564
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 07 Nov 2024
564 points (99.3% liked)
politics
19096 readers
2780 users here now
Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!
Rules:
- Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.
Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.
Example:
- Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
- Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
- No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
- Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
- No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning
We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.
All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.
That's all the rules!
Civic Links
• Congressional Awards Program
• Library of Congress Legislative Resources
• U.S. House of Representatives
Partnered Communities:
• News
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
Thanks for the long and thoughtful response, but I think there is some misunderstandings about how Eco's framework applies here. Ur-Fascism identifies things that may tend to lead to fascist thinking, rather than giving a definitive checklist of all actions that are fascist. Traits alone are not fascism; fascism arises when the state pushes to unify under a regime that enforces conformity, suppresses opposition, and uses centralized power to control people's lives.
Remember, we're discussing cutting government programs here, which is an economic decision, not inherently an authoritarian one. Fascism means expanding government power into private lives, enforcing a singular national identity, and controlling all discourse and industries. Cutting state programs, even if you personally disagree with the decision, limits government reach, which contradicts the key central tendency of fascism.
I think Eco's framework is important for recognizing creeping authoritarianism, but when you carelessly apply it too broadly, you risk watering down the concept of fascism. Mislabeling every policy decision you disagree with as "fascist" can make it harder to identify actual authoritarian threats when they arise, and is inherently divisive, attempting to shut down meaningful discussion rather than welcome it. Instead of carelessly jumping straight to labels, I think it's important to have more nuanced discussions about the reasons and implications of government policy.
Cutting agencies isn't a fascist policy. It's a move toward decentralization. Rather than expanding the government and corporate power, cuts to state agencies seek to limit their control over individual lives. It's a move toward necessary fiscal responsibility. The US federal government's current level of spending is not sustainable, and will inevitably lead to the shutdown of all of these agencies and more, crippling taxes (of course always on the middle and lower class), hyperinflation, or an unpleasant mixture of all three.
In fact, I will argue that excessive debt is a powerful driver of authoritarian policies, as the state is forced to prioritize revenue collection, even it it means infringing on the well-being of the people. Fiscal restraint, in contrast, reduces the risk state power will expand through financial necessity, making it anti-authoritarian. I think that's a good thing.
When very charitably, at least 12 of Eco's 14 signs of Ur fascism has been checked off along with the dictionary definition, this is a pretty weak argument - Where do you get your meaning of words if it's not based on the dictionary or on something's traits?
Deregulation and the outsourcing of state power to complicit, newly empowered commercial interests is standard within fascism, and pushing that power from notionally democratic direct government control to undemocratic businesses that have an interest in preserving the government that removed their guardrails and handed them all that power is undeniably authoritarian. Would you make the argument that company towns aren't authoritarian or centralised because it's not government power?
Excessive debt is indeed a driver of authoritatian policy for better or worse, but fascism isn't the only flavour of authoritarianism. Similarly, company towns tend to thrive in small government environments, and are historically incredibly authoritarian. That's not a good thing.
I don't agree that company towns were authoritarian. Can you find a real example that wasn't just a newspaper political cartoon or a song? What did it mean to live in those towns? Think about it rationally. Let's argue that a company was able to completely set up a new town with no previously existing infrastructure. Perhaps a mining company in remote Alaska. How do they get workers? They offer low rent or free housing, good schools, and reasonably priced shops, in addition to attractive salaries. This creates a real-life "company town" we've all heard of. What would happen if the company ever slacked off or attempted to exploit its "monopoly"? Of course, workers would begin to leave and look for work elsewhere! Who could possibly stop them from doing so, other than the state?
That's the major difference between a state authority and a private "authority". Private organizations are subject to market forces and competition. They can't just simply be elected and do as they will for 2,4, 10 years, or life, without concern. The worse job private institutions do, the more unfair their pricing, the more attractive it becomes for competitive forces to come in and take their place. All the examples you can find of how terrible privatization is (e.g. healthcare) is actually because they are completely backed by the full might of the state, creating true monopolies and anti-competitive environment. These often come about as corruption and authoritarianism, private companies give money to key stakeholders in the state, who then use their power to craft regulation to protect their friends at the private companies, in return for more money. This will always happen, regardless of how many rules or safeguards you craft. If you don't like that happening, the only solution is to stop giving the state the power to do that.
What confident ignorance that would be overcome with any research whatsoever. This is clear enough that I don't need to bother with an explanation - Here's 3 search terms for you:
Company town
Pullman
Monopoly