I have been thinking on fascism a lot. I am afraid of it, of the forces behind it.

I have read a few times the connection between fascism and corporate power. Originally attributed to Mussolini, it turns out that he did not say such thing.

However, that connection feels true to some degree. Most corporations try to take ownership of the group identity. They have their myths and values that try to propagate through their hierarchy. Most of them have an adversarial relationship with the union power and the regulatory power.

For people that are in a precarious position, that need the job and the stability that a corporation provides, this herd/mob could be an appealing environment. In some countries even their health care depends on it.

If the corporation gains too much power over people, their job becomes more precarious. If the gain too much power against the state, they become too big to fail. They start controlling the media, the 4th power, the truth. They can afford to demand loyalty and become a cult or a monopoly.

Fascist parties are not that different. They are trying to replace democracy with power and loyalty. Like corporations, they need people that feel desperate not to be challenged. Like corporations, they will try to seize the other powers, like judiciary. They will try to seize the truth, flooding the zone with shit.

It is tribalism taking over democracy.

Can it happen on its own? I doubt it. Something has to create the right conditions of desperation for fascism to flourish. For being part of the mob to be better than be part of the system. For power not to be redistributed. Democracy negated.

I believe the globalism/austerity/deregulation/meritocracy/neoliberalism trend created this. A constant weakening of the union/worker power. The corporate entry to government through brazen lobbying or public debt. The idea that it is down to the individual to succeed. That public services are benefits.

Party politics have coalesced towards extreme centrism, as David Graeber commented. Non fascist political parties don’t offer alternatives to the status quo. Working people can no longer afford a regular life like the previous generations, so continuity is not an attractive proposition. But a tribe that offers belonging could.

The only viable alternative to extreme centrism that can exist in this power unequal environment is fascism. It attracts the corporations and rich people to continue the inequality.

  • [[]]
  • [[]]
  • [[]]