Well said and considered, Bill. As with any 'ism', there are degrees of manifestation. Fascism need not look completely like Mussolini's or Hitler's State. Nor will it always be tied to a singular birth-moment. It doesn't require a Reichstag fire.
Instead, we have what appears to be a slow, steady march to fascism, in which various facets become 'normalized'. Through what is now called 'narrative control', propaganda is so ubiquitous and dominant that it is called 'the news'; censorship is manifested first in smears, then in 'cancellation'; and with the disappearing of dissenting voices via the dropping of any principled journalists from main stream outlets, deplatforming, and de-ranking in search algorithms, etc.
These are all accompanied by the rising calls for governmental 'disinformation' control. As if somehow, governments that are themselves captive to private capital and the source of most of the pro-war propaganda would be somehow fair arbiters of 'truth' .
If these, along with the militarization of public police forces, and the steady growth of the incarcerated populations are not evidence of creeping fascism, I don't know what to call it.
Excellent column Bill--a worthy exegesis of your months-long effort to provoke a resurgent
Anti-War/Anti-MICC/Anti-Imperial America PEACE movement. You and Tom Englehardt's
TomDispatch are hardy and persistent and nearly alone in the US media in this AWAMICCAIA.
I wish this and your previous columns were studied and taken to heart by the Biden Administration's
Budget group so they could begin a 10-year project of reducing the DoD/MICC allocation by 10%
in 2024, then 5% per year for the next 9 years, re-allocating those taxpayer dollars to desperately-
needed domestic programs, paying on the Credit-Card Wars, adequately staffing and funding the VA--Many of us have advocated for this for years of course, and at present it's an old man's dream,
but you and Tom are to be commended and keep it up ! PEACE in our time !
So the gun [violence] fetishists have co-opted even their supposedly most sacred figure. Appalling, but not surprising.
As for fascism, I agree that the military has begun to embody it, but I also think that's too narrow a scope, Bill. That is, the military hasn't cornered the market on that concept. The wholly-corporate-owned government in its entirety is approaching the fascist level, thanks to the purchasing of politicians to deregulate business, disenfranchise the masses, and ensure that money flows ever upward.
"Conversion at gunpoint": what a concept! But ya know....I'll bet it was attempted, in the centuries of colonialism. And of course, during the Inquisition and adjacent decades.
i never thought i would applaud anything that Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene does, but she proved me wrong here.
This action by the US House of Representatives is not merely Wrong. It is absolute, total, pure, unadulterated EVIL.
It ranks right up there with Madame Secretary Albright’s response to 60 Minutes’ Lesley Stahl on U.S. sanctions against Iraq back in May of 1996: “We have heard that a HALF MILLION CHILDREN HAVE DIED. I mean, that’s more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?”
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright: I think this is a very hard choice, but THE PRICE–WE THINK THE PRICE IS WORTH IT.
When the American Empire is held accountable for all the pain and suffering ~ all the death, destruction, despair, desolation, and desperation that it has inflicted on this Planet since the end of World War II and particularly, since the end of Cold War I, it ~ and along with it, the Experiment called the United States of America ~ will be consigned to the garbage dump of History. …:
HOUSE OVERWHELMINGLY APPROVES RESOLUTION TO MAINTAIN SYRIA SANCTIONS AFTER EARTHQUAKE: Only Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) voted against the resolution by Dave DeCamp / Antiwar.com 030123
The House this week voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution to maintain sanctions on Syria following a devastating earthquake that has killed at least 5,900 people in the country, The Cradle reported on Wednesday.
The resolution was introduced by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) and received 51 cosponsors. It passed in a vote of 414-2. Only Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) voted against the measure.
The resolution calls for the Biden administration to remain committed to “implementing the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019,” a law that imposed crippling sanctions on Syria that are designed to prevent the country from rebuilding after years of war.
The resolution said that the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was “falsely claiming” US sanctions impeded the aid response to the earthquake. But it’s a fact that US sanctions hurt the relief effort, something that has been detailed by the head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and UN experts.
After initially claiming sanctions wouldn’t hurt the relief effort, the Biden administration issued a 180-day sanctions exemption for transactions related to earthquake relief. UN experts responded by welcoming the move but said it wasn’t enough and called for the sanctions to be fully lifted… .
…
The article concludes: THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION HAS SAID IT’S AGAINST REGIONAL COUNTRIES UPGRADING TIES WITH THE ASSAD GOVERNMENT, EVEN IF IT’S PART OF AN EFFORT TO AID IN EARTHQUAKE RELIEF. On top of the sanctions and opposing Syria’s engagement with its neighbors, THE US MAINTAINS AN OCCUPATION FORCE OF ABOUT 900 TROOPS IN EASTERN SYRIA and backs the Kurdish-led SDF in the region, allowing the US to control about one-third of Syrian territory. THE AREA THE US CONTROLS IS WHERE MOST OF THE COUNTRY’S OIL RESOURCES ARE, KEEPING THE VITAL RESOURCE OUT OF THE HANDS OF DAMASCUS.
thanks this really connects the dots from the MIC to as you say "muscular Christianity." Our nation is going to have to come to grips one day that we have been manipulated so much to the point where the "Prince of Peace" would support our never ending war and war profiteering as the norm.
And may I add that, if one has read Wolin, Diamond, "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", Bacevich, McCoy et al as I have and I know you have, and more, you know that we are headed down the same path as empires before us. Could we avoid it? Sure --go to Denmark as I have and see how the Scandinavian nations have forged a balanced, stable national government where a carefully regulated capitalist economy is married to a social democracy that provides universal education,
healthcare, and social support services to all citizens with reasonable taxation, virtually no corruption,
--and it's a monarchy !! --albeit a largely figurehead one with a 13-party Parliament--
I have in-laws there and have first-hand knowledge of the amazing ways that they weathered
the Pandemic--of course, they don't bequeath 60% of their GNP to their military--what a concept !!
How diverse in every way is that nation and are those people?
With that in mind, do You think the system of government and governance of Denmark could be successfully and peacefully implemented upon the entire nation and all the people of the United States?
Or would it have to be imposed? And how do You think that would work out?
So could a Danish system of government and governance be implemented in the United States? Or would it have to be imposed? And if it is attempted to be imposed, how successful do You think THAT would be?
That didn't really answer my question, Bill. COULD some version of Danish democratic socialism be implemented in the US?
And even if the "owners and donors" decided to implement it, could it be imposed ~ some would say inflicted ~ on the American people?
It would be interesting to see even an estimate of how many voting age Americans want to see some variant of democratic socialism as the dominant politico-economic system.
As opposed, for example, to how many voting age Americans want to see some variant of democratic fascism.
I’ve always thought Ike would deserve more credit for naming and warning against the MIC if he hadn’t spent the previous eight years presiding over its creation and entrenchment, and had instead used his peerless prestige to set the country on a different course.
Also, I have to put in a word for the fasces, which are a *really* classic symbol of republican government, which is why they flank the Speaker’s dais in the House of Representatives. (Though, of course, Congress is the C in MIC, so …)
If Eisenhower hadn't presided over the creation and entrenchment of the MIC ~ or if he had issued his warning on it while still in office ~ he would not have been in the White House to turn it over to Kennedy.
And Thanks for that word about fasces. Wikipedia has an excellent article about them and how they have been and are symbolically used by several governments, including quite extensively by the United States: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasces .
Regarding your efforts and those of outsiders in general, I am encouraged by the impact of David Sirota's "The Lever" in keeping the heat on Buttigieg and the gross capture of regulators by the railroad lobby. The Lever is even being credited in MSM for exposing the outrageous details whereas most "news" outlets simply did what they normally do, show lots of impressive explosion videos and do no digging for background to answer why something happened. There is change going on in what people expect of journalists, that is, asking that they do journalism. You are part of the change.
Very good piece, Bill. Lots to chew on. and, in a few cases, question and/or challenge.
The best part of it was Your acknowledging that You were wrong about “American Fascism” ten years ago in Your article at Huffington Post. One doesn’t see that too often in the blogosphere and on social media.
Like i said, Lots to chew on and, in a few cases, question and/or challenge.
The first point being Your opening statement that “[t]he national security state has become the fourth branch of government and arguably the most powerful one.”
The fourth branch of the US government is the Federal Reserve System, without which the Executive and Legislative branches would not be able to run this government and country the way they have been for a long, long time. The only reason our Presidents, Senators, and Representatives [and their Bureaucrats] can get away with perpetual deficit spending and a ballooning National Debt is because The Fed creates credit and money out of thin air and passes it off as real.
