How Democracy is losing to Fascism around the world?

[kentuck]

It's worse than anyone has told you.

Fascism is control of governments by corporations and monied interests.

The one way that democracies (the people) could control corporations until recently was by taxation. That is no longer possible. Big corporations can simply threaten to move their jobs to other countries if you try to raise their taxes. High taxes on corporations is now an obsolete idea.

The loss of the power to tax is the loss of democracy.

It manifests itself in the wealthy taking over the levers of power, as they have done in Russia, and some will say, and America. It is difficult to argue against that statement. Two people in the state of Washington have as much wealth as half of America. This is the way wealth is now being distributed around the world.

If we look closely, Fascism is winning this war. You may call this defeatism and surrender, just negative comments to demoralize the people? I would say it is closer to reality than any of us have realized.

[cilla4progress]

1. Hopefully, kentuck, it is part of a

continuum, a pendulum.

When the monied class applies too much pressure to the rest, it has a way of biting them in the butt.

[kentuck]

3. Historically, that has been the case.

The people no longer have the options they used to have, in my opinion. In my opinion, the only way to defeat this trend is not with a national revolution, but with a world-wide revolution. Unions are losing strength. The rule of law is being diminished. The right to vote is being challenged by propagandists. It is very depressing if we think about it too deeply.

[blm]

7. ✔️✔️

[abqtommy]

2. Historically, Fascists come out of the starting gate louder, more fanatical and prone to violence.

History, particularly, during WWII shows us that the longer it takes to put the push-back in place, the more violent is the end of the Fascists. The current war has just started. Stock up on popcorn, chips and beverages and stay tuned. These things are cyclic, there's no reason to despair...yet.

[cilla4progress]

4. Man, I completely

agree with you BOTH!

[kentuck]

5. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

Vote Bloomberg!

It's happening right in front of our noses.

[guillaumeb]

6. A nice observation. eom

[cilla4progress]

9. Serious?

No way man. Just take his money and run a true progressive.

[kentuck]

10. I was being facetious but...

...a lot of people are falling for it, it seems to me.

[cilla4progress]

15. Whew!

I think they just love his ads.

I don't know how my 92 year old lifelong Dem mother in law will vote for Bernie (or Elizabeth..?). She's liking Bloomberg because she watches TV all day and is flooded with his ads!

I haven't adjudged Bloomberg yet as a patriot.

I think Bernie (or Elizabeth) needs a moderate on the ticket. May I suggest Amy Klobuchar??

[DemocracyMouse]

39. Huh? Sanders and Warren are traditional Democrats. Read your history books.

[ancianita]

16. I don't believe the hype. If he's the nominee, I'll still vote for him, but for right now...nope.

[Magoo48]

24. Yes, kentuck, is see this happening as well.

Only grassroots actions will save us from the corporate fascism, world domination. There is just too much money flowing into the pockets of too many politicians for humanity to expect much from them. imo It is a mess, indeed. It may very well be the Climate Catastrophe bomb that really shakes things all apart. Time will tell. At 71, I don’t know how much of it I will see play out.

Thanks for your insight.

[PETRUS]

8. Two reactions to this, kentuck:

First, as your post hints at, the economy is a driver of fascist impulses. Most social scientists say stagnating or declining wages and standards of living along with increasing inequality is what is allowing right wing populists to get traction.

Second, we have not lost the power to tax. There are plenty of economists offering solutions on this front. A somewhat recent book (which I read last month) has specific suggestions about how to go about it in the age of globalization. The book is "The Triumph of Injustice: How the Rich Dodge Taxes and How to Make Them Pay," by Emmanuel Saez, Gabriel Zucman, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in this topic, and dearly hope that anyone in a position to influence public policy reads it.

[kentuck]

11. How much taxes did Amazon pay last year?

The vast accumulations of wealth is a real problem. I could see how to make them pay more in taxes, thru infrastructure, etc. But, as of right now, they seem to be in the driver's seat. Democracy is losing.

[PETRUS]

14. It's a huge problem (the vast accumulations of wealth).

We have to muster the political will to do it. Voting for people who champion aggressive and progressive tax policies would help.

[cilla4progress]

12. I live in Washington state.

Ironically, our state is presently tied up in knots over "repeat offender" and petty criminal anti-taxer, Tim Eyman's now successful initiative to lower car tabs to $30 (he keeps bringing this up!).

While it sounds good superficially, it will devastate our transportation systems in the state.

Home to Microsoft and Amazon - if they were fairly taxed wouldn't it go a long way to addressing the problem??

[Scotch-Irish]

13. Thanks for this, Kentuck.

It's important that people (particularly the young who might turn into republicans) start to get educated about this. I hope it's not too late.

[gembaby1]

17. It's really losing to oligarchy,

And authoritarianism. People fear changes in the world. They don’t want to think for themselves. They turn to people who say they will take care of that for them.

[librechik]

18. It's a real war, not imaginary. The other side cheats because the end justifies the means

Democrats don't cheat because we were taught some kind of moral code other than Crush the other guy and take everything he has. Remember the Peace Corps? Republicans crushed it. Remember ACORN? Crushed. ACA? In the crusher waiting for the Roberts court to turn the switch on.

Republicans/Dixiecrats, are no longer Americans, just plantation owners and their enablers

[love_katz]

19. THIS

Plus a gazillion!

[Eyeball_Kid]

20. "Threatening to move" is not the same as moving.

