How To Spot Fascism Before It's Too Late

[Igel]

7. Fascism/Nazism weren't quite the same.

But we merge them. They're close enough.

One thing they had in common is overlooked. Widely.

Fascism was as much a political as an economic system. Politically-oriented tune out one of the two axes. Science teaching in the US is moving to "3-dimensional teaching," let's at least aim for 2-dimensional thinking in the social "sciences," shall we?

Both hated capitalism. "Everything in the state, nothing outside the state, everything for the state." Fascism. The government controls production ... indirectly. Hitler hated capitalism, and is on record more than once saying it--the business owners could keep their kit provided they knew their masters. The government says, "Make X," they make X. They get uppity and don't obey their overlords? Bad things happen.

It's Hitler. It's Mussolini. It's Putin. It's any head of government that tells as business that's told in peacetime to disobey the government will lead to extreme pain for the owner--maybe arrest and death, maybe confiscation, maybe pro/persecution until ithe owner/means of production is either obeisant or bought for cheap in bankrupcy.

That bears the the awkward designation "corporatism." If you're authoritarian and don't want to control the means of production, it's enough to puppeteer those who do control the means of production. Easier, actually--if they screw up, you have plausible deniability and somebody to draw in quarter to entertain and distract the messes. Uh ... "masses." It's being a Pierson's Puppeteer--leading from behind.

By the way, you look at nationalism, and you get Putin, you get Maduro, you get Trump, you get the PLO and you get the PRC and Taiwan; you get white nationalists and you get many BLM supporters, and MEChA, for sure. It's like saying that ethnicity focuses on "food". I like food, Xi likes food, a random boricua likes food, as does a random Maori. Obviously we all like the same "food"! Uh. Just. No. Food comes in varieties, varieties of shades of grey--and, getting past 1D thinking, shades of blue and red and yellow, in 3D. At least.

Similarly, there are distinctions in nationalism. One can think one's culture or nation is worth existing without thinking all the others must be extinguished; one can think one's culture or nation is so superior that obviously inferiors, "deplorables," must convert. (Same for religion. I'm happy coexisting with Hindus and Sikhs. Preachers, religious or ideological or nationalistic or whatever--those who want to change my 'culture' and 'beliefs' or 'values', in short, 'change agents' ... thanks for reminding me why I have a front door and ignore the door bell half the time; why I have an 'off' button on my radio and tv, and there's that x in the upper right-hand screen of every browser I've used for 25 years. Now, youse, just sod off, you effing POC.) (My '90s acronym for "piece of crap." Used "POS" until "point of sale" pushed out "piece of shit." "POT" [ piece of turd ] is too 2-5. And "POP"? Too pre-K-1. I will *not* call Trump, "You effing POP.&quot

Flattening thinking and models is like flattening a cat or a child. Nothing good comes of it. Just minimalist thinking with delusions of ... no, just delusions.