On 2010-09-20, at 8:51 AM, Wojtek S wrote:
> [WS:] FDR was an exception that proves the rule. The fact that the US
> did not turn fascist in the 1930s as Europe did is due, in a large
> part, to its visceral hatred of central government.
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But all of "Europe" didn't turn fascist. There were violent social struggles between the left and right in all of the countries which did. The urban-based working class organized in trade unions, cooperatives, and social democratic and Communist parties opposed fascism, but was unable to unite effectively against it.
Nor was all of the "US" possessed with a visceral hatred of central government. To the contrary, the New Deal was all about strengthening the power of the central government to intervene in the economy and provide a minimal social safety net for the working propulation.