Thank you so much, Steve, for you concise and well-written essay on fascism. You write that:
[Followers of the sociopathic fascist start acting like sociopaths themselves,………..there are other characteristics of followers that attracts them to fascism. They have to believe that social Darwinism is the normal structure of society. They see…
Thank you so much, Steve, for you concise and well-written essay on fascism. You write that:
[Followers of the sociopathic fascist start acting like sociopaths themselves,………..there are other characteristics of followers that attracts them to fascism. They have to believe that social Darwinism is the normal structure of society. They see themselves as better than others in society and are therefore racial bigots. They believe that only their own political belief is correct and that no other idea is acceptable………..…therefore they are political bigots as well………..…Fascist followers are full of hate, just like their sociopathic leader.]
I can definitely see some of the fascist constructs you describe in our present U.S. system now especially since Jan 6, 2021 (the insurrection). But I have to say that my understanding of fascism in our U.S. system crept up quickly on me and caught me quite a bit off guard. My own education has included much, much more socialism than fascism in my understanding of the development of political and economic systems. Every semester I have at least 150 first year students to whom I teach the “Principles of Economics” and one of the initial depictions I try to present, as a scaffolding, is a continuum of political/economic systems with “capitalism” on one end, “communism” on the opposite end, and “socialism” somewhat near communism. And then who owns the limited (not scarce) resources of land, labor, and capital that we have on earth. I do always emphasize that in its “purest” forms capitalism and communism have never really existed.
Anyway, I read somewhere that fascism came from socialism, but that doesn’t necessarily make sense to me and seems to be quite a stretch. Also, socialism seeks to focus on a “class” structure while fascism is more about “nations.” Socialists were always at odds with capital owners while fascists seemed to have a better relationship with capital although they still seem to be the bosses. Finally, it seems from your description above that anger/hatred (also presently in the U.S.) are motivators within fascism while a “common cause” of sorts is more the motivator within socialism.
Thanks Diane for added comments and knowledge, all helpful. I was ignorant of fascism even the term until I read Ruth's book. Imagine well-meaning Americans too busy carpooling/ working/ laundry/ children who haven't had time to keep up with this. It's alot to digest, when we've been winging it on auto-pilot for decades. Hopefully there's alot of fast-studies out there. I appreciate your explanations, along with Steve's. Helpful to absorb.
Diane-- I think there has been a lot of confusion about the economics of fascism over the years, mostly because the word socialist is in the name of the Nazi Party. Hitler used that as a ploy to get the working class on his side, but the Nazis were not socialist. Their economic system gave business great power and was considered a cartel system. It was replete with oligopolies and monopolies. There was obvious business/government collusion, just like Italy had under Mussolini. Henry Ford and Prescott Bush wanted fascism here, as it gave business more power. Our Libertarian Party, with their love of social Darwinism and business power are proponents of fascism, even though they don't openly admit it. The book, "Democracy in Chains" by Nancy MacLean shows how radical they are. It's about the Libertarian view of economics and their plan for America. It's quite shocking.
I actually have a copy of "Democracy in Chains" sitting right in front of me at my desk and I saw Nancy MacLean on C-SPAN discussing her book earlier this year. I'm right now in the middle of putting together four Excel workshops to enable our students to use the Data Analysis Tool and data..............but you've convinced me to finally get to some of those ideas in her book which the reviewers are calling a worthy successor to Jane Mayer's "Dark Money!" Thanks for reminding me, Steve!
Jon Tepper's book, "The Myth of Capitalism" shows the rise of oligopolies here in the US and points out how we are trending toward a similar economic system to what was used in Germany under fascism. He spoke about the cartel system in Germany.
Thanks for reviewing the Economics of each of these movements. The greater public needs this education too. Small businesses are at risk of closures, the whole economy affected. People sometimes listen to numbers, percentages weaved into examples. It's an attention-getter and increases credibility of a story. So much at stake. I wish this could be amplified (Department of Labor? Secretary Gina -- she is a sharp, excellent Cabinet member) to the general public too. Thanks for plainspeaking the Econ part.
Yes, these are excellent questions and concerns that you are asking and Steve is bringing up with the rise of oligopolies. And as oligopolies rise even further they become even more inefficient with continually expanding over-pricing, under-producing, deadweight losses...............mergers.........more mergers.............monopolies that are not natural monopolies.......and so on...
Amy Klobuchar has written a wonderful book entitled "Antitrust taking on the monopoly power from the gilded age to the digital age."
