[lbo-talk] RE: 14 characteristics of fascism

Jon Johanning jjohanning at igc.org
Tue Jun 10 07:07:57 PDT 2003


Wojtek wrote:


> That does not mean much. The Nazis initially received only about 10% of
> the popular vote in Germany - far less than 70% approval rates Bush is
> getting today - and that did not prevent them from grabbing political
> power and establishing a fascist dictatorship by purely political, if
> not exactly parliamnetary means.
>
> What makes you think that he US is much different? Righ not, the "apple
> pie fascists" have no reason to feel threatened, but it is not too
> farfetched to imagine that the time-honored practices of blacklisting,
> lynching and assasination would return with vengence if the Greens and
> assoretd Lefdt wing elements started gaining real political power in the
> US.

I suppose that my disagreement with the "U.S. is becoming fascist" school of thought is really a religious controversy, because no amount of rational, empirical argument by either side is going to convince the other one. So perhaps it is rather pointless to keep up the argument, especially when it gets down to alternative visions of the future: is there going to be an apocalypse, or is our fate less grim? Who knows? Whose crystal ball is less cracked?

All I can say is that I can imagine things developing in a somewhat less gruesome manner than you do. I think that it is at least conceivable that the left might become at least powerful enough to reverse the present trend to the right (if not by November 2004, in the relatively near future, at least), and at the same time mount a defense of the American tradition of civil and political rights (yes, you may snicker, but in fact there is such a tradition) strong enough to keep "blacklisting, lynching and assassination" from becoming more than extremely rare practices.

I don't say that I am sure the situation will go in that direction; just that, based on some of the more positive parts of American history, I think there is at least a possibility. But if the American left threw up its collective hands and cried, "Oh, woe is us! We'd better just pack up our suitcases and wait for the knock on the door at 3 a.m. by the SS, coming to haul us off to the camps, 'cause it's bound to come," then things might turn out rather badly. Fortunately, every time things looked bad in the past, and there were times when they looked black indeed, people in this country did in fact get to their feet and fight back. I don't see any reason why it can't happen again.

Jon Johanning // jjohanning at igc.org ________________________________ Information is not knowledge. Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is not truth. Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love. Love is not music. - Frank Zappa



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