Every dime that has been spent by the national “security” and “defense” state since 9/11 has been put on Uncle Sam’s credit card, with an ever-expanding amount of “available credit,” courtesy of The Fed.
The point being that that all-inclusive acronym MICCIMATT and synonym for The Deep State’s Ruling Political Class needs to be expanded to MICCIFMATT to include the straw that stirs the whole drink, The Fed.
As but one example: You noted the Pentagon’s failure to pass five audits. In its 110-year existence, The Fed has Never had an audit, let alone passed one. What does that tell You about its place in the hierarchy of power in DC?
The second point being Your conclusion: “Again, Ike warned us that the MIC is fundamentally anti-democratic. And, WHATEVER ELSE IT IS, THE MIC IS CERTAINLY NOT COMMUNIST OR LEFTIST. IS IT AMERICA’S VERSION OF FASCISM? THAT CONCLUSION MAY SEEM SHRILLY ALARMIST, BUT THAT IS ARGUABLY WHAT WE NEED: A SHRILL ALARM TO AWAKEN US FROM OUR SLUMBER.” [EMPHASIS added.]
No, Bill. It is NOT being shrilly alarmist. And what the American People need is exactly that: a shrill alarm that does more than just wake us up. It needs to cause us to pull our individual and collective heads out of our collective and individual asses.
Except those with a "Need To Know and Understand" how The Fed works ~ ie, those in the business of moving money, credit, and wealth around for a profit ~ very, very few Americans know anything about The Fed, what it does, and how and why it does it. Let alone understand it.
And that is a Big part of the whole Problem. Like i said about the critical need for a very shrill alarm and where our heads are.
Oh, I am never wrong, Jeff. What do the politicians say? My views have evolved over time. :-)
As a historian, I am especially sensitive perhaps to fascism in the setting of the 1920s-1940s. I don't see the U.S. as being fascist in the same way as (say) Nazi Germany.
And then there's the tendency for people to use fascism as a catch-all epithet. Just another insult.
So I tend to avoid using the word to explain behavior today; yet, as a concept, it still has explanatory power, and may still, I think, wake a few people up to what's happening around us and to us.
It sounds like You have dismissed Paxton’s definition of Fascism that focused on the behavior of Fascists.
How do You find the concept of Fascism ~ which i posted back on March 1 ~ as described by the list of fourteen plus six common features of Fascism exhibited by Hitler's Germany, Mussolini's Italy, Tojo's Japan, Franco’s Spain, Salazar’s Portugal, Papadopoulos’s Greece, Pinochet’s Chile, and Suharto’s Indonesia?
And then ask Yourself whether or not America, its ruling elite, and its government run by that elite's wholly-owned and -operated politicians and bureaucrats exhibit any of the same characteristics [even back in 2013 when You dismissed the very concept of America being Fascist]:
-1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism.
-2. Disdain for the importance of human rights.
-3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause.
-4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism.
-5. Rampant sexism.
-6. A controlled mass media.
-7. Obsession with national security.
-8. Religion and ruling elite tied together.
-9. Power of corporations protected.
-10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated.
-11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts.
-12. Obsession with crime and punishment.
-13. Rampant cronyism and corruption.
-14. Fraudulent elections.
To which can be added
-15. Central Banking and dependency on budget deficits, borrowing, and governmental debt [linked to #s 2, 4, 7, 9, and 13].
-16. Political, economic, and military imperialism [linked to #s 1-4, 6-9, and 13].
-17. Corruption and militarization of law and regulatory enforcement [linked to #s 2, 9, 10, 12, and 13].
-18. Racism, ethnicism, xenophobism, sectarianism, ageism, and classism [linked to #s 1-3, 7, 8, 10, and 11].
-19. Restrictions on and/or violations of freedoms of conscience, speech, press, assembly, and association [linked to #s 2, 3,
5, 6, and 9-11].
-20. Violations of freedom From [along with and as opposed to merely Of] religion [linked to #s 2, 5, and 8].
Note: The full list of Numbers 1-14 with explanations is at the article, "Fascism Anyone ???", by Laurence Brittby at https://secularhumanism.org/2003/03/fascism-anyone/. Numbers 15-20 are presented in a separate rant.
Given those 20 characteristics of classical, traditional, post-World War I-, World War II-, and Cold War I-epoch Fascism, it was easy to characterize as and call The Age of Trump and the reign of POTUS Maxximmuss XLV "Fascist."
But which of those characteristics were and are equally applicable as accurate descriptions of the Obama, Bush II, Clinton, Bush I, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Truman, Roosevelt, Hoover, Coolidge, Harding, and Wilson regimes? To say nothing of Lincoln's. An easier question to answer would be which of those listed properties and attributes of Fascism were and are Not characteristic of any of those earlier administrations?
And what has changed in Items 1 thru 20 above since the onset of The Age of Bidenopia?
Jeff, it's all about getting people's attention, getting them to think, and, most of all, getting them to act. If fascism as a concept can do this, then it's useful as a "shrill alarm." Because we need to wake up.
What amazes me is the narrative of Democrats as leftists or even the "radical left," which is absurd, since the Dems are center-right and right.
Most importantly, on issues like war, violence, and weapons, America faces a uniparty, a strong bipartisan consensus for more and more war, violence, weaponry, and the like. That is consistent with fascism, to state the obvious.
And i agree completely about Fascism being just another epithet and insult. Let me share something i wrote recently that addresses that:
The argument that the greatest threat confronting America is "Fascism" ~ as opposed to the Right’s claim that it is "Socialism and Marxism" ~ is based entirely on how the term "Fascism" is used. Just as the Right’s claim [presented without argument or proof, but simply as a given] depends entirely upon how they are using the terms "Socialism" and "Marxism."
Nowadays, when most folks [at least on the Left] use the term "Fascism" [or "Fascist"], they are usually referring blanketly to somebody/anybody/anything who disagrees with what they believe in, stand for, and are trying to accomplish, culturally, socially, economically, and especially politically.
It's the Left's doppelgänger for "Socialism/Socialist" [or "Communism/Communist" or, in this case, "Marxism/Marxists"] that those on the Right use to describe those on the Left [and sometimes even in the Muddled Middle] who disagree with Them about what they're up to. Used that way, "Socialism/Socialist," "Marxism/Marxist," and "Fascism/Fascist" are essentially absolutely meaningless and thus useless terms.
But a little bit of what the ancient Confucians called "rectification" ~ the clarification of the meaning of words so that they best describe the reality they name ~ shows that "Socialism" [and its variant, "Marxism"] and "Fascism" are but two very similar systems for the centralization and concentration, the maintainment and sustainment, the perpetration, expansion, consolidation, and perpetuation of Power by one distinctively minority group of Humans over the masses of Others thru the machinations and manipulations of The State, and its executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory, and above all, its police and military or "security" and "defense" functions and authorities. In both theory and historical fact, there is little difference in Principle between Socialism and Fascism; only in the specifics of organizational structures and operational systems, and their designated enemies.
In Socialism [and Communism, etc], the government [more specifically, the "Vanguard," on behalf of "The Party," on behalf of "The People"] owns everything ~ all the public and private facilities, factors, and forces of production, distribution, and consumption ~ and has total control over all economic policies, procedures, and execution, from the national to the regional to the local economic activity level, and even to the individual level. The government is both prime producer and determiner of distribution and consumption. Its enemies are capitalists, corporatists, fascists, conservatives, neoconservatives and neoliberals, and anybody who disagrees with them; especially classical liberals, anarchists, and libertarians.
In Fascism, there is private [mostly corporate] ownership of business; and that is the only significant difference.
The facilities, factors, and forces of production, distribution, and consumption are indeed under private, corporate ownership and day-to-day managerial direction.
However, it is still the government that dictates policy, procedures, goals and objectives, and execution at all levels in all aspects of economic activity. And it is the government that is a ~ if not the ~ prime and primary customer. Fascism's enemies are socialists, communists, syndicalists and unionists, post-modern liberals, proto- and neo-progressives, democratic socialists, socialistic democrats, and anybody who disagrees with them; also especially classical liberals, anarchists, and libertarians.
The main difference between Socialism and Fascism is that in Fascism, the concepts of private ownership and, particularly, private profit have not been abandoned, as in Socialism. The similarities between the two are as follows:
a. Both systems place government in the business of meeting Human Needs and satisfying Human Wants, at the inevitable cost of violating Human Rights.
b. Both systems make extended use of state-of-the-art manipulation of the Needs and Wants of those they like to call "The People," and the obfuscation, suppression, and obliteration of those same folks' Rights.
c. Both systems survive and thrive best in the presence of an "Other": a real Enemy, or at least a credible Threat of one. And if they don't have one, they are both very skilled at creating one.
d. Both systems are created, maintained, and sustained for the express purpose of giving Ruling Elites ~ real and/or "woulda- coulda-shoulda-been" wannabes ~ ready access to Power [the ability to force another Human Being to do something, whether they want to do it or not], and Wealth [the ability to buy and sell Power at a profit]. [Note: Thanks to Jim Mora.]
