Lou is correct on the main point here (whether or not his thumbnail sketch of fascism is correct).
Of course, fascism was/is just one species of the very large genus of authoritarian regimes. Campaigning for Lesser Evils or becoming hysterical over the possible election of Trump is a weak way to respond to the peculiarly u.s. version of authoritarianism. After all, the Obama Administration has _institutionalized_ the ad hoc attacks on freedom of the Bush administration! Seriously, Trump, not Clinton, may well be the lesser evil. Carrol -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Louis Proyect Sent: Thursday, February 18, 2016 10:13 AM To: Progressive Economics Subject: Re: [Pen-l] 18 -- Interview re Bernie's campaign On 2/18/16 10:58 AM, Michael Meeropol wrote: > > The danger of fascism is real. Not really. Bourgeois democracy is working quite well to maintain the status quo. Fascism arose in Germany because the workers supported parties that make Bernie Sanders look like Donald Trump by comparison. The Social Democratic governor of the state of Saxony collaborated with Communists in 1923 to seize power, a scheme that was unfortunately ill-conceived. The German bourgeoisie then began to funnel money to the Nazi party as a last resort against proletarian revolution. Today, the average worker is not interested in proletarian revolution. He or she is interested in how the NY Yankees will do, the fate of characters on shows like "Gray's Anatomy" and whether their kids can get a job in a shitty economy. The last of these worries is tied to the crisis of capitalism but hardly at the point where a bus driver or a sanitation worker begins to think in terms of challenging capitalist rule. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
