Random Thoughts On Fascism

Sadly, it appears that fascism is an issue with which we must once again contend. As with any other problem, the better we understand it, the better we can combat it. Since fascism is a somewhat nebulous term, I thought I would share some random thoughts of my own on fascism in order to sketch out an understanding of what it is and how it may best be countered, a few initial shovels full of a foundation upon which we can build a response to an ideology that brings out the very worst in human beings.

Fascism is capitalism’s answer to socialism.

Fascism is, in the end, the only way the big corporations can maintain control. Any lesser form of rule would lead to their overthrow.

You cannot oppose fascism with timid ideas and compromised heroes. Ultimately, the appeal to truth, logic, and humanity cannot be done with pretty speeches and insincere gestures, but in a way that shows genuine passion, commitment, and sacrifice.

There are those among us who cry out against the erasing of the Trail of Tears from Texas textbooks who remained silent as the U.S. instigated wars that caused millions of refugees. They warn against a rise of a new fascism as they gladly grant power to a new Gestapo. They proudly read censored books from decades past while calling for the silencing of voices outside the mainstream media’s narrative.

We are working at fascism from two directions. The Republicans through overt contempt of law, decency, and the pursuit of objective truth, The Democrats for their promotion of war, censorship, and unaccountable intelligence agencies. And whenever they punch at one another, they never punch towards the other’s fascistic tendencies.

Democrats are to Republicans what masochists are to sadists. They may act as though they were the polar opposite but in fact they have a really unhealthy relationship with them. They abhor who Republicans are but reflect wistfully about who they were. They may tell others how they wish to get the upper hand in the relationship, but anyone who knows anything about their history knows it is never going to happen. Should a third-party arrive on the scene, the masochist will reveal his inner sadist and fight tooth and nail for his right to be abused and debased by Republicans. The masochist relies on the sadist to give definition to their lives. When asked, a masochist will be unable to tell you who they are except in relationship to the sadist who gives their live's meaning. This is how fascism begins, by giving sadists willing partners in their sick and twisted perversions. Sadists will come to believe that other people appreciate their sadism, because they have encountered people who actually do. The cruelty and narcissism of the sadist is given legitimacy by the behavior of the masochist.

Fascism becomes acceptable when magic dies. Fascism is not the presence of evil and ugliness so much as the absence of goodness and beauty. Fascism is the death of dreaming, it cannot exist where there is joy or wonder.

Fascism can sneak up on you even as you believe yourself to be fighting against it. Fail to notice the warning signs and before you know it you’re goosestepping and delivering stiff-armed salutes to a goofy-looking dictator. In the name of liberty and freedom you find yourself surrendering you right to free speech and feel afraid all the time of stepping out of line.

It does nothing to say how bad fascists are, the object is to build an alternative. It’s pointless to define yourself as the abnegation of nihilism, for that is not its opposite but its mirror image.

Fascism at its heart is nothing. There is no philosophy or end-game to it other than violence, dominance, and destruction. One cannot truly oppose fascism except with violence, and violence is what it thrives on. You cannot hope to ever eradicate fascism, you can only drive it to the very edges of society, and to do so you must create a well-functioning system at the core. The better functioning the system, the further to the edges of society fascism is pushed. In a truly healthy society, only the most politically, economically, and psychologically impoverished will find any appeal in such an appalling and bankrupt notion as fascism.

Fascism is evil, and you cannot oppose evil with evil. It is like a parent who teaches his child how to be a good person through cruelty mixed with corporal punishment.

Fascism is darkness, which must be confronted with all the light within you.

Fascism is lies, which must be countered by a fearless ability to both perceive and speak truth.

Fascism is ugliness, which must be countered with unguarded expressions of beauty.

Fascism is slavery, and must be opposed by a stubborn insistence on freedom and self-expression. To defeat that which seeks to subordinate through violence we must refuse to capitulate to institutions that do not desire our independence and self-expression.

The darkness of fascism has for years been growing, and in the last few years has really become more obvious. And for years those on the left have been voting for “not darkness”, and it has only gotten darker. In their battle with darkness, they have forgotten to tend the lighthouses.

There is no doubt that capitalists have a preference for fascism over socialism, for rule of law by force rather than any real kind of democracy and public participation. Capitalism itself is an economic system that has as its basic tenet the goal of achieving dominance over others and to take from others whatever one can. To take from customers maximum profit at the least cost. To take from the worker the most one can while giving him the least amount possible in return. Isn’t what happened in Nazi concentration camps merely this idea taken to its logical conclusion? To say that coercion is not an aspect of the capitalist system is to believe that capitalists are driven by something other than profit and that they appreciate the ideals of capitalism more than they do wealth and power. If this were true we would not today have billions of dollars of wealth being created by those in prison with many corporations looking to profit off the labor and the incarceration of these workers. If the capitalist can use coercion, he will. He is driven by his duty to his share holders to do exactly that. To this end he will use government to set the rules in his favor, and as the government works more and more exclusively for the benefit of the powerful, it will become increasingly fascistic.

We are looking at an emerging global fascism, and so few of us seem aware. So many of us, on the left and the right, waste our time and energy bickering with each other over lesser issues while supporting a fascistic agenda, all the while believing ourselves enlightened, caring, and courageous.

Whatever ugliness the United States is going through at the moment, I don't believe it can be compared to Germany in the lead-up to Nazism. For one thing, The U.S. has always been too much of a melting pot to coalesce around a racial/nationalist leader. For another, it does not have a history of obedience to state that Germany had. The U.S. is not a nation from which its malcontents fled, but a nation the malcontents of the world have fled to.

Nevertheless, when a majority of the population finds it preferable to allow others to lead them rather than be active forces in the community and in their own lives, fascism will thrive.