Given those definitions and descriptions of Socialism and Fascism that clearly differentiate the two ~ based entirely upon whether ownership of the means of the production and distribution of economic goods, products, and services is by the government or by private individuals, organizations, or institutions [primarily corporations] ~ it should be very evident that America is much more of a Fascist nation than it is or ever has been a Socialist nation. And it has been that way for a very long time.
While Socialism and Fascism differ most markedly as regards to who owns [and derives profit from] what factors of economic production and distribution, they both are marked by extensive, if not total government control of those factors: the processes by which goods, products, and services are created, distributed, consumed, and ultimately disposed of.
Outside of infrastructure and education, governments at all levels in the United States actually own and operate relatively few economic enterprises compared to those under private ownership and operation. And they own and operate significantly less than governments in many, if not most other nations on the planet.
On the other hand, the amount of control by executive order, legislative law, bureaucratic regulation and rule, and/or judicial fiat by all levels of American government [particularly at the Federal] of all that private ~ from individual to corporate ~ economic activity is as extensive and intensive here as it is anyplace on the planet, as well.
And that speaks nothing of American governments' attempts to monitor and effort to control the personal behavior of its Citizens, from what they ingest in their bodies, to who they share their bodies with, to what they can and cannot access on the Internet, and so forth.
i don’t see the U.S. being Fascist like Nazi Germany either, Bill. And i said so when i posted here on March 1:
<< As You noted, it is critical to understand that the Fascism engulfing America is not that 20th century Fascism of Hitler, Mussolini, Tojo, Franco, Pinochet, Suharto, and the others like Batista, Noriega, The Shah, Somoza, Marcos, etc [American client-dictators all]. At least not yet. .....
<<Rather, it is what various scholars have termed "Fascism with 21st century American characteristics," "Fascism with an American Face," "Participatory Fascism," "Democratic Fascism," "Friendly Fascism," and, ultimately, just plain old "Good Fascism." And such is manifest at full throttle in DC and the other corridors and labyrinths of political Power at virtually all subsidiary levels of government and governance in America today.>>
The third point being that it is easy to understand Why You were wrong about American Fascism back in 2013.
That was because You accepted Robert Paxton’s definition of Fascism as “the best,” which read: "A form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion."
You then noted: “In formulating this definition, Paxton had Hitler's Germany and Mussolini's Italy in mind, but his definition is an excellent starting point in thinking about fascism.”
And then concluded: “What about it? Is the U.S. fascistic? Plainly, no. We don't have a messiah-like dictator. Our justice system still works, however imperfectly. Our votes still count, even if our political speech often gets drowned out by moneyed interests.”
Instead of a different definition, permit me to offer a different basis for exploring whether or not America is indeed a nation with very definite Fascist characteristics.
Consider the following list of fourteen common features of Fascism exhibited by Hitler's Germany, Mussolini's Italy, Tojo's Japan, Franco’s Spain, Salazar’s Portugal, Papadopoulos’s Greece, Pinochet’s Chile, and Suharto’s Indonesia. And then ask Yourself whether or not America, its ruling elite, and its government run by that elite's wholly-owned and -operated politicians and bureaucrats exhibit any of the same characteristics [even back in 2013]:
-1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism.
-2. Disdain for the importance of human rights.
-3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause.
-4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism.
-5. Rampant sexism.
-6. A controlled mass media.
-7. Obsession with national security.
-8. Religion and ruling elite tied together.
-9. Power of corporations protected.
-10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated.
-11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts.
-12. Obsession with crime and punishment.
-13. Rampant cronyism and corruption.
-14. Fraudulent elections.
To which can be added
-15. Central Banking and dependency on budget deficits, borrowing, and governmental debt [linked to #s 2, 4, 7, 9, and 13].
-16. Political, economic, and military imperialism [linked to #s 1-4, 6-9, and 13].
-17. Corruption and militarization of law and regulatory enforcement [linked to #s 2, 9, 10, 12, and 13].
-18. Racism, ethnicism, xenophobism, sectarianism, ageism, and classism [linked to #s 1-3, 7, 8, 10, and 11].
-19. Restrictions on and/or violations of freedoms of conscience, speech, press, assembly, and association [linked to #s 2, 3, 5, 6, and 9-11].
-20. Violations of freedom From [along with and as opposed to merely Of] religion [linked to #s 2, 5, and 8].
[Note: The full list of Numbers 1-14 with explanations is at the article, "Fascism Anyone ???", by Laurence Brittby at https://secularhumanism.org/2003/03/fascism-anyone/ . Numbers 15-20 are presented in a separate rant.]
Given those 20 characteristics of classical, traditional, post-World War I-, World War II-, and Cold War I-epoch Fascism, it was easy to characterize as and call The Age of Trump and the reign of POTUS Maxximmuss XLV "Fascist."
But which of those characteristics were and are equally applicable as accurate descriptions of the Obama, Bush II, Clinton, Bush I, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Truman, Roosevelt, Hoover, Coolidge, Harding, and Wilson regimes? To say nothing of Lincoln's. An easier question to answer would be which of those listed properties and attributes of Fascism were and are Not characteristic of any of those earlier administrations?
And what has changed in Items 1 thru 20 above since the onset of The Age of Bidenopia?
As You noted, it is critical to understand that the Fascism engulfing America is not that 20th century Fascism of Hitler, Mussolini, Tojo, Franco, Pinochet, Suharto, and the others like Batista, Noriega, The Shah, Somoza, Marcos, etc [American client-dictators all]. At least not yet.
Nor is it its 21st century variants like China and Russia with their "State Crony Capitalist Fascism." Or like virtually the entire Middle East from Turkey to Saudi Arabia and Iran, and back to Israel, with their Islamo- and Ziono-Fascisms, respectively. Or elsewhere, in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Oceania, or Europe.
Rather, it is what various scholars have termed "Fascism with 21st century American characteristics," "Fascism with an American Face," "Participatory Fascism," "Democratic Fascism," "Friendly Fascism," and, ultimately, just plain old "Good Fascism."
And such is manifest at full throttle in Swampland and the other corridors and labyrinths of political Power at virtually all subsidiary levels of government and governance in America today. Particularly since The COVID-19 Event and its economic, social, cultural, and psychological fallout and collateral damage.
Americans have been being warned about a "Fascist equivalent" in the United States since even before the Fascist realities of Hitler, Mussolini, and Tojo had been destroyed, with three books published in 1944: OMNIPOTENT GOVERNMENT: The Rise of the Total State and Total War by Ludwig von Mises; THE ROAD TO SERFDOM by Friedrich A Hayek [dedicated "To the socialists of all parties"]; and AS WE GO MARCHING by John T Flynn.
The Warnings continued in 1975 with Charlotte Twight's AMERICA'S EMERGING FASCIST ECONOMY; in 1980 with FRIENDLY FASCISM: The New Face of Power in America by Bertram Gross; and in 2008 with DEMOCRACY INCORPORATED: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism by Sheldon Wolin.
And most recently, Jeffrey Tucker's RIGHT-WING COLLECTIVISM: The Other Threat to Liberty [2017] and Carl Boggs' FASCISM OLD AND NEW: American Politics at the Crossroads [2018] have brought all those older works up to date and right into the 21st century, at least thru Trump.
All of these works are strongly recommended to any American ~ but particularly any GenXer, GenZer, and Millennial ~ who wants a very clear look at what America's future could very easily hold, and why.
It is a shame my parents' generation [once the "Greatest," now the "Silent"] didn't read, react and respond to, and act upon Mises, Hayek, and Flynn back when they had the chance. And it is a tragedy that my Boomer generation missed those foundational works and that of Twight and Gross when we had our chance, as well. Hopefully, the next Generations of Citizens and those they choose as their political, economic, social, and cultural leaders will not make the same mistakes.
Wonderful essay!!! I hope it gets added to CN and Common Dreams and any other web site that publishes comments. I also thank you for the link to Christian Sorensen's column written 2 years ago, and even more important today! His line " When war is business, peace is your enemy". should be enshrined on the doorway of the Pentagon and at the CIA and in the hearts of all our congressmen/women. I hope all your readers will use the link to read his article.
