«The New Normal Reich»

CJ Hopkins is an award-winning playwright and novelist who has
lived in Berlin for more than 20 years. He is also a political
satirist and is married to a Jewish woman. His 2022 bestseller The
New Normal Reich describes a new form of global totalitarianism
emerging in the 21^(st) century. Early on, Hopkins described
authoritarian Covid politics as part of the so-called ‘New Normal
Reich’. However, his book, featuring a face mask bearing a
transparent swastika on the cover, has effectively been banned in
Germany. The Berlin state prosecutor accused Hopkins of
disseminating symbols of unconstitutional/National Socialist
organisations due to Twitter posts featuring the book cover.
Following an acquittal, the state prosecutor’s office appealed and
won the case in September 2024. Hopkins then lodged an appeal, and
the case is still pending. Judge Clivia von Drewitz, who wrote a
doctoral thesis on the Nazi ban on symbols, commented on the legal
matter as follows: «According to the ban on symbols (Section 86(1)
No. 4, 86a(1) No. 1 StGB), only individuals who disseminate or
publicly use Nazi symbols ‘which, according to their content, are
intended to continue the efforts of a former National Socialist
organisation’ can be prosecuted.» Recently, three armed police
officers arrived at Hopkins’ door with a search warrant. They
searched his home, interrogated him and his wife, and confiscated
his computer. The reason for this intrusion is, as absurd as it may
sound, the selling and distribution of his best-selling book.
According to Hopkins, «The German authorities are instrumentalising
and perverting the law.» Lena Böllinger, a journalist covering the
Hopkins case and others like it, states: «Recently, however, these
anti-Nazi laws seem to have become a tool for repressing unwelcome
voices.’ They affect people who are clearly not Nazis but who
merely offer critical, polemical or satirical commentary on current
events.» I talked to Hopkins about what happened on 26 November
2025, and, most importantly, we discussed his definition of the
‘New Normal Reich’ and the global capitalist system. Rather than
judging the book by its cover, as the state prosecutors seem to do,
I wanted to know how Hopkins describes the rise of a new form of
totalitarianism that is all-encompassing and therefore hard to
grasp. Globocap (the global capitalist system), as Hopkins
sometimes calls it, does not need an ideology because it can
present itself as an unshakable reality. Critics of the system are
not just people with a different point of view; they are accused of
denying reality, being conspiracy theorists or antisemites. In his
analysis, Hopkins does not focus on figures and concrete
institutions, even though he knows they are significant. As a
playwright, he considers the roles that people play within the
system. He also acknowledges that individuals in powerful positions
will easily be replaced by new figures who are ready to fulfil the
roles required by ‘Globocap’. His analyses do not offer solutions
or recommendations; they attempt to describe the dynamics of
society as he perceives them. By offering his perspective, he
enables his audience to decide how they wish to deal with the rise
of a new form of totalitarianism. Article and Video:
https://www.barucker.press/p/the-new-normal-reich-cj-hopkins Find
CJ on Substack: https://cjhopkins.substack.com CJ`s Blog:
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