On Fascism... Pt 1 - Idealism

From Wikipedia:

Fascism (/ˈfæʃɪzəm/ FASH-iz-əm) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement that rose to prominence in early-20th-century Europe. Fascism is characterized by support for a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived interest of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy. Opposed to communism, democracy, liberalism, pluralism, and socialism.

Buckle up, buttercup! Let me take you to the depths of my brain and to the land of dialectical and historical materialism, and let's dive into the thoughts, concepts, and tangents that make this ridiculously complex story into something fun and exhilarating! (And incredibly exhausting).

First of all, it's very important to establish that the vast majority of people on this planet are part of the 99%: those who don't own the means of production; even when some may think differently, feel superior, inferior, support Team A instead of Team B or vice-versa, etc. we are all fighting the same fight: trying to survive in a world that becomes more hostile by the minute.

Modern fascism is predominantly an ethnocentric movement that is protected by the dominant economic system, which has found incredible domination strategies, all of them based on promises and ideology, and here is where I'm going to make my first tangent and talk about the market of ideas, which is the cornerstone of modern day liberalism, and consequently Neoliberalism. The concept that everything is in your head and if you can set your mind to it, you can make it happen! That when X occurs, the we can do Y! And that all those beliefs we hold dear to our heart are the only truth we need! These things sound super nice, and perhaps even plausible, but they are as effective as thoughts and prayers are for traumatic events in some countries.

Having to deal with idealism makes fighting capitalism 1000x* more difficult, because people only has to believe in it. It is a lot easier to attribute your current situation to your own talents or shortcomings, and not to a system that is designed to serve capital instead of human needs: the more capital we have, the better off we will be, except that when you think you have enough the goal posts have moved dramatically, and you get to start again! just work a little bit harder, make that extra effort, go the extra mile, because at the end of the day, how else is your boss going to to buy that new house by the lake? Or that boat!

Photo by Geio Tischler / Unsplash

I work hard so my boss can live well!

But how? Are people that stupid? (I hear you ask!). Well, no. The answer really is no, people aren't stupid, we are just conditioned to think in a certain way because the system has been indoctrinating us since day one, we all learn from a very early age that our mission as human beings is: birth, study, get a job, get a family, get a car, a house, and if you do this, life will reward you at the age of retirement, when you can no longer feel your legs and are too tired to do the things you wanted to do anyway. But hey! check out Disneyworld!. It's the carrot on a stick conundrum, and idealism convinces us that to get through it we just have to go at it one day at a time. Eyes on the prize!

Then BOOM! Catastrophe! Some guy from a country whose name you can't even pronounce, with a funny accent, and a skin colour different than yours comes around and starts working in your company, suddenly you notice that this person is doing a lot more, but not getting paid nearly as much, this person doesn't share your spiritual beliefs and can totally work over Christmas break without raising much issue, and next thing you know your own job might be at risk! What a sellout that guy is!

Back from my tangent, that very common example is one of the many ways in which material reality differs from the ideal world, one is happening before our eyes, and the other is happening exclusively in our heads and we get to make the narrative. This is the gap exploited by fascists and the like.

Back to the tangent; now, that person from the example was then told that they were being rejected because of who they were, and that the things they were saying were wrong (and if there's something people does not like, is being told what to do with a tone). Yet another easy way to hijack their mind and tell them who their target is.

Photo by Wesley Tingey / Unsplash

So, those who are being called fascists these days are, by and large, just incredibly misinformed people who are frustrated with their material reality, but don't have the tools to understand it in those terms because all they have been given are concepts that should be working but aren't. Let me be clear here, some people in this group are far gone, and to those I say fuck 'em, but I know from experience that getting people to ask questions instead of being told what to think can lead them to understand their issues and if they try hard enough, even feel empathy for those affected.

The person with the accent did not come down to steal your job, they were brought in by your boss in order to increase their profit margin, cut down on salary expenses and increase revenue. Bosses love this one life hack! And because our bosses' bosses have been colluding with governments to bomb some countries to create instability and extract their resources, it's all a happy cycle of people leaving their homelands due to the conflict and becoming available cheap labour in the countries that control the wealth. Perfect recipe!

We are getting to the end of this first part of the story, and for now, I invite you to talk to your friends and family, talk to your neighbours and remember that your community is more important than your boss' new motorcycle. Talk to those you think you're different from and you might realize that you probably have more in common than you imagine. Ask them what their troubles are, and you'd be surprised to find that their answer might not be as different as yours would be, then with that knowledge, find a way to ask questions and listen to what they have to say. Remember that for the privileged, equality feels like oppression; and that they have been convinced that human dignity is a zero-sum game, where they are supposed to have more than others. We can tell them otherwise with empathy, and I trust you will!

Next time I will finally get into historical materialism!

Thank you for reading all the way down here! That was over 1200 words in a world of 30-second videos! - email me at [email protected]. Let's connect and use our privilege to amplify the voices of those who can't speak!

* Trust me, I did the math