In the contemporary landscape of global politics, the intersection of elite criminality and public discourse has increasingly become a theatre of symbolic drama. The release of the "Epstein files"—a massive repository of documents detailing the associations and alleged crimes of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein—has served as a primary catalyst for this phenomenon. While the initial reaction to Epstein’s crimes was one of righteous indignation and a demand for justice for survivors, the subsequent media frenzy and political exploitation of the files have transformed the case into what scholars call a "politics of distraction." By focusing on the salacious details of individual moral failings within the ruling class, the broader structural mechanisms of power—capitalism, white supremacy, and imperial domination—remain obscured.

This article argues that the Epstein scandal functions as a "spectacle," as defined by Guy Debord and Walter Benjamin. In this context, the spectacle does not imply that the crimes are non-existent or "fake," but rather that the organisation of the narrative prioritises symbolic drama over structural analysis. As the second term of the Trump administration unfolds in 2026, the use of such spectacles has become a vital tool for consolidating power and redirecting the grievances of a disillusioned public. Instead of addressing the material realities of mass deportation, genocide in Gaza, or the kidnapping of foreign leaders, the spectacle of the "elite cabal" allows for an emotional release that reinforces the very systems it purports to expose. This deep-dive analysis explores how scandal individualises corruption to protect structural power, ultimately paving the way for a war-driven, fascist consolidation.

The Individualisation of Corruption and the Protection of Systems

When a scandal of the magnitude of the Epstein case breaks, the immediate impulse of the media and the public is to seek a list of names. This desire for individual accountability is understandable and necessary for the victims, yet it serves a secondary, more insidious function for the state: it individualises corruption. By framing the problem as a collection of "bad actors" or "degenerate elites," the narrative suggests that the system itself is inherently sound but has been temporarily hijacked by immoral individuals. This redirection is a classic mechanism of power maintenance. It prevents the public from asking how the structures of global finance, legal immunity, and political lobbying permitted such a network to flourish for decades in the first place.

Individualisation acts as a buffer against radical systemic change. If the problem is Jeffrey Epstein, the solution is his arrest and the exposure of his associates. However, if the problem is a capitalist framework that enables extreme wealth concentration and the subsequent commodification of human beings, the solution would require a fundamental redistribution of power and wealth. By focusing on the "monsters" in the room, the state avoids a critique of the "architecture" of the room. This process creates a psychological relief for the public; by identifying a target for their anger, the complexity of structural oppression is reduced to a simple moral binary. Consequently, the release of files becomes a symbolic ritual of "cleansing" that allows the broader imperial and corporate experiments to continue without interruption.

Walter Benjamin and the Aestheticisation of Politics

The philosopher Walter Benjamin, writing during the rise of European fascism in the 1930s, famously noted that fascism leads to an "aestheticisation of political life." For Benjamin, this meant that fascist movements provide the masses with a means of expression while maintaining the existing property relations. The Epstein scandal fits perfectly into this framework. It provides the public with a platform for outrage, a way to "express" their disgust with the ruling class, but it does absolutely nothing to alter the material conditions of their lives. The spectacle of the trial, the leaks, and the "flight logs" become the aesthetic content of politics, replacing actual policy debates or revolutionary organisation.

In 2026, we see this aestheticisation occurring through digital media. The "Epstein files" are consumed as a form of entertainment—a dark, true-crime thriller that happens to involve world leaders. This consumption transforms citizens into spectators. Instead of engaging in the anti-colonial or anti-capitalist struggles mentioned by Yoav Litvin, the public is mesmerised by the symbolic drama of the fallen financier. Benjamin warned that the logical result of this aestheticisation is war, as it is the only way to mobilise the masses on a grand scale without threatening the underlying structures of capitalist accumulation. The distraction offered by the Epstein scandal is, therefore, a necessary precursor to the "Grand Spectacle" of external conflict, as it exhausts the public’s capacity for grounded, materialist critique.