You mention the anti war protest that fell apart recently. Can you explain what happened? I noted that several people who would have spoken didn't because they were more or less asked not to (??) What was going on there? I note too that the turnout was low, which surprised and disheartened me. What sort of bickering was going on ? And how can the organizers be so idiotic?
I wouldn't say it fell apart. But the rally had nearly 30 speakers, and naturally a few of them raised concerns. For example, Tulsi Gabbard was considered "not anti-war enough." Another speaker was considered hostile to the LGBTQ community. Another speaker had to step aside due to a mistake in his past. And so on.
The problem, of course, is that you can't organize by rejecting those who aren't perfect by your definition. We need a mass movement, not a perfect one. Mass means imperfections.
It will be interesting to see what happens next month, ON THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE U.S. INVASION OF IRAQ: NATIONAL MARCH ON WASHINGTON SATURDAY, MARCH 18
United National Antiwar Coalition [UNAC] Statement, February 20, 2023
Coinciding with the 20th anniversary weekend of the criminal U.S.-invasion of Iraq, a major set of actions, including a demonstration at the White House in Washington, D.C., will take place Saturday, March 18, demanding “Peace in Ukraine — Say NO to Endless U.S. Wars” and “Fund People’s Needs, Not the War Machine.”
Since 2003, the U.S. has engaged in sanctions (economic war) on more than 40 countries. These targets of U.S. economic warfare include the people of Cuba, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran and many other nations. Even in the wake of the worst disasters, like the recent deadly earthquake, Washington keeps its cruel sanctions in place against Syria.
U.S. bases and “commands” blanket most of the world. It is a global empire.
The Biden administration is determined to escalate the Ukraine war. The real goal of the massive arming and training of Ukrainian forces has nothing to do with the interests of Ukrainian, Russian or U.S. people. The aim instead is to “weaken Russia,” as stated by the U.S. Secretary of Defense himself, even at the risk of a catastrophic nuclear war that could end life on Earth.
A U.S. general commanding 50,000 troops in the Pacific also issued a letter to his sub-commanders in recent days, informing them that he believes that the United States will be at war with China within two years. The danger of global war is growing! The people must act!
The demonstration will make connections between the human and financial toll of U.S. militarism at home and abroad. Key demands include:
Peace in Ukraine — No weapons, no money for the Ukraine War!
Abolish NATO — End U.S. militarism and sanctions!
Fund people’s needs, not the war machine!
No war with China!
End U.S. aid to racist apartheid Israel!
Fight racism and bigotry at home, not other peoples!
U.S. hands off Haiti!
End AFRICOM!
Endorsers:
United National AntiWar Coalition; ANSWER Coalition; Black Alliance for Peace; The People’s Forum; CodePink; World BEYOND War; Popular Resistance; Veterans for Peace; International Action Center; Party for Socialism and Liberation; Al-Awda; The Palestine Right to Return Coalition; Labor Against Racism and War; Leonard Peltier Defense Committee; Universal African Peoples Organization; Workers World Party; East Bay Democratic Socialists of America; Socialist Action; Nevada Green Party; Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network; Ohio Peace Council; Green Party of Connecticut; Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Social Justice Committee; Environmentalists Against War; Pacific Green Party (Oregon); Linn-Benton Chapter, Lauren Faith Smith Ministry for Nonviolence; Maine Cumberland County Greens; Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace; San Jose Peace and Justice Center; Servicio Particular Alacran; Minnesota Peace Action Coalition; PeaceWorks of Greater Brunswick; UPWARD (Uniting Peace With Actions Respect and Dignity); Socialist Party of America; North Country Peace Group; . . . and more.
Good piece, as per usual. I would point out that the welfare state still eats up the lions share of the federal budget-not that I disagree with your assessment of the damage caused by the MIC, economic and in terms of loss of civil liberties. I mean, even Rome had its bread and circuses-they call that SS and Medicare today.
Social Security is something that all workers contribute to, and indeed some people die before they are eligible for SS.
Medicare is state-funded health care that is generally a better bargain than private health care. Certainly, Medicare could be made more efficient, but the system also faces intense pressure from various for-profit lobbying groups like Big Pharma.
The welfare state is a problem, but often warfare is a form of welfare for corporations, and some "welfare" (as in government subsidies) go to special interests like fossil fuel execs and big agriculture.
What's funny is how many people oppose big government yet at the same time they embrace the military as if it's not big government!
Indeed, there is an obliviousness between many who claim to support small government and yet are all in on the empire.
I will eschew a debate about SS as that was not the point of your essay. I was only attempting to provide context for how much of total federal spending was taken up by the military as well as highlight the deep connection between government power used domestically and internationally. It is not a coincidence that the three main eras of “progressivism” in 20th. century US, the Progressive ERA, New Deal, Great Society, all ended in war.
While we likely have great differences about what to do with a peace dividend, I fully support your efforts to generate that dividend. Peace.
Thanks. We might agree on that peace dividend. I'd love to see some of it directly refunded to the American people -- let families decide how to spend and save their "dividends." Meanwhile, our infrastructure, which seems forever linked to the word "crumbling," needs major rehab. And we sure could use better schools.
That is an EXCELLENT point, Believe and Obey, that "the three main eras of 'progressivism' in 20th. century US, the Progressive ERA, New Deal, Great Society, all ended in war."
i knew that the New Deal was a failure, and that the only way America got out of The Great Depression was by getting in to World War II. But i hadn't connected the so-called "Progressive Era" with our getting into the War "to end all war" and "make the world safe for democracy. Just a little bit of digging makes that pretty evident.
And i always figured that the only way certain Special Vested Interests would go along with the cost of a so-called "Great Society" was if they got their fair of the loot by having a war in Southeast Asia.
That is true-the US has been at war for 222 out of 240 years since the end of the revolution in 1783. Yet the really destructive wars that the US engaged in (yes, I know they are all destructive) occurred as a result of some great moral cause that convinced the populace that a “great” war was acceptable.
The Civil War fits this framework, as well as the 20th century conflicts I mentioned. The remaining conflicts were run of the mill imperial conquests of the Native Americans (genocide really) and the Mexicans (certainly fueled by the “moral” cause of the Great Awakening and Manifest Destiny) and running battles in the hinterlands-see Rome for a comparative history.
My only suggestion to counter all this is to wage a religious and ideological battle for peace, and strip the government of as much power as we possibly can.
You make another EXCELLENT point, Believe and Obey, in Your suggestion to “strip the government of as much power as we possibly can.”
Which raises a question: Exactly what kind of ~ and how much ~ power does the government need in order to successfully perform it proper function?
Which raises another question: What exactly IS the proper function of government? Why do Humans have governments? What exactly are they supposed to be doing? Particularly as compared to what they are actually doing, and have been doing ever since the first governments were created, pulled together, and put to work?
In any event, before there can be a “religious and ideological battle for peace,” there needs to be a moral and intellectual Declaration of War Against War, and against the forces that make War possible, probable, and perpetual.
War is not merely “pretty much perpetual in U.S. history,” Bill. War ~ and its preparation for, recovery from, and planning for the next one ~ IS perpetual in U.S. history, regardless of the political epoch.
This nation has been at war with somebody someplace ever since it has existed. It started with the French and Indians, and then the British, and then more Indians, and then the Mexicans, and then more Indians again, and then the Confederate States of America, and then what was left of the Indians to the end, and then the Spanish, and then the 20th century. And now the 21st century.
And the meaning that i draw from all this is that War has always been on the agenda of America’s Ruling Political Class from the beginning, and will always be until either that RPC is put out of business, or America is defeated, destroyed, and occupied by a new, more global RPC.
Well said and considered, Bill. As with any 'ism', there are degrees of manifestation. Fascism need not look completely like Mussolini's or Hitler's State. Nor will it always be tied to a singular birth-moment. It doesn't require a Reichstag fire.
Instead, we have what appears to be a slow, steady march to fascism, in which various facets become 'normalized'. Through what is now called 'narrative control', propaganda is so ubiquitous and dominant that it is called 'the news'; censorship is manifested first in smears, then in 'cancellation'; and with the disappearing of dissenting voices via the dropping of any principled journalists from main stream outlets, deplatforming, and de-ranking in search algorithms, etc.
These are all accompanied by the rising calls for governmental 'disinformation' control. As if somehow, governments that are themselves captive to private capital and the source of most of the pro-war propaganda would be somehow fair arbiters of 'truth' .
If these, along with the militarization of public police forces, and the steady growth of the incarcerated populations are not evidence of creeping fascism, I don't know what to call it.
Well said, Roger. Thanks.
