And this is exactly what’s happening today. Chaos isn’t natural — it’s manufactured. The hate speech, the social division, the political and economic crises we see in various countries aren’t just the consequences of poor decisions; they’re the direct reflection of an agenda designed to divide and conquer. If you think the rise of Trump, Musk, and others doesn’t have an impact, it’s time to rethink. They’re a reflection of something that’s been unfolding for years — a process that’s leading us straight into the abyss. Chaos is planned, and the only way to stop it is by recognizing its strategic value.
"A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze." – The Handmaid's Tale, Offred
The Power of Literature in Critical Consciousness
Literature has the power to shape, challenge, and, above all, teach. The Handmaid’s Tale isn’t just a work of fiction; it’s a wake-up call. By exposing us to the horrors of Gilead, Margaret Atwood isn’t just creating a fictional world — she’s showing us what could happen when we become complacent, when we accept tyranny as a necessary evil.
Reading The Handmaid’s Tale is an exercise in self-reflection, a way to reflect on the present and future we’re building. Literature is a form of resistance. By alerting us to what has happened before and what could happen again, it gives us the tools to act before it’s too late.
Ignorance and Comfort
So, what do we do with all of this? The answer isn’t found in the comfort of ignorance. It’s in questioning, reading, reflecting, and above all, acting. Chaos isn’t inevitable — complacency is. And while The Handmaid’s Tale may be a fictional story, it’s also a terrifying reflection of what we could become if we’re not careful.
It’s time to stop accepting the unacceptable and start resisting. Not with empty words, but with concrete actions. The first step? The simplest one: don’t be complicit. The future of Gilead is not inevitable — it depends on the choices we make today. So, it’s time to rethink everything we know and take control of our own history. Because if we don’t, the chaos we’re living in today could just be the beginning of a real nightmare.
"Ignoring isn’t the same as ignorance, you have to work at it." – The Handmaid’s Tale, Offrred
With love,
Núria.