Corporations bluff all the time. It's incumbent on governments that tax to fashion their policies to lessen the risk of the loss of industry. A number of incentives can be applied even if there's a tax increase... One wonders how European industries flourish with... VATs, of all things. Heavens. We CAN'T assume that Europeans have good ideas, now can we? How does the EU keep its industries while US Corporations scare the bejesus out of state and federal government with THREATS of moving overseas???

And guess what? Look at the auto industry. No matter how many incentives governments give to the auto makers, they STILL move much of their operations overseas. So there has to be a structural change in the way that commerce works in the US so that "threats of moving" are empty. But corporations like it the way it is, because they can dictate the terms of their operations inside the US by demanding fewer or no taxes. That's a happy kind of move inside an oligopoly, which is what the US is right now.

[kentuck]

21. That is true...

But they don't have to threaten. Cities and states pay them to stay.

Our political system is awash with money. It is corrupt.

How would you envision a "structural change" in this country?

Could you envision another "depression" or "stock market crash"?

I think an oligopoly with a dictator wanna-be is something closer to fascism.

[warmfeet]

22. I am not giving up all hope just yet.

I have no problem participating in massive work strikes. When things get bad enough people will take action. Stop participating in their rigged economy - see how long until things change. Yes, yes, I know this is very difficult these days, and it hasn't been done here in a long time. Truth is, it can be coordinated better than ever with social media. We will reacquaint ourselves along the way. We will find a way, or we will die. Some of each perhaps. Either way, things will change.

[Johnny2X2X]

30. Social media makes the problem worse, but could be part of a solution

Social media was exactly what fascists always dreamed of, a way to spread propaganda unfettered. One side is bound by the truth, that's a massive disadvantage in the marketplace of ideas right now.

The Right doesn't even need to win arguments, they simply need to cast enough doubt and then move on.

Social media can be part of the solution, but I fear only if improvements are made to it in terms of stopping the spread of fake stories and propaganda.

[dustyscamp]

36. 1+

[Linda Ed]

23. OM you have to watch this,,,it's' awesome

A great parody video. Speaks for itself. Best anti-Trump video/song I have seen to date.Please send to your friends. It has a chance of going viral. It’s on youtube at this address:

&feature=youtu.be

[dmr]

25. That was awesome! Thank you for sharing.

[kentuck]

26. +1000

[PCIntern]

37. Outstanding!!!

Thanks! Will send along.

[appalachiablue]

27. A real wake up call for an am post, thank you! These are the times...

[DoubleDeuce]

28. Oligarchy

Not trying to be argumentative(I'm new here)but Fascism is NOT control of government by corporations. I think we need to at least be on the same page as to the problem we face if we plan to mount a vigorous defense against it.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fascism

[FiveGoodMen]

31. Benito Mussolini said...

“Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power”

But what did he know about it?

[DoubleDeuce]

33. Falsely attributed

The Mussolini quote you reference appears to be falsely attributed to Il Duce. It is often sourced to the Enciclopedia Italiana from 1932, but doesn't appear in the text anywhere. It is questionable at best.
You do find some mention of corporatism, and crony capitalism in Britt's 14 defining characteristics of Fascism(#'s 9 & 14), but I wouldn't say that makes the melding of corporations and the state the definition of fascism. There are a number of things that occur to create a true fascist state.....that being said, many of Britt's 14 are firmly in place.
I agree, the country is well on it's way to becoming a fascist state, I just disagree on the definition.
https://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/fasci14chars.html

[FiveGoodMen]

34. What is the fucking point of this?

We know what we're fighting.

You want us to fight about the name of it.

[DoubleDeuce]

38. Information

The point is, to be informed......as a rule, those of us on the left like to know what we're talking about. We like to have our facts straight(most of us anyway).
It's what separates us from the knuckle draggers and mouth breathers on the right. We don't just make things up, when we state a fact we should be able to verify it IMO.

[The Mouth]

29. The sad fact is that (classically defined) Fascism works well (except when it doesn't)

Mussolini defined it (most often) as capitalism/market economy, but with single party control.

Unfortunately, some people who think they know better have tried to redefine it all sorts of ways, (usually as "anything I find yucky and don't agree with). But I think the proper definition should lie with the person who not only created the term, but implemented it. And who was the only professional journalist to ever assume power, he was a well regarded writer long before the March on Rome.

Obviously, with one party control, the markets are never all *that* "free", but the idea of using capitalist energy combined with removing uncertainty over the leadership of the state *can* unleash a lot of political energy. The 1% are quite satisfied with dispensing with the ugliness and disruption of democracy (hell, a lot more than them); beats having to bribe a whole new set of folks after each election, or even backing the losers.

Subsequent history has conflated Fascism with Nazism.Nazism used the Fascist model initially, but only because it worked pretty well for Italy, but the Nazis always viewed all politics and economics as tools of racial purifying, while fascism, for the most part, doesn't really inherently need to be racist to 'work'.

[maxsolomon]

32. Oligarchy is the resting state of human politics.

We just lack the Monarchial trappings now, so the thuggishness is more baldfaced.

Democracy is the anomaly,; rule by the wealthy and violent are the norm.

[Initech]

35. Social media disinformation is also bringing a lot of this on.

It's given us morons who deny climate change, morons who don't want vaccines for deadly diseases, it's brought back the Nazi party, morons who vote for dictators, and it's made people vote against their best interests. Television may have created Trump, but social media disinformation helped fuel his rise to power. And it's not going away anytime soon, it's happening all over the world.