Thanks, bud. A thought

by Greg, seemingly ranch, Wednesday, October 31, 2018, 09:58 (2709 days ago) @ Jay
edited by Greg, Wednesday, October 31, 2018, 10:02

It seems to me the best way to stamp out ur-facism before it takes hold (if it has not already) is to deal with these issues:

Ur-Fascism derives from individual or social frustration. That is why one of the most typical features of the historical fascism was the appeal to a frustrated middle class, a class suffering from an economic crisis or feelings of political humiliation, and frightened by the pressure of lower social groups.

The followers must feel humiliated by the ostentatious wealth and force of their enemies.

Combine those two things, and you get to the heart of ur-facism's appeal to the masses. People frustrated because of economic woes and feelings of humiliation politically and socially due to the "ostentatious" behavior of those with whom they politically disagree. When you hear people talk about the NY/LA "coastal elites" you can (as people have this week) try to make that code for "Jews" but I have never thought that way. Rather, I've thought of $4 million 2500-square foot apartments in NYC owned by people who also own $5 million Manhattan Beach estates as well as properties in foreign countries. These people drive luxury automobiles, fly in private jets, and wear clothing that costs a month's pay for the frustrated middle class. To make the money they spend so callously, they do not make any product or provide any service that people see on a day-to-day basis; they dabble in "finance" or the entertainment industry or do something in the tech world that seems overvalued even to people on CNBC. They also spend profligately on both social causes and political candidates and tell the frustrated middle that those people in the middle have lost the "culture wars" and should be quiet.

Is it any wonder that the frustrated middle, being put down by these types while suffering economically, gravitate to ur-fascism?

I'm a root cause guy. Maybe it came from my law school class "economics of crime" but I look for how we as a society can stop bad things (or slow them) at their roots rather than blaming the last step in the process that led to the bad result. Yes, it is easy for ur-fascists to gather the frustrated middle by pointing to some outsider as "the bad" or "the enemy" but if we as a society do not frustrate the middle then they won't be as inclined to want to seek out an enemy.

So why don't we do that?

--
The 2007 ND-UCLA game was a once in a lifetime experience, I hope