Excellent column Bill--a worthy exegesis of your months-long effort to provoke a resurgent
Anti-War/Anti-MICC/Anti-Imperial America PEACE movement. You and Tom Englehardt's
TomDispatch are hardy and persistent and nearly alone in the US media in this AWAMICCAIA.
I wish this and your previous columns were studied and taken to heart by the Biden Administration's
Budget group so they could begin a 10-year project of reducing the DoD/MICC allocation by 10%
in 2024, then 5% per year for the next 9 years, re-allocating those taxpayer dollars to desperately-
needed domestic programs, paying on the Credit-Card Wars, adequately staffing and funding the VA--Many of us have advocated for this for years of course, and at present it's an old man's dream,
but you and Tom are to be commended and keep it up ! PEACE in our time !
"The vision of Christ as a peacemaker..."
Seems that I recall recent quips from a prominent GOP figure or two to the effect of, "If Jesus had AR-15s..."
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lauren-boebert-jesus-ar-15s_n_62aa02e3e4b06169ca93a9a4
So the gun [violence] fetishists have co-opted even their supposedly most sacred figure. Appalling, but not surprising.
As for fascism, I agree that the military has begun to embody it, but I also think that's too narrow a scope, Bill. That is, the military hasn't cornered the market on that concept. The wholly-corporate-owned government in its entirety is approaching the fascist level, thanks to the purchasing of politicians to deregulate business, disenfranchise the masses, and ensure that money flows ever upward.
Jesus didn't have an AR-15?
Apparently, per Ms. Boebert, he didn't have enough of them.
If only the disciples had carried AR-15s along with their Bibles. Think of the converts then!
Did the disciples have Bibles???? /s
"Conversion at gunpoint": what a concept! But ya know....I'll bet it was attempted, in the centuries of colonialism. And of course, during the Inquisition and adjacent decades.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=T2ncJ6ciGyM
There's nothing you can't do with a good gun and the Good Book :-)
The former serving to focus attention on the latter.
I'm not sure that extrapolating from one person to an entire group is valid logic. In statistics that might be called an outlier.
Couldn't agree more, Bill!
i never thought i would applaud anything that Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene does, but she proved me wrong here.
This action by the US House of Representatives is not merely Wrong. It is absolute, total, pure, unadulterated EVIL.
It ranks right up there with Madame Secretary Albright’s response to 60 Minutes’ Lesley Stahl on U.S. sanctions against Iraq back in May of 1996: “We have heard that a HALF MILLION CHILDREN HAVE DIED. I mean, that’s more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?”
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright: I think this is a very hard choice, but THE PRICE–WE THINK THE PRICE IS WORTH IT.
When the American Empire is held accountable for all the pain and suffering ~ all the death, destruction, despair, desolation, and desperation that it has inflicted on this Planet since the end of World War II and particularly, since the end of Cold War I, it ~ and along with it, the Experiment called the United States of America ~ will be consigned to the garbage dump of History. …:
HOUSE OVERWHELMINGLY APPROVES RESOLUTION TO MAINTAIN SYRIA SANCTIONS AFTER EARTHQUAKE: Only Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) voted against the resolution by Dave DeCamp / Antiwar.com 030123
The House this week voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution to maintain sanctions on Syria following a devastating earthquake that has killed at least 5,900 people in the country, The Cradle reported on Wednesday.
The resolution was introduced by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) and received 51 cosponsors. It passed in a vote of 414-2. Only Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) voted against the measure.
The resolution calls for the Biden administration to remain committed to “implementing the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019,” a law that imposed crippling sanctions on Syria that are designed to prevent the country from rebuilding after years of war.
The resolution said that the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was “falsely claiming” US sanctions impeded the aid response to the earthquake. But it’s a fact that US sanctions hurt the relief effort, something that has been detailed by the head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and UN experts.
After initially claiming sanctions wouldn’t hurt the relief effort, the Biden administration issued a 180-day sanctions exemption for transactions related to earthquake relief. UN experts responded by welcoming the move but said it wasn’t enough and called for the sanctions to be fully lifted… .
…
The article concludes: THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION HAS SAID IT’S AGAINST REGIONAL COUNTRIES UPGRADING TIES WITH THE ASSAD GOVERNMENT, EVEN IF IT’S PART OF AN EFFORT TO AID IN EARTHQUAKE RELIEF. On top of the sanctions and opposing Syria’s engagement with its neighbors, THE US MAINTAINS AN OCCUPATION FORCE OF ABOUT 900 TROOPS IN EASTERN SYRIA and backs the Kurdish-led SDF in the region, allowing the US to control about one-third of Syrian territory. THE AREA THE US CONTROLS IS WHERE MOST OF THE COUNTRY’S OIL RESOURCES ARE, KEEPING THE VITAL RESOURCE OUT OF THE HANDS OF DAMASCUS.
Full article at: https://news.antiwar.com/2023/03/01/house-overwhelmingly-approves-resolution-to-maintain-syria-sanctions-after-earthquake/ ; EMPHASIS added.
thanks this really connects the dots from the MIC to as you say "muscular Christianity." Our nation is going to have to come to grips one day that we have been manipulated so much to the point where the "Prince of Peace" would support our never ending war and war profiteering as the norm.
And may I add that, if one has read Wolin, Diamond, "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", Bacevich, McCoy et al as I have and I know you have, and more, you know that we are headed down the same path as empires before us. Could we avoid it? Sure --go to Denmark as I have and see how the Scandinavian nations have forged a balanced, stable national government where a carefully regulated capitalist economy is married to a social democracy that provides universal education,
healthcare, and social support services to all citizens with reasonable taxation, virtually no corruption,
--and it's a monarchy !! --albeit a largely figurehead one with a 13-party Parliament--
I have in-laws there and have first-hand knowledge of the amazing ways that they weathered
the Pandemic--of course, they don't bequeath 60% of their GNP to their military--what a concept !!
Steve, compared to the United States:
How geographically big is Denmark?
How many people live in Denmark?
How diverse in every way is that nation and are those people?
With that in mind, do You think the system of government and governance of Denmark could be successfully and peacefully implemented upon the entire nation and all the people of the United States?
Or would it have to be imposed? And how do You think that would work out?
Recall what that genius Hillary Clinton said: We're not Denmark. We're America! So take that!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wQpAIXAX2k
So could a Danish system of government and governance be implemented in the United States? Or would it have to be imposed? And if it is attempted to be imposed, how successful do You think THAT would be?
We're not Denmark, Jeff: we're America. End of story. That's THE TRUTH for bought-and-sold pols like Clinton and Biden.
Real meaning: the owners and donors don't want democratic socialism, so you're not getting it.
That didn't really answer my question, Bill. COULD some version of Danish democratic socialism be implemented in the US?
And even if the "owners and donors" decided to implement it, could it be imposed ~ some would say inflicted ~ on the American people?
It would be interesting to see even an estimate of how many voting age Americans want to see some variant of democratic socialism as the dominant politico-economic system.
As opposed, for example, to how many voting age Americans want to see some variant of democratic fascism.
I wouldn't say it's impossible, Jeff. Just highly unlikely for reasons you know all too well.
I’ve always thought Ike would deserve more credit for naming and warning against the MIC if he hadn’t spent the previous eight years presiding over its creation and entrenchment, and had instead used his peerless prestige to set the country on a different course.
Also, I have to put in a word for the fasces, which are a *really* classic symbol of republican government, which is why they flank the Speaker’s dais in the House of Representatives. (Though, of course, Congress is the C in MIC, so …)
i agree with You completely, kapock. But...
If Eisenhower hadn't presided over the creation and entrenchment of the MIC ~ or if he had issued his warning on it while still in office ~ he would not have been in the White House to turn it over to Kennedy.
And Thanks for that word about fasces. Wikipedia has an excellent article about them and how they have been and are symbolically used by several governments, including quite extensively by the United States: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasces .
Regarding your efforts and those of outsiders in general, I am encouraged by the impact of David Sirota's "The Lever" in keeping the heat on Buttigieg and the gross capture of regulators by the railroad lobby. The Lever is even being credited in MSM for exposing the outrageous details whereas most "news" outlets simply did what they normally do, show lots of impressive explosion videos and do no digging for background to answer why something happened. There is change going on in what people expect of journalists, that is, asking that they do journalism. You are part of the change.
Very good piece, Bill. Lots to chew on. and, in a few cases, question and/or challenge.
The best part of it was Your acknowledging that You were wrong about “American Fascism” ten years ago in Your article at Huffington Post. One doesn’t see that too often in the blogosphere and on social media.
Like i said, Lots to chew on and, in a few cases, question and/or challenge.
