"W. Kiernan" wrote:
>
> Doug Henwood wrote:
> >
> > Miles Jackson wrote:
> >
> > > Contra Fromm, if fascism emerges in the
> > > U. S., it will be justified using the
> > > rhetoric of individualism and freedom.
> >
> > Well it ain't fascism then, is it?
>
> Assuming that "fascism" is not merely a label or trademark for one or
> another particular regime, but denotes a specific type of government,
> what would the phony-baloney justification have to do with the reality?
That sounds right. It has never been clear to me that Fromm gave a very good description of _German_ fascism of the 1920s/39s let alone of a hypothetical u.s. fascism of 2008. I would assume that all or nearly all "personality types" (assuming that such exist) are more or less equally represented in all or most political movements. Specifically, I doubt the existence of the "Authoritarian Personality" or the linkage of such an entity to authoritarian politics.
Carrol