Guy Debord’s Society of the Spectacle in the Digital Age

Guy Debord’s 1967 work The Society of the Spectacle argued that in modern society, "all that once was directly lived has become mere representation." The Epstein case is a contemporary manifestation of this theory. The "files" represent a reality that the public cannot touch or change, yet they dominate the collective consciousness. The spectacle is not a collection of images, but a social relation among people, mediated by images. In the digital age, this mediation is intensified. Every tweet, YouTube deep-dive, and TikTok theory about Epstein reinforces the spectacle, drawing the individual deeper into a web of representation and further away from local community organising or class struggle.

The spectacle of Epstein is particularly effective because it uses the language of "exposure." It claims to reveal the truth, yet it does so in a way that reinforces the feeling of helplessness. When the public sees that the most powerful figures in the world were associated with Epstein and faced no immediate consequences, the result is not necessarily a call to arms, but a deep, cynical despair. Debord noted that the spectacle "aims at nothing other than itself." The goal of the Epstein files is not to end human trafficking or elite impunity; it is to keep the public engaged in the act of watching. As long as the public is busy decoding "secret symbols" or arguing over which politician was on the plane, they are not looking at the ICE raids happening in their own neighbourhoods or the corporate extraction of resources in the Global South.

Palingenic Ultranationalism and the Myth of National Decay

Roger Griffin’s concept of "palingenic ultranationalism"—the idea of national rebirth following a period of perceived decay—is central to understanding the current fascist trajectory. The Epstein scandal is used as the ultimate proof of "national decay." It is framed as the "moral rot" that has infected the heart of the empire. For authoritarian movements, this decay is a necessary narrative precondition for the rise of a "strongman" who promises to "clean the swamp" or "drain the filth." The scandal is not viewed through a lens of legal justice, but through a lens of mythic cleansing.

This narrative of rebirth requires a clear enemy: a degenerate, globalist ruling class that has betrayed the "real people." The Epstein files provide the names and faces for this enemy. However, the "cleansing" promised by palingenic ultranationalism never addresses the economic structures that created the decay in the first place. Instead, it targets specific groups—political rivals, marginalised communities, or "foreign handlers"—as the source of the infection. By framing the Epstein case as a symptom of a "liberal, globalist elite" rather than a byproduct of unregulated capitalist power, fascist forces can mobilise public anger to dismantle democratic institutions under the guise of "restoring order." The scandal thus becomes a redemptive story that justifies the suppression of dissent and the expansion of the police state.

Conspiracy Theories as Narrative Engines of Control

Conspiracy theories are often dismissed as the product of irrational minds, but they function as highly efficient narrative engines for the spectacle. They take the "structural violence" of the system—which is often boring, technical, and difficult to visualise—and transform it into an emotionally gripping story of secret cabals and ancient rituals. In the vacuum created by the collapse of trust in mainstream institutions, these theories offer a sense of "insider knowledge." The Epstein case, with its hidden island, private jets, and high-profile visitors, is the perfect soil for such narratives.

However, as Hannah Arendt noted in The Origins of Totalitarianism, conspiracy theories do not expose the system; they provide the "fictional world" necessary for totalitarian organisation. By centring the narrative on "hidden rulers" and "unmentionable acts," these stories displace material analysis. Instead of discussing the 2026 budget cuts to social services or the increase in military spending, the discourse shifts to "spirit cooking" or "Adrenochrome." This displacement is not accidental. It serves to alienate the public from the actual levers of power. If the enemy is a supernatural or ritualistic cabal, then standard political action (voting, striking, protesting) seems futile. This despair leads the public to seek a "strongman" who claims to have the secret knowledge and the "will to act" against these untouchable enemies. Conspiracy, therefore, is the bridge between social disillusionment and authoritarian mobilisation.

The Erosion of Democracy and the Rise of "Strongman" Logic

The Epstein scandal has accelerated the erosion of trust in the justice system and democratic institutions. When the public sees a convicted sex offender receive a "sweetheart deal" in 2008 and then "commit suicide" in federal custody in 2019, the message is clear: the system is rigged. This sentiment is the primary fuel for "strongman" logic. If the institutions of democracy—the courts, the media, the legislature—cannot or will not provide accountability, then the only alternative is a leader who stands "above" the law to deliver justice.

