Yes, I am arguing that when anxiety and fear are what binds together a populist movement, it can oscilate among a variety of ideological positions from left to right, (sometimes at the same time in a contradictory fashion), but that when it consolidates to the right in a consistent way, it looks to a strong state to protect its percieved interests.
Big "parasitic" banks and multinational corporations bad.
Small "productive" industry, police and state power good.
Chip
Doug Henwood wrote:
>
> On Feb 19, 2010, at 8:55 AM, Chip Berlet wrote:
>
> > There is no connection to the mass base of the Tea Party movement
> > and the potential for fascism?
>
> I know that ideology exists in a non-simple relationship with material
> interest and political outcomes, but the TPers are fiendishly anti-
> statist, esp central-statist. That's the opposite of fascism, if that
> word retains any meaning. They have a lot in common with long-standing
> traditions in right populism, American style. Was that always
> potentially fascist, or is it just that way now?
I think I would agree with Chip here. That fiendish anti-state element in current rightis thought is deceptive, being focused on governmental service programs, NOT on the police power of the state, which I think they worship as much as they hate social services provided by the stte.
Some o fthem probably hate government intefering with the sacred relationship between (small) employer and his/her workforce, but they also fear crime. Populism, left or right, has always been a totally incoherent politicla tendency, and what links opposing tendencies within it is FEAR. I don't know if this is Chip's argument or not.
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