Thank you so much, Steve, for you concise and well-written essay on fascism. You write that:
[Followers of the sociopathic fascist start acting like sociopaths themselves,………..there are other characteristics of followers that attracts them to fascism. They have to believe that social Darwinism is the normal structure of society. They see themselves as better than others in society and are therefore racial bigots. They believe that only their own political belief is correct and that no other idea is acceptable………..…therefore they are political bigots as well………..…Fascist followers are full of hate, just like their sociopathic leader.]
I can definitely see some of the fascist constructs you describe in our present U.S. system now especially since Jan 6, 2021 (the insurrection). But I have to say that my understanding of fascism in our U.S. system crept up quickly on me and caught me quite a bit off guard. My own education has included much, much more socialism than fascism in my understanding of the development of political and economic systems. Every semester I have at least 150 first year students to whom I teach the “Principles of Economics” and one of the initial depictions I try to present, as a scaffolding, is a continuum of political/economic systems with “capitalism” on one end, “communism” on the opposite end, and “socialism” somewhat near communism. And then who owns the limited (not scarce) resources of land, labor, and capital that we have on earth. I do always emphasize that in its “purest” forms capitalism and communism have never really existed.
Anyway, I read somewhere that fascism came from socialism, but that doesn’t necessarily make sense to me and seems to be quite a stretch. Also, socialism seeks to focus on a “class” structure while fascism is more about “nations.” Socialists were always at odds with capital owners while fascists seemed to have a better relationship with capital although they still seem to be the bosses. Finally, it seems from your description above that anger/hatred (also presently in the U.S.) are motivators within fascism while a “common cause” of sorts is more the motivator within socialism.
Thank you again for your great essay!
Thanks Diane for added comments and knowledge, all helpful. I was ignorant of fascism even the term until I read Ruth's book. Imagine well-meaning Americans too busy carpooling/ working/ laundry/ children who haven't had time to keep up with this. It's alot to digest, when we've been winging it on auto-pilot for decades. Hopefully there's alot of fast-studies out there. I appreciate your explanations, along with Steve's. Helpful to absorb.
Thank you as well, Jan! You are always so active and generous with your input -- I appreciate it greatly!
Diane-- I think there has been a lot of confusion about the economics of fascism over the years, mostly because the word socialist is in the name of the Nazi Party. Hitler used that as a ploy to get the working class on his side, but the Nazis were not socialist. Their economic system gave business great power and was considered a cartel system. It was replete with oligopolies and monopolies. There was obvious business/government collusion, just like Italy had under Mussolini. Henry Ford and Prescott Bush wanted fascism here, as it gave business more power. Our Libertarian Party, with their love of social Darwinism and business power are proponents of fascism, even though they don't openly admit it. The book, "Democracy in Chains" by Nancy MacLean shows how radical they are. It's about the Libertarian view of economics and their plan for America. It's quite shocking.
I actually have a copy of "Democracy in Chains" sitting right in front of me at my desk and I saw Nancy MacLean on C-SPAN discussing her book earlier this year. I'm right now in the middle of putting together four Excel workshops to enable our students to use the Data Analysis Tool and data..............but you've convinced me to finally get to some of those ideas in her book which the reviewers are calling a worthy successor to Jane Mayer's "Dark Money!" Thanks for reminding me, Steve!
Glad I could be of help.
Jon Tepper's book, "The Myth of Capitalism" shows the rise of oligopolies here in the US and points out how we are trending toward a similar economic system to what was used in Germany under fascism. He spoke about the cartel system in Germany.
Thanks for reviewing the Economics of each of these movements. The greater public needs this education too. Small businesses are at risk of closures, the whole economy affected. People sometimes listen to numbers, percentages weaved into examples. It's an attention-getter and increases credibility of a story. So much at stake. I wish this could be amplified (Department of Labor? Secretary Gina -- she is a sharp, excellent Cabinet member) to the general public too. Thanks for plainspeaking the Econ part.
Yes, these are excellent questions and concerns that you are asking and Steve is bringing up with the rise of oligopolies. And as oligopolies rise even further they become even more inefficient with continually expanding over-pricing, under-producing, deadweight losses...............mergers.........more mergers.............monopolies that are not natural monopolies.......and so on...
Amy Klobuchar has written a wonderful book entitled "Antitrust taking on the monopoly power from the gilded age to the digital age."
Here is Amy discussing her important book below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QICEatWBzn8
Jon Tepper and Denise Hearn lament at the US not using the Clayton and Sherman anti trust acts in their book.
https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Capitalism-Monopolies-Death-Competition/dp/1119548195