[lbo-talk] IT programmers and creeping fascism

[cian]

One sort of positive affect of the downturn, is that computer programmers of
a libertarian bent are finally starting to wake out of their Wired(TM)
stupour, and realise that they're being screwed just as surely as smoke
stack old economy employees. Okay some of them still cling desperately to
neoclassical 101 dogma in an attempt to explain why the deserve to be
crushed (why do people do this?), but others are starting to question
things. I had hoped that the result might be to push tech workers into
thinking about unionisation, or a more left-leaning perspective on the world
(and realise that their rather lowly position in the class structure).
However, based upon personal observation, they seem to be moving to
something closer to fascism. They've kept their sort of libertarian,
individualistic, outlook (mixed with market fundamentalism) - but they've
added to this a hatred of both immigrants and workers in places like
Bangalore - while manufacturing a conspiracy in big government to sell their
jobs abroad. Am I just on the wrong mailing lists, or is this a general
trend? It seems like the kind of thing which could be easily manipulated
into something rather ugly.