Paul, I have been reading your essays avidly for a couple of years now and am always inspired by your thoughts and insights. I'm in that over-the-hill, whiteboy demographic that has been such a disappointment. Frankly, the boomer generation has been a profound betrayal of the heritage and opportunities that were once abundantly available to it. Though strongly tempted, I will not succumb to pessimism. As long as you and a few others, like Henry Giroux, Greg Palast and Brian Bertelec are making waves, there is still a good chance that sanity will, in the end, prevail.
I graduated from Manual High School where existed a chapter of the Black Panther Party. After returning from the Bay Area back to Denver, Lauren WatsonWhat has stayed, front and center in my memory
Modern fascism started during the gilded age when a court clerk erred in saying that the first duty of a corporation is to its owners, and nobody objected. In truth, the first duty of any corporation is to the citizens of the state in which it is registered. But that kind of accountability is no fun, and the rest is history.
Your perspective is fine with me. I'm just pointing out that fascism, like manifest destiny, pax romana, etc., are downstream from greed, and that there were actual fulcrum points in history that were intersected when it was 'legalized'. Different times had different terms but the dynamics are the same- predatory economics. The kind of cannibals who can make that happen again are all in power now, and hungry for the landed wealth only more human blood can provide.
Focusing on the racism, sexism, nationalism, violence, and dismantling of democracy forgets the fact that it's all in the service of a capitalist class. Trump's billionaire bros (who are now in charge of the government) and others felt threatened, and his presidency is their fierce retaliation against any kind of working class solidarity.
So Mussolini didn't say it, that's fine. But it doesn't change the fact that fascist movements are always a response by a threatened capitalist class.
Well written but hung up on classic fascism in interwar Europe. I read my Trotsky back in the day and was very impressed with many of the essays collected in The Struggle Against Fascism. Some update to racist and fossil fascist Europe and the Americas in the 21st Century here: https://www.versobooks.com/products/2520-white-skin-black-fuel? Of course fascism is aligned with capital/capitalism, as noted on the PSR again and again and in my latest book. In the US context, fundamentalist Christianity plays a critical role. Patriarchy is centrality to fascism is often underestimated.
Because of your anachronistic fixation on interwar Europe and your related mistaken inability to see fascism in the absence of a radical proletarian threat such as existed in Europe after WWI, you fall into denial regarding 21st Century Trumpism-fascism (and by extension to neofascism in other parts of the world --- Europe today, Brazil and Argentina, Russia, India and elsewhere). I dealt at length with this mistake - very common among left deniers - in the fourth chapter (titled "The Anatomy of Fascism Denial") of this book: https://www.routledge.com/This-Happened-Here-Amerikaners-Neoliberals-and-the-Trumping-of-America/Street/p/book/9781032150598?
Thanks for your reply. I will check out some of your other writing. I just didn’t see any mention of capitalist class in your post so that made me take notice.
“Fascism is a product of, and subservient to, the modern corporate and capitalist era. It does not overthrow capitalism. Even in its classic historical form, it never supplanted private ownership of the means of production and investment or bourgeois class rule. Fascism (both as a social and political movement and fascism as a regime) is dedicated to smashing popular resistance to capitalism, among other things.”
No argument here. As I read your argument in chapter 4, you’re criticising the tendency for people to call Trump not fascist because his presidency didn’t have all the features of a fascist regime. You distinguish between a fascist movement and a fascist regime. I agree.
I guess where I got confused was that I misunderstood you as asserting that Trump’s fascism wasn’t in the service of capital. I think that Chris Hedges has it right when he says that Trump’s fascism supports a new era of explicit oligarchic rule rather than the past brand of corporate rule disguised as democracy.
How does anyone get stupid enough to listen to a clown who self exiled to France on the party's dime?
Are you one of the idiots running around at every protest with signs with his bullshit slogans on them or are you the one milking gullible suckers for money to support chairman bobs French Villa?
Lemme guess, you're that fat guy with tiny round wire frame glasses leering at every woman in sight? Or are you the dingus with the newsboy cap getting in shoving matches with the FRSO guys?
“Nothing is more important than stopping fascism, because fascism is gonna stop us all.”
― Fred Hampton
Paul, I have been reading your essays avidly for a couple of years now and am always inspired by your thoughts and insights. I'm in that over-the-hill, whiteboy demographic that has been such a disappointment. Frankly, the boomer generation has been a profound betrayal of the heritage and opportunities that were once abundantly available to it. Though strongly tempted, I will not succumb to pessimism. As long as you and a few others, like Henry Giroux, Greg Palast and Brian Bertelec are making waves, there is still a good chance that sanity will, in the end, prevail.
Doing my best also as an older white male!