This is the central trap of the politics of distraction. The scandal makes the state appear so irredeemably corrupt that the public becomes willing to sacrifice their civil liberties for the promise of a "purge." We see this in 2026 with the rhetoric surrounding the "second term." The administration uses the Epstein files as a rhetorical cudgel against its enemies, promising that only through the expansion of executive power can the "deep state" associates of Epstein be brought to justice. In this logic, the dismantling of the post-war international order and the erosion of domestic checks and balances are framed as necessary sacrifices for a "higher" justice. The spectacle of the scandal thus provides the moral cover for the implementation of a fascist, expansionist regime that operates with even less accountability than the one it replaced.

The Racialised Dynamics of Modern Imperialism and Spectacle

While the media focuses on the "white-collar" criminality of the Epstein files, the material reality of 2026 is defined by a distinct, racialised form of state violence. Yoav Litvin points to ICE raids as "modern-day slave patrols" and the kidnapping of foreign leaders like Nicolas Maduro. These acts are the structural "muscle" of the empire, yet they are often relegated to the background of the news cycle, overshadowed by the latest Epstein leak. The spectacle serves to hide the fact that the "common enemy" faced by the Global South and BIPOC communities within the imperial core is the same entity that managed the Epstein files.

The racialised dynamics of the spectacle are two-fold. First, the conspiracy theories often rely on ancient anti-Semitic and racist tropes about "hidden masters," which serve to fracture the anti-colonial movement by redirecting anger toward "identity-based" enemies rather than the class structure. Second, the hyper-fixation on the "morality" of the elite allows the state to continue its "genocidal experiments" in places like Gaza under the guise of "national security." When politics is a moral drama, the lives of those in the Global South are treated as "collateral damage" in a larger, mythic battle for the "soul of the nation." The anti-colonial struggle requires a focus on land, resources, and sovereignty—concepts that are intentionally excluded from the Epstein spectacle.

The Expendability of Leaders within the Fascist Aesthetic

One of the most profound insights into the nature of fascist spectacle is that it does not require loyalty to a specific individual, but to the aesthetic the individual embodies. In the logic of palingenic ultranationalism, individual leaders are ultimately expendable tools of the "national will." This has significant implications for figures like Donald Trump in 2026. If the Epstein files were to definitively link him to irredeemable criminality, the fascist movement would not necessarily collapse. Instead, it would likely "purge" him to clear the way for a "purer" successor—a Vance, a Pence, or a Carlson—who could claim to be the "true" cleanser of the state.

This expendability is a feature, not a bug, of the spectacle. The "Strongman" is a vessel for the emotional grievances of the public. When the vessel becomes too encumbered by its own baggage, the spectacle demands a new "hero." This constant state of "cleansing" and "rebirth" keeps the public in a state of perpetual mobilisation. It prevents the stability necessary for a grounded, leftist critique of the regime. The focus on "who was on the plane" keeps the political discourse centred on personalities rather than platforms. Even if every name in the Epstein files were jailed tomorrow, the structures of imperial power and capitalist extraction would remain, likely managed by a new "pure" leadership that uses the "Epstein purge" as its founding myth of legitimacy.

War as the Ultimate Externalised Resolution of Crisis

As internal contradictions within the empire—economic inequality, social unrest, and institutional collapse—reach a breaking point, the spectacle of the scandal often fails to provide sufficient emotional release. When drama demands a resolution that the domestic political system cannot provide, the state inevitably turns to war. War is the "Grand Spectacle." It is the moment when the "collage" of fascist ideology, as Federico Caprotti describes it, finds its ultimate expression. It transforms internal disillusionment into collective national purpose.

In 2026, the rhetoric of "external enemies" (China, Russia, Iran) is used to consolidate a fragmented and outraged population. The anger that the public feels toward the "corrupt elites" of the Epstein files is redirected toward the "foreign handlers" or "external threats." War provides the "heroism and meaning" that the sterile, digital spectacle of the files cannot. It allows the ruling class to perform a "sacrifice" on the largest possible stage, using the bodies of the working class to defend the interests of the very corporations that benefited from the Epstein era. Benjamin’s warning remains salient: the aestheticisation of politics reaches its peak in the "beauty" of the battlefield. The distraction of the scandal is the psychological preparation for the violence of the war.