The first point being Your opening statement that “[t]he national security state has become the fourth branch of government and arguably the most powerful one.”
The fourth branch of the US government is the Federal Reserve System, without which the Executive and Legislative branches would not be able to run this government and country the way they have been for a long, long time. The only reason our Presidents, Senators, and Representatives [and their Bureaucrats] can get away with perpetual deficit spending and a ballooning National Debt is because The Fed creates credit and money out of thin air and passes it off as real.
Every dime that has been spent by the national “security” and “defense” state since 9/11 has been put on Uncle Sam’s credit card, with an ever-expanding amount of “available credit,” courtesy of The Fed.
The point being that that all-inclusive acronym MICCIMATT and synonym for The Deep State’s Ruling Political Class needs to be expanded to MICCIFMATT to include the straw that stirs the whole drink, The Fed.
As but one example: You noted the Pentagon’s failure to pass five audits. In its 110-year existence, The Fed has Never had an audit, let alone passed one. What does that tell You about its place in the hierarchy of power in DC?
The second point being Your conclusion: “Again, Ike warned us that the MIC is fundamentally anti-democratic. And, WHATEVER ELSE IT IS, THE MIC IS CERTAINLY NOT COMMUNIST OR LEFTIST. IS IT AMERICA’S VERSION OF FASCISM? THAT CONCLUSION MAY SEEM SHRILLY ALARMIST, BUT THAT IS ARGUABLY WHAT WE NEED: A SHRILL ALARM TO AWAKEN US FROM OUR SLUMBER.” [EMPHASIS added.]
No, Bill. It is NOT being shrilly alarmist. And what the American People need is exactly that: a shrill alarm that does more than just wake us up. It needs to cause us to pull our individual and collective heads out of our collective and individual asses.
I don't say much about the Fed because, honestly, I don't understand it.
Except those with a "Need To Know and Understand" how The Fed works ~ ie, those in the business of moving money, credit, and wealth around for a profit ~ very, very few Americans know anything about The Fed, what it does, and how and why it does it. Let alone understand it.
And that is a Big part of the whole Problem. Like i said about the critical need for a very shrill alarm and where our heads are.
Oh, I am never wrong, Jeff. What do the politicians say? My views have evolved over time. :-)
As a historian, I am especially sensitive perhaps to fascism in the setting of the 1920s-1940s. I don't see the U.S. as being fascist in the same way as (say) Nazi Germany.
And then there's the tendency for people to use fascism as a catch-all epithet. Just another insult.
So I tend to avoid using the word to explain behavior today; yet, as a concept, it still has explanatory power, and may still, I think, wake a few people up to what's happening around us and to us.
It sounds like You have dismissed Paxton’s definition of Fascism that focused on the behavior of Fascists.
How do You find the concept of Fascism ~ which i posted back on March 1 ~ as described by the list of fourteen plus six common features of Fascism exhibited by Hitler's Germany, Mussolini's Italy, Tojo's Japan, Franco’s Spain, Salazar’s Portugal, Papadopoulos’s Greece, Pinochet’s Chile, and Suharto’s Indonesia?
And then ask Yourself whether or not America, its ruling elite, and its government run by that elite's wholly-owned and -operated politicians and bureaucrats exhibit any of the same characteristics [even back in 2013 when You dismissed the very concept of America being Fascist]:
-1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism.
-2. Disdain for the importance of human rights.
-3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause.
-4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism.
-5. Rampant sexism.
-6. A controlled mass media.
-7. Obsession with national security.
-8. Religion and ruling elite tied together.
-9. Power of corporations protected.
-10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated.
-11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts.
-12. Obsession with crime and punishment.
-13. Rampant cronyism and corruption.
-14. Fraudulent elections.
To which can be added
-15. Central Banking and dependency on budget deficits, borrowing, and governmental debt [linked to #s 2, 4, 7, 9, and 13].
-16. Political, economic, and military imperialism [linked to #s 1-4, 6-9, and 13].
-17. Corruption and militarization of law and regulatory enforcement [linked to #s 2, 9, 10, 12, and 13].
-18. Racism, ethnicism, xenophobism, sectarianism, ageism, and classism [linked to #s 1-3, 7, 8, 10, and 11].
-19. Restrictions on and/or violations of freedoms of conscience, speech, press, assembly, and association [linked to #s 2, 3,
5, 6, and 9-11].
-20. Violations of freedom From [along with and as opposed to merely Of] religion [linked to #s 2, 5, and 8].
Note: The full list of Numbers 1-14 with explanations is at the article, "Fascism Anyone ???", by Laurence Brittby at https://secularhumanism.org/2003/03/fascism-anyone/. Numbers 15-20 are presented in a separate rant.
Given those 20 characteristics of classical, traditional, post-World War I-, World War II-, and Cold War I-epoch Fascism, it was easy to characterize as and call The Age of Trump and the reign of POTUS Maxximmuss XLV "Fascist."
But which of those characteristics were and are equally applicable as accurate descriptions of the Obama, Bush II, Clinton, Bush I, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Truman, Roosevelt, Hoover, Coolidge, Harding, and Wilson regimes? To say nothing of Lincoln's. An easier question to answer would be which of those listed properties and attributes of Fascism were and are Not characteristic of any of those earlier administrations?
And what has changed in Items 1 thru 20 above since the onset of The Age of Bidenopia?
Jeff, it's all about getting people's attention, getting them to think, and, most of all, getting them to act. If fascism as a concept can do this, then it's useful as a "shrill alarm." Because we need to wake up.
What amazes me is the narrative of Democrats as leftists or even the "radical left," which is absurd, since the Dems are center-right and right.
Most importantly, on issues like war, violence, and weapons, America faces a uniparty, a strong bipartisan consensus for more and more war, violence, weaponry, and the like. That is consistent with fascism, to state the obvious.
And i agree completely about Fascism being just another epithet and insult. Let me share something i wrote recently that addresses that:
The argument that the greatest threat confronting America is "Fascism" ~ as opposed to the Right’s claim that it is "Socialism and Marxism" ~ is based entirely on how the term "Fascism" is used. Just as the Right’s claim [presented without argument or proof, but simply as a given] depends entirely upon how they are using the terms "Socialism" and "Marxism."
Nowadays, when most folks [at least on the Left] use the term "Fascism" [or "Fascist"], they are usually referring blanketly to somebody/anybody/anything who disagrees with what they believe in, stand for, and are trying to accomplish, culturally, socially, economically, and especially politically.
It's the Left's doppelgänger for "Socialism/Socialist" [or "Communism/Communist" or, in this case, "Marxism/Marxists"] that those on the Right use to describe those on the Left [and sometimes even in the Muddled Middle] who disagree with Them about what they're up to. Used that way, "Socialism/Socialist," "Marxism/Marxist," and "Fascism/Fascist" are essentially absolutely meaningless and thus useless terms.
BUT…..:
But a little bit of what the ancient Confucians called "rectification" ~ the clarification of the meaning of words so that they best describe the reality they name ~ shows that "Socialism" [and its variant, "Marxism"] and "Fascism" are but two very similar systems for the centralization and concentration, the maintainment and sustainment, the perpetration, expansion, consolidation, and perpetuation of Power by one distinctively minority group of Humans over the masses of Others thru the machinations and manipulations of The State, and its executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory, and above all, its police and military or "security" and "defense" functions and authorities. In both theory and historical fact, there is little difference in Principle between Socialism and Fascism; only in the specifics of organizational structures and operational systems, and their designated enemies.
In Socialism [and Communism, etc], the government [more specifically, the "Vanguard," on behalf of "The Party," on behalf of "The People"] owns everything ~ all the public and private facilities, factors, and forces of production, distribution, and consumption ~ and has total control over all economic policies, procedures, and execution, from the national to the regional to the local economic activity level, and even to the individual level. The government is both prime producer and determiner of distribution and consumption. Its enemies are capitalists, corporatists, fascists, conservatives, neoconservatives and neoliberals, and anybody who disagrees with them; especially classical liberals, anarchists, and libertarians.
In Fascism, there is private [mostly corporate] ownership of business; and that is the only significant difference.
The facilities, factors, and forces of production, distribution, and consumption are indeed under private, corporate ownership and day-to-day managerial direction.
However, it is still the government that dictates policy, procedures, goals and objectives, and execution at all levels in all aspects of economic activity. And it is the government that is a ~ if not the ~ prime and primary customer. Fascism's enemies are socialists, communists, syndicalists and unionists, post-modern liberals, proto- and neo-progressives, democratic socialists, socialistic democrats, and anybody who disagrees with them; also especially classical liberals, anarchists, and libertarians.
