> CB: I think of it more like you are obsessed with not using the term
> "fascist", when it's obvious that the more prudent course in today's actual
> situation would be _to_ use the term. :>)
I think we have to use the f-word sparingly. There is certianly a developing political culture in America that could reasonably be described as pre-fascist.
However: a) the President's limited autocratic powers are still constrained by constitutional checks; b) the working class has not been totally defeated and atomised, and are not in concentration camps; c) civil liberties have been curtailed but not abolished.
It's certainly heading in that direction, but actual fascism would be an unnecessary luxury for the American government at the moment, since the resistance to their policies is weak and the threat of insurgency is remote.
On the other hand, as the housing market crashes, as the risk of recession increases, and as the dollars start to be sent back to the US Treasury from across the world, like so many bouncing cheques, there is no chance that the ruling class will be willing to surrender a tithe of their power in order to even save capitalism. They'd rather sit out the deluge from luxurious fortresses and send armed retainers out to smash people up: if it had been up to the ruling class, New York in 1936 would have looked like Berlin in 1936.
Fascism - real fascism - is not far off. _________________________________________________________________ Be one of the first to try Windows Live Mail. http://ideas.live.com/programpage.aspx?versionId=5d21c51a-b161-4314-9b0e-4911fb2b2e6d