I graduated from Manual High School where existed a chapter of the Black Panther Party. After returning from the Bay Area back to Denver, Lauren WatsonWhat has stayed, front and center in my memory
Modern fascism started during the gilded age when a court clerk erred in saying that the first duty of a corporation is to its owners, and nobody objected. In truth, the first duty of any corporation is to the citizens of the state in which it is registered. But that kind of accountability is no fun, and the rest is history.
I mean if you totally reject the definition advanced in the essay you should say so. I obviously disagree.
Your perspective is fine with me. I'm just pointing out that fascism, like manifest destiny, pax romana, etc., are downstream from greed, and that there were actual fulcrum points in history that were intersected when it was 'legalized'. Different times had different terms but the dynamics are the same- predatory economics. The kind of cannibals who can make that happen again are all in power now, and hungry for the landed wealth only more human blood can provide.
you think corporate personhood is fascism? Leaves out a lot, my friend!
This is a better article on fascism
https://substack.com/home/post/p-157354037
Focusing on the racism, sexism, nationalism, violence, and dismantling of democracy forgets the fact that it's all in the service of a capitalist class. Trump's billionaire bros (who are now in charge of the government) and others felt threatened, and his presidency is their fierce retaliation against any kind of working class solidarity.
So Mussolini didn't say it, that's fine. But it doesn't change the fact that fascist movements are always a response by a threatened capitalist class.
Well written but hung up on classic fascism in interwar Europe. I read my Trotsky back in the day and was very impressed with many of the essays collected in The Struggle Against Fascism. Some update to racist and fossil fascist Europe and the Americas in the 21st Century here: https://www.versobooks.com/products/2520-white-skin-black-fuel? Of course fascism is aligned with capital/capitalism, as noted on the PSR again and again and in my latest book. In the US context, fundamentalist Christianity plays a critical role. Patriarchy is centrality to fascism is often underestimated.
Because of your anachronistic fixation on interwar Europe and your related mistaken inability to see fascism in the absence of a radical proletarian threat such as existed in Europe after WWI, you fall into denial regarding 21st Century Trumpism-fascism (and by extension to neofascism in other parts of the world --- Europe today, Brazil and Argentina, Russia, India and elsewhere). I dealt at length with this mistake - very common among left deniers - in the fourth chapter (titled "The Anatomy of Fascism Denial") of this book: https://www.routledge.com/This-Happened-Here-Amerikaners-Neoliberals-and-the-Trumping-of-America/Street/p/book/9781032150598?
Thanks for your reply. I will check out some of your other writing. I just didn’t see any mention of capitalist class in your post so that made me take notice.
“Fascism is a product of, and subservient to, the modern corporate and capitalist era. It does not overthrow capitalism. Even in its classic historical form, it never supplanted private ownership of the means of production and investment or bourgeois class rule. Fascism (both as a social and political movement and fascism as a regime) is dedicated to smashing popular resistance to capitalism, among other things.”
No argument here. As I read your argument in chapter 4, you’re criticising the tendency for people to call Trump not fascist because his presidency didn’t have all the features of a fascist regime. You distinguish between a fascist movement and a fascist regime. I agree.
I guess where I got confused was that I misunderstood you as asserting that Trump’s fascism wasn’t in the service of capital. I think that Chris Hedges has it right when he says that Trump’s fascism supports a new era of explicit oligarchic rule rather than the past brand of corporate rule disguised as democracy.
Anyway, thanks for your work on this.
I just did a video touching on this just now. I agree there's clear a new level of gangster capitalist kleptocracy to be sure.
Fascism is when colonialism comes home and turns inward.
Thanks for the edifying post.
Sorry, the format doesn’t lend itself to self editing. What Lauren Watson said was that those forces against the people are “demagogic politicians!”
Do you have a proper Italian translation then of that statement?
I'm doing Duo Lingo in French. Italian is later.
Anyone seriously quoting fucking Bob Avakian should probably be ignored.
How on Earth does a human being get stupid enough to even think much less write what you just posted? How does that happen? :)
Seriously....
How does anyone get stupid enough to listen to a clown who self exiled to France on the party's dime?
Are you one of the idiots running around at every protest with signs with his bullshit slogans on them or are you the one milking gullible suckers for money to support chairman bobs French Villa?
Lemme guess, you're that fat guy with tiny round wire frame glasses leering at every woman in sight? Or are you the dingus with the newsboy cap getting in shoving matches with the FRSO guys?
"Revolution, nothing less"
Yeah thanks dude, what an inspiring platitude.
"Have you heard of Bob?"
Yes, and I laughed my ass off.
Thank you! I will keep this handy, as I have run across the same supposed Mussolini quote flung at me from time to time.
Oh I get this Mussolini brain worm thrown at me all the time.