The main difference between Socialism and Fascism is that in Fascism, the concepts of private ownership and, particularly, private profit have not been abandoned, as in Socialism. The similarities between the two are as follows:
a. Both systems place government in the business of meeting Human Needs and satisfying Human Wants, at the inevitable cost of violating Human Rights.
b. Both systems make extended use of state-of-the-art manipulation of the Needs and Wants of those they like to call "The People," and the obfuscation, suppression, and obliteration of those same folks' Rights.
c. Both systems survive and thrive best in the presence of an "Other": a real Enemy, or at least a credible Threat of one. And if they don't have one, they are both very skilled at creating one.
d. Both systems are created, maintained, and sustained for the express purpose of giving Ruling Elites ~ real and/or "woulda- coulda-shoulda-been" wannabes ~ ready access to Power [the ability to force another Human Being to do something, whether they want to do it or not], and Wealth [the ability to buy and sell Power at a profit]. [Note: Thanks to Jim Mora.]
Given those definitions and descriptions of Socialism and Fascism that clearly differentiate the two ~ based entirely upon whether ownership of the means of the production and distribution of economic goods, products, and services is by the government or by private individuals, organizations, or institutions [primarily corporations] ~ it should be very evident that America is much more of a Fascist nation than it is or ever has been a Socialist nation. And it has been that way for a very long time.
While Socialism and Fascism differ most markedly as regards to who owns [and derives profit from] what factors of economic production and distribution, they both are marked by extensive, if not total government control of those factors: the processes by which goods, products, and services are created, distributed, consumed, and ultimately disposed of.
Outside of infrastructure and education, governments at all levels in the United States actually own and operate relatively few economic enterprises compared to those under private ownership and operation. And they own and operate significantly less than governments in many, if not most other nations on the planet.
On the other hand, the amount of control by executive order, legislative law, bureaucratic regulation and rule, and/or judicial fiat by all levels of American government [particularly at the Federal] of all that private ~ from individual to corporate ~ economic activity is as extensive and intensive here as it is anyplace on the planet, as well.
And that speaks nothing of American governments' attempts to monitor and effort to control the personal behavior of its Citizens, from what they ingest in their bodies, to who they share their bodies with, to what they can and cannot access on the Internet, and so forth.
i don’t see the U.S. being Fascist like Nazi Germany either, Bill. And i said so when i posted here on March 1:
<< As You noted, it is critical to understand that the Fascism engulfing America is not that 20th century Fascism of Hitler, Mussolini, Tojo, Franco, Pinochet, Suharto, and the others like Batista, Noriega, The Shah, Somoza, Marcos, etc [American client-dictators all]. At least not yet. .....
<<Rather, it is what various scholars have termed "Fascism with 21st century American characteristics," "Fascism with an American Face," "Participatory Fascism," "Democratic Fascism," "Friendly Fascism," and, ultimately, just plain old "Good Fascism." And such is manifest at full throttle in DC and the other corridors and labyrinths of political Power at virtually all subsidiary levels of government and governance in America today.>>
The third point being that it is easy to understand Why You were wrong about American Fascism back in 2013.
That was because You accepted Robert Paxton’s definition of Fascism as “the best,” which read: "A form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion."
You then noted: “In formulating this definition, Paxton had Hitler's Germany and Mussolini's Italy in mind, but his definition is an excellent starting point in thinking about fascism.”
And then concluded: “What about it? Is the U.S. fascistic? Plainly, no. We don't have a messiah-like dictator. Our justice system still works, however imperfectly. Our votes still count, even if our political speech often gets drowned out by moneyed interests.”
Instead of a different definition, permit me to offer a different basis for exploring whether or not America is indeed a nation with very definite Fascist characteristics.
Consider the following list of fourteen common features of Fascism exhibited by Hitler's Germany, Mussolini's Italy, Tojo's Japan, Franco’s Spain, Salazar’s Portugal, Papadopoulos’s Greece, Pinochet’s Chile, and Suharto’s Indonesia. And then ask Yourself whether or not America, its ruling elite, and its government run by that elite's wholly-owned and -operated politicians and bureaucrats exhibit any of the same characteristics [even back in 2013]:
-1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism.
-2. Disdain for the importance of human rights.
-3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause.
-4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism.
-5. Rampant sexism.
-6. A controlled mass media.
-7. Obsession with national security.
-8. Religion and ruling elite tied together.
-9. Power of corporations protected.
-10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated.
-11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts.
-12. Obsession with crime and punishment.
-13. Rampant cronyism and corruption.
-14. Fraudulent elections.
To which can be added
-15. Central Banking and dependency on budget deficits, borrowing, and governmental debt [linked to #s 2, 4, 7, 9, and 13].
-16. Political, economic, and military imperialism [linked to #s 1-4, 6-9, and 13].
-17. Corruption and militarization of law and regulatory enforcement [linked to #s 2, 9, 10, 12, and 13].
-18. Racism, ethnicism, xenophobism, sectarianism, ageism, and classism [linked to #s 1-3, 7, 8, 10, and 11].
-19. Restrictions on and/or violations of freedoms of conscience, speech, press, assembly, and association [linked to #s 2, 3, 5, 6, and 9-11].
-20. Violations of freedom From [along with and as opposed to merely Of] religion [linked to #s 2, 5, and 8].
[Note: The full list of Numbers 1-14 with explanations is at the article, "Fascism Anyone ???", by Laurence Brittby at https://secularhumanism.org/2003/03/fascism-anyone/ . Numbers 15-20 are presented in a separate rant.]
Given those 20 characteristics of classical, traditional, post-World War I-, World War II-, and Cold War I-epoch Fascism, it was easy to characterize as and call The Age of Trump and the reign of POTUS Maxximmuss XLV "Fascist."
But which of those characteristics were and are equally applicable as accurate descriptions of the Obama, Bush II, Clinton, Bush I, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Truman, Roosevelt, Hoover, Coolidge, Harding, and Wilson regimes? To say nothing of Lincoln's. An easier question to answer would be which of those listed properties and attributes of Fascism were and are Not characteristic of any of those earlier administrations?
And what has changed in Items 1 thru 20 above since the onset of The Age of Bidenopia?
As You noted, it is critical to understand that the Fascism engulfing America is not that 20th century Fascism of Hitler, Mussolini, Tojo, Franco, Pinochet, Suharto, and the others like Batista, Noriega, The Shah, Somoza, Marcos, etc [American client-dictators all]. At least not yet.
Nor is it its 21st century variants like China and Russia with their "State Crony Capitalist Fascism." Or like virtually the entire Middle East from Turkey to Saudi Arabia and Iran, and back to Israel, with their Islamo- and Ziono-Fascisms, respectively. Or elsewhere, in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Oceania, or Europe.
Rather, it is what various scholars have termed "Fascism with 21st century American characteristics," "Fascism with an American Face," "Participatory Fascism," "Democratic Fascism," "Friendly Fascism," and, ultimately, just plain old "Good Fascism."
And such is manifest at full throttle in Swampland and the other corridors and labyrinths of political Power at virtually all subsidiary levels of government and governance in America today. Particularly since The COVID-19 Event and its economic, social, cultural, and psychological fallout and collateral damage.
Americans have been being warned about a "Fascist equivalent" in the United States since even before the Fascist realities of Hitler, Mussolini, and Tojo had been destroyed, with three books published in 1944: OMNIPOTENT GOVERNMENT: The Rise of the Total State and Total War by Ludwig von Mises; THE ROAD TO SERFDOM by Friedrich A Hayek [dedicated "To the socialists of all parties"]; and AS WE GO MARCHING by John T Flynn.
The Warnings continued in 1975 with Charlotte Twight's AMERICA'S EMERGING FASCIST ECONOMY; in 1980 with FRIENDLY FASCISM: The New Face of Power in America by Bertram Gross; and in 2008 with DEMOCRACY INCORPORATED: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism by Sheldon Wolin.
And most recently, Jeffrey Tucker's RIGHT-WING COLLECTIVISM: The Other Threat to Liberty [2017] and Carl Boggs' FASCISM OLD AND NEW: American Politics at the Crossroads [2018] have brought all those older works up to date and right into the 21st century, at least thru Trump.
All of these works are strongly recommended to any American ~ but particularly any GenXer, GenZer, and Millennial ~ who wants a very clear look at what America's future could very easily hold, and why.
It is a shame my parents' generation [once the "Greatest," now the "Silent"] didn't read, react and respond to, and act upon Mises, Hayek, and Flynn back when they had the chance. And it is a tragedy that my Boomer generation missed those foundational works and that of Twight and Gross when we had our chance, as well. Hopefully, the next Generations of Citizens and those they choose as their political, economic, social, and cultural leaders will not make the same mistakes.