Decolonisation vs. Myth-Making: The Path to Radical Transformation

To break the cycle of the politics of distraction, a "steadfast structural framework" is required, as Litvin argues. This framework must prioritise decolonisation and the redistribution of wealth over the consumption of symbolic drama. Radical transformation begins with the refusal to be a spectator. It involves moving the focus away from the "names in the files" and toward the "mechanisms of the system." This means understanding that the Epstein scandal is a symptom of a global hierarchy that values property over people and profit over safety. The anti-colonial, revolutionary movement must resist the urge to engage in the conspiracy-driven narratives of the spectacle. Instead, it must build "counter-spectacles" of solidarity and material support.

This involves highlighting the connections between the "imperial core" and the "Global South"—showing how the same corporate interests that fueled Epstein’s wealth are also responsible for planetary destruction and genocidal violence. Liberation does not come from the "exposure" of a cabal by a "white knight"; it comes from the collective action of people dismantling the structures of their own oppression. The "Epstein disease" is capitalism’s inherent corruption, and the only cure is a fundamental shift in how power and resources are managed on a global scale.

The Psychology of Spectacle and the Suppression of Dissent

The psychology of the spectacle relies on a constant stream of "shocks" to keep the public in a state of reactive emotion. The intermittent release of Epstein documents functions like a

dopamine hit for the politically disillusioned. Each new "revelation" provides a temporary sense of progress, but it ultimately leads to a "suppression of thought." When the public is in a state of constant outrage, their ability to engage in long-term, strategic planning is diminished. This is why the state encourages certain types of "scandal-watching" while simultaneously cracking down on "radical resistance."

In 2026, we see the police state expanding its surveillance and suppression tactics against those who engage in materialist critiques of the regime. While the "conspiracy theorists" are often given platforms on mainstream and alternative media, the anti-war protesters, the union organisers, and the decolonial activists are met with "Project Esther"-style blueprints for crushing resistance. The spectacle serves as the "soft power" that distracts the masses, while the "hard power" of the police state is used against those who refuse to be distracted. By understanding the psychology of the spectacle, we can see that it is not just a diversion; it is a vital part of the state's security apparatus, designed to neutralise dissent by rendering it "spectacular" and thus harmless.

Beyond the Politics of Distraction

The Jeffrey Epstein files represent a genuine horror—a network of elite criminality that preyed on the vulnerable with impunity. However, the transformation of this horror into a "politics of distraction" is a secondary crime committed by the state and the media. In 2026, as the world stands at the precipice of expansionist fascism and planetary crisis, we cannot afford to be mere spectators to our own destruction. The spectacle of the "corrupt elite" is a mirror designed to prevent us from looking at the window—the window that shows the reality of genocide, deportation, and environmental collapse.

Accountability for Epstein’s crimes is necessary, but it is not sufficient. True accountability requires the dismantling of the structures that made him possible. We must reject the

"strongman" narratives and the mythic "palingenic" rebirths offered by fascist forces. Instead, we must recommit to the slow, difficult work of decolonisation, wealth redistribution, and planetary stewardship. The "Epstein files" are a symptom of a dying empire’s decay; the cure is not a "purer" leader, but a more empowered people. By looking through the spectacle and addressing the structural roots of power, we can move toward a future defined by liberation rather than distraction.

References

• Litvin, Y. (2026). "Epstein and the politics of distraction." Al Jazeera Opinion.
• Benjamin, W. (1936). "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction."
• Debord, G. (1967). "The Society of the Spectacle."
• Griffin, R. (1991). "The Nature of Fascism."
• Arendt, H. (1951). "The Origins of Totalitarianism."
• Eco, U. (1995). "Ur-Fascism." The New York Review of Books.
• Caprotti, F. (2007). "Mussolini's Cities: Internal Colonialism in Italy, 1930-1939." 8. Arendt, H. (1963). "Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil."
• Mbembe, A. (2019). "Necropolitics." Duke University Press.
• Robinson, W. I. (2020). "The Global Police State." Pluto Press. 

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