Posted by Jim Lindgren:
A Blast From the Past on Fascism--Part 1: Sheldon Wolin.
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_04_12-2009_04_18.shtml#1240106487
With all the recent talk about fascism, I thought I'd reprise this
[1]July 2003 Newsday essay by Professor Sheldon Wolin of Princeton:
A Kind of Fascism Is Replacing Our Democracy by Sheldon S. Wolin
Sept. 11, 2001, hastened a significant shift in our nation's
self-understanding. It became commonplace to refer to an "American
empire" and to the United States as "the world's only superpower."
Instead of those formulations, try to conceive of ones like
"superpower democracy" or "imperial democracy," and they seem not
only contradictory but opposed to basic assumptions that Americans
hold about their political system and their place within it.
Supposedly ours is a government of constitutionally limited powers
in which equal citizens can take part in power. But one can no more
assume that a superpower welcomes legal limits than believe that an
empire finds democratic participation congenial. . . .
Like previous forms of totalitarianism, the Bush administration
boasts a reckless unilateralism that believes the United States can
demand unquestioning support, on terms it dictates; ignores
treaties and violates international law at will; invades other
countries without provocation; and incarcerates persons
indefinitely without charging them with a crime or allowing access
to counsel.
The drive toward total power can take different forms, as
Mussolini's Italy, Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Soviet Union
suggest.
The American system is evolving its own form: "inverted
totalitarianism." This has no official doctrine of racism or
extermination camps but, as described above, it displays similar
contempt for restraints.
It also has an upside-down character. For instance, the Nazis
focused upon mobilizing and unifying the society, maintaining a
continuous state of war preparations and demanding enthusiastic
participation from the populace. In contrast, inverted
totalitarianism exploits political apathy and encourages
divisiveness. The turnout for a Nazi plebiscite was typically 90
percent or higher; in a good election year in the United States,
participation is about 50 percent.
Another example: The Nazis abolished the parliamentary system,
instituted single-party rule and controlled all forms of public
communication. It is possible, however, to reach a similar result
without seeming to suppress. An elected legislature is retained but
a system of corruption (lobbyists, campaign contributions, payoffs
to powerful interests) short-circuits the connection between voters
and their representatives. The system responds primarily to
corporate interests; voters become cynical, resigned; and
opposition seems futile.
While Nazi control of the media meant that only the "official
story" was communicated, that result is approximated by encouraging
concentrated ownership of the media and thereby narrowing the range
of permissible opinions.
This can be augmented by having "homeland security" envelop the
entire nation with a maze of restrictions and by instilling fear
among the general population by periodic alerts raised against a
background of economic uncertainty, unemployment, downsizing and
cutbacks in basic services.
Further, instead of outlawing all but one party, transform the
two-party system. Have one, the Republican, radically change its
identity: . . .
From one that maintains space between business and government to
one that merges governmental and corporate power and exploits the
power-potential of scientific advances and technological
innovation. (This would differ from the Nazi warfare organization,
which subordinated "big business" to party leadership.) . . .
In institutionalizing the "war on terrorism" the Bush
administration acquired a rationale for expanding its powers and
furthering its domestic agenda. While the nation's resources are
directed toward endless war, the White House promoted tax cuts in
the midst of recession, leaving scant resources available for
domestic programs. The effect is to render the citizenry more
dependent on government, and to empty the cash-box in case a
reformist administration comes to power.
Americans are now facing a grim situation with no easy solution.
References
1. http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0718-07.htm
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