Wonderful essay!!! I hope it gets added to CN and Common Dreams and any other web site that publishes comments. I also thank you for the link to Christian Sorensen's column written 2 years ago, and even more important today! His line " When war is business, peace is your enemy". should be enshrined on the doorway of the Pentagon and at the CIA and in the hearts of all our congressmen/women. I hope all your readers will use the link to read his article.
You mention the anti war protest that fell apart recently. Can you explain what happened? I noted that several people who would have spoken didn't because they were more or less asked not to (??) What was going on there? I note too that the turnout was low, which surprised and disheartened me. What sort of bickering was going on ? And how can the organizers be so idiotic?
I wouldn't say it fell apart. But the rally had nearly 30 speakers, and naturally a few of them raised concerns. For example, Tulsi Gabbard was considered "not anti-war enough." Another speaker was considered hostile to the LGBTQ community. Another speaker had to step aside due to a mistake in his past. And so on.
The problem, of course, is that you can't organize by rejecting those who aren't perfect by your definition. We need a mass movement, not a perfect one. Mass means imperfections.
It will be interesting to see what happens next month, ON THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE U.S. INVASION OF IRAQ: NATIONAL MARCH ON WASHINGTON SATURDAY, MARCH 18
United National Antiwar Coalition [UNAC] Statement, February 20, 2023
Coinciding with the 20th anniversary weekend of the criminal U.S.-invasion of Iraq, a major set of actions, including a demonstration at the White House in Washington, D.C., will take place Saturday, March 18, demanding “Peace in Ukraine — Say NO to Endless U.S. Wars” and “Fund People’s Needs, Not the War Machine.”
Since 2003, the U.S. has engaged in sanctions (economic war) on more than 40 countries. These targets of U.S. economic warfare include the people of Cuba, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran and many other nations. Even in the wake of the worst disasters, like the recent deadly earthquake, Washington keeps its cruel sanctions in place against Syria.
U.S. bases and “commands” blanket most of the world. It is a global empire.
The Biden administration is determined to escalate the Ukraine war. The real goal of the massive arming and training of Ukrainian forces has nothing to do with the interests of Ukrainian, Russian or U.S. people. The aim instead is to “weaken Russia,” as stated by the U.S. Secretary of Defense himself, even at the risk of a catastrophic nuclear war that could end life on Earth.
A U.S. general commanding 50,000 troops in the Pacific also issued a letter to his sub-commanders in recent days, informing them that he believes that the United States will be at war with China within two years. The danger of global war is growing! The people must act!
The demonstration will make connections between the human and financial toll of U.S. militarism at home and abroad. Key demands include:
Peace in Ukraine — No weapons, no money for the Ukraine War!
Abolish NATO — End U.S. militarism and sanctions!
Fund people’s needs, not the war machine!
No war with China!
End U.S. aid to racist apartheid Israel!
Fight racism and bigotry at home, not other peoples!
U.S. hands off Haiti!
End AFRICOM!
Endorsers:
United National AntiWar Coalition; ANSWER Coalition; Black Alliance for Peace; The People’s Forum; CodePink; World BEYOND War; Popular Resistance; Veterans for Peace; International Action Center; Party for Socialism and Liberation; Al-Awda; The Palestine Right to Return Coalition; Labor Against Racism and War; Leonard Peltier Defense Committee; Universal African Peoples Organization; Workers World Party; East Bay Democratic Socialists of America; Socialist Action; Nevada Green Party; Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network; Ohio Peace Council; Green Party of Connecticut; Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Social Justice Committee; Environmentalists Against War; Pacific Green Party (Oregon); Linn-Benton Chapter, Lauren Faith Smith Ministry for Nonviolence; Maine Cumberland County Greens; Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace; San Jose Peace and Justice Center; Servicio Particular Alacran; Minnesota Peace Action Coalition; PeaceWorks of Greater Brunswick; UPWARD (Uniting Peace With Actions Respect and Dignity); Socialist Party of America; North Country Peace Group; . . . and more.
Fascism is exactly what it is.
Good piece, as per usual. I would point out that the welfare state still eats up the lions share of the federal budget-not that I disagree with your assessment of the damage caused by the MIC, economic and in terms of loss of civil liberties. I mean, even Rome had its bread and circuses-they call that SS and Medicare today.
Sadly I share your take on the Christian silence in the face of this monstrous violence, as I wrote about a few weeks ago: https://believeandobey.net/the-christian-peace-movement-is-awol/
Social Security is something that all workers contribute to, and indeed some people die before they are eligible for SS.
Medicare is state-funded health care that is generally a better bargain than private health care. Certainly, Medicare could be made more efficient, but the system also faces intense pressure from various for-profit lobbying groups like Big Pharma.
The welfare state is a problem, but often warfare is a form of welfare for corporations, and some "welfare" (as in government subsidies) go to special interests like fossil fuel execs and big agriculture.
What's funny is how many people oppose big government yet at the same time they embrace the military as if it's not big government!
Indeed, there is an obliviousness between many who claim to support small government and yet are all in on the empire.
I will eschew a debate about SS as that was not the point of your essay. I was only attempting to provide context for how much of total federal spending was taken up by the military as well as highlight the deep connection between government power used domestically and internationally. It is not a coincidence that the three main eras of “progressivism” in 20th. century US, the Progressive ERA, New Deal, Great Society, all ended in war.
While we likely have great differences about what to do with a peace dividend, I fully support your efforts to generate that dividend. Peace.
Thanks. We might agree on that peace dividend. I'd love to see some of it directly refunded to the American people -- let families decide how to spend and save their "dividends." Meanwhile, our infrastructure, which seems forever linked to the word "crumbling," needs major rehab. And we sure could use better schools.
That is an EXCELLENT point, Believe and Obey, that "the three main eras of 'progressivism' in 20th. century US, the Progressive ERA, New Deal, Great Society, all ended in war."
i knew that the New Deal was a failure, and that the only way America got out of The Great Depression was by getting in to World War II. But i hadn't connected the so-called "Progressive Era" with our getting into the War "to end all war" and "make the world safe for democracy. Just a little bit of digging makes that pretty evident.
And i always figured that the only way certain Special Vested Interests would go along with the cost of a so-called "Great Society" was if they got their fair of the loot by having a war in Southeast Asia.
What meaning do you draw from this, Jeff?
For me, war is pretty much perpetual in U.S. history. So you could link a war or wars to almost any political epoch in our history.
That is true-the US has been at war for 222 out of 240 years since the end of the revolution in 1783. Yet the really destructive wars that the US engaged in (yes, I know they are all destructive) occurred as a result of some great moral cause that convinced the populace that a “great” war was acceptable.
The Civil War fits this framework, as well as the 20th century conflicts I mentioned. The remaining conflicts were run of the mill imperial conquests of the Native Americans (genocide really) and the Mexicans (certainly fueled by the “moral” cause of the Great Awakening and Manifest Destiny) and running battles in the hinterlands-see Rome for a comparative history.
My only suggestion to counter all this is to wage a religious and ideological battle for peace, and strip the government of as much power as we possibly can.
Give peace a chance! But they rarely do. Especially given our huge standing military and its global mission of total dominance.
You make another EXCELLENT point, Believe and Obey, in Your suggestion to “strip the government of as much power as we possibly can.”
Which raises a question: Exactly what kind of ~ and how much ~ power does the government need in order to successfully perform it proper function?
Which raises another question: What exactly IS the proper function of government? Why do Humans have governments? What exactly are they supposed to be doing? Particularly as compared to what they are actually doing, and have been doing ever since the first governments were created, pulled together, and put to work?
In any event, before there can be a “religious and ideological battle for peace,” there needs to be a moral and intellectual Declaration of War Against War, and against the forces that make War possible, probable, and perpetual.
War is not merely “pretty much perpetual in U.S. history,” Bill. War ~ and its preparation for, recovery from, and planning for the next one ~ IS perpetual in U.S. history, regardless of the political epoch.
This nation has been at war with somebody someplace ever since it has existed. It started with the French and Indians, and then the British, and then more Indians, and then the Mexicans, and then more Indians again, and then the Confederate States of America, and then what was left of the Indians to the end, and then the Spanish, and then the 20th century. And now the 21st century.
And the meaning that i draw from all this is that War has always been on the agenda of America’s Ruling Political Class from the beginning, and will always be until either that RPC is put out of business, or America is defeated, destroyed, and occupied by a new, more global RPC.