The defining political feature of the 20th century was not progress, but concentration of power. Time and again, nations abandoned rule by consent in favor of control. Despite their different flags and philosophies, most totalitarian regimes followed one of five structural models.
Communist- The government takes ownership of everything and unelected bureaucrats run the country.
Fascist- Corporations take ownership of the government and unelected executives run the country.
Theocratic- Religion takes ownership of everything and unelected holy men run the country.
Monarchist- A wealthy family takes control of everything and an unelected bloodline runs the country.
Banana Republic- The military takes control of everything and unelected officers run the country.
Although the dysfunctional dynasties were mostly a carryover from past centuries, they, along with the dubious dictatorships and deified delusionals were, in most cases, pounded down into the dirt like tent stakes in the 100 years preceding our glorious modern century. Because of this badly beheaded historical record, in the 21st Century, things look different, even if deep down inside, they are still very much the same.
Today, we are going to cover just one of the new old totalitarian tropes, Modern Fascism. You know, like what we have here in the US.
Modern Fascism
The inherent flaw in all 5 of these past authoritarian types is that all were single party rule. Therefor, when the masses had problems, complaints, or a need to rebel, they knew exactly who to go to with their issues, requests, and plow shears.
This is why the good ole US of A, in all its All American ingenuity, has adopted a WWE style 2 party front for its fascist uniparty.
WWE, what does professional wrestling have to do with politics?
Everything, nowadays. Everything from the pumped up and overly oiled, bigger than life personalities and opinions to the narrative based on-camera only rivalries and all their vitriol, villainy, vengeance, vindictiveness, and vacillation, not to mention the constant investment in veritable invective inversion , invariably invented to elicit your emotional dopamine hits.
With this strategy, politicians and pundits can defame their Potemkin opposition as monsters and madmen, deflecting all blame for their own failure to properly represent their constituents or work towards their benefit, onto the evil machinations of the “Other side.”
Everyone seems to agree that the “other guys” are corrupt and owned by corporate interests. Why is it so hard to realize that mega rich corporations would never stop at buying just one side of the scenario? They want it all and they want t now!
To prove the reality of this Potemkin Oppositional Party Paradigm (POPP), all one needs do is look at the myriad bipartisan accomplishments they have unanimously ushered in to steal your health, wealth, and civil liberties.
War- there is always enough money and votes for bombing, bulleting, and burning anyone unfortunate enough to have been born above sizeable deposits of oil, precious metals, or rare earth minerals1.
Foreign Aid- There is more than enough money to pay for universal healthcare, higher education, and an overall better quality of life for an entire nation. It’s just too bad it’s not this nation2.
Personal Enrichment- They vote in lock step to keep anti-corruption measures such as banning insider trading by Senators and Representatives, from ever becoming the law of the land.
De-Regulation- Hell, they can’t wait to accept small campaign donations from corporations and industries wishing to lessen their responsibility to the health, wealth, and happiness of the masses they sell to.
Wait, did I say responsibility? Nix that. The only responsibility that US corporations have is to increase the value of their shareholder’s stocks (Dodge V Ford, 1919). I should have said, “lessen the bare minimum required cleanup of their environmental catastrophes and lower the standards that ensure the quality of their products.CYA style “get out of jail free” actions- God save us, if we were to ever try to hold one of these corrupt kleptocrats accountable for their actions.
“No, now is not the time to look back and play the blame game.” says the pedophilic political pundit. “We must look forward, for new ways to get you to hate your neighbor more than you hate us!!”
All of this unquestionable unity and agreement falls away immediately upon the proposal of any legislation that might lessen the suffering of the people these pricks are supposed to represent.
Infrastructure falling apart- “We just don’t have the funds because those guys keep wasting your money!”
Healthcare- “Sure you pay for all the research and development of all these drugs and protocols, yet still are forced to pay more for the eventual product than anyone else on Earth, but that is because those other guys are intractable on it being this way!”
Stagnant wages and the cost of living- “What do you mean you can’t afford to live in a studio apartment with your spouse and 2 children while working full time for minimum wage? Why, right before I was elected to my position 2 years ago, I was making minimum wage and now look at me, I am a multi-millionaire with Israeli dual citizenship. Pull your self up by your boot straps and work harder, like I did.”
This is how one government can, with a straight face and a smug attitude of self-righteousness, freeze an entire country over a danger detectable only via statistics, annihilate its small and mid-sized businesses, compel its citizens to submit to an experimental and noticeably hazardous medical intervention, and shovel trillions into the vaults of its owners, the most powerful corporations on earth, then casually point across the aisle, assign blame, and somehow, unbelievably, keep its enraptured followers nodding mindlessly in agreement and dutifully hating their neighbors.
And that, in a nutshell, is modern day fascism. Our government, part and parcel, is 100% owned by the ultra mega monopoly known as the corporate blob3. Nothing will ever improve until the power and the personhood of corporations are removed and placed in the dust bin of history. How do we do this?
State legislatures need to enact laws stripping “personhood” from corporations incorporated within their state4.
Utilize anti trust laws to break up the “Too big to fail” financial giants5.
Utilize criminal laws to go after the individuals within corporations who make the decisions that hurt people and damage their property6.
Community engagement. Getting to know your neighbors nullifies the ability of the modern fascist state to divide and conquer the populace by othering and blaming everyone’s neighbors.
”We are all far more alike than we are different or than we are like the .001% who are stealing everything from us. “ -Me
The U.S. political economy is controlled by a small group of the wealthiest nihilists and is maintained through lies, a military-industrial economy, and perpetual wars around the world to maintain and increase their wealth. It is a death cult that people worship by their participation.
Edward Curtain
Right on! Nothing makes a progressive go volcanic more than pointing out that the democratic party is fascist too. The US has been fascist at least since the days of the railroads. Disney and Ford loved Hitler. And WW2 wasn't fought to stop fascism, nor was it fought to protect the Jews. It was about protecting liberty and stopping totalitarianism. Hitler was vehemently anti-communist. And when he was defeated, America imported many German scientists and intellectuals via Operation Paperclip and then quickly pivoted to contain communism. To preserve liberty. And to that end what you suggest is essential: get rid of corporate personhood. Pierce the corporate veil and hold accountable the captains of industry who don't prioritize their customers over their stakeholders. The path is clear. Will we follow it? Sorry to say asolutely not.