in conversation with political satirist CJ Hopkins

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: https://consentfactory.org

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