Where do you think words come from?
Moderating
Let’s keep the temperature low and not call people “old man” or “blowhard” or the like.
Just a note to remind everyone.
No, that would be anarchy, which is not the same thing. There is no form of anarchism, as a political ideology, that does not espouse self-governing.
Possible tangent, but I’m not sure that’s accurate. I don’t know of a universal definition for Anarchcism the same way The Communist Manifesto codifies Marxism or The Doctrine of Fascism codifies Fascism, but I believe the only common element of Anarchist ideologies is the total or near total absence of a state. So, self governance could be superceded by familial or even very loose tribal rule, provided there is no state or state apparatus (no chief, no ruling council, no warriors enforcing the rule of said cheif, council, or the group) and still be anarchsim.
Consider that Anarcho-syndicalism still has syndicates, which ultimately serve to set the rules of the cooperative even if they are not in and of themselves a seperate state or state-like apparatus. That’s not “self-rule” as you are beholden to the consensus of the cooperative.
However, bringing it back to your previous argument that started this tangent, I suggest you read a bit of history on how Hitler became chancelor. The Nazi Party was exactly as you describe - lawless, violent and seemingly planless. This was because obstructionism was the most effective way to weaken the Weimar Republic while their lawless extra-curricular activities marshalled support and brutalized/suppressed their opposition.
Fascism is an ideology that does not specify a specific means in the same way that, say, Marxism specifically calls for a violent revolution of the masses that establishes a dictatorship of the proletariat. It’s more similar to a guiding philosophy and end state for society than any particular sequence of events or actions. Thus, while the Nazi’s for instance looked aimless, it was actually more of an expression of their heroic ideal - derived and perverted from Nietzsche’s Ubermensch who does not tolerate the “intolerable” - and a means of achieving political influence.
That is not to say that their means were explicitly fascist, only that they were useful in achieving a variant of Fascism and were in line with the Fascist idealization of the “hero.”
Sure, no argument here. By “self-governing” there I meant as opposed to a state, only. I myself am of a syndicalist tendency.
Anything which has the Fasces symbol.
(How did that not become as verboten as the swatsika)
Seriously. It’s a word devoid of all meaning, a bit like liberalism or conservatism, since it is applied to a very broad set of policies and preferences (almost exclusively negatively),.
It’s divorced from its origin, and even the original kept evolving, Mussolini politics of 1933 was quite different from third of say 1943.
Isn’t it futile to try to come up with one definitive meaning of the term ‘fascist’? I think so because all we need is one authoritarian dictatorship that conforms completely to your idea of ‘fascism’ (whatever that is) but adds one wacky element (such as the state-sponsored adoration of the nightingale, say) and the whole damned thing goes out the window, “This can’t be fascism strictly defined because we venerate a species of birds!!”
Ah. Thank you. I had hoped you’d comment. It makes sense that they would be different words.
I would also add that in order for an action to be fascist, it needs to be directed towards the promotion or preservation of the power of the fascist state. Just because you are being prevented from doing something you want to do or forced to do something you don’t doesn’t make if fascist.
So being forced to wear a mask to prevent Covid: not fascist. Being forced to recite a loyalty oath fascist.
Being blocked from a social media platform because you promote violence: not fasist. Shutting down all media platforms that criticize the government: fascist.
Amusingly, that is close to what an old SNL sketch about Uberman mentioned, the hypothetical scenario where Superman actually landed in Germany and was raised in the Nazi way.
Uberman : Excuse me, Mein Fuhrer! Stand back! There’s a bomb inthis briefcase! [ thorws bomb to the floor, then dives on top of it. The bomb explodes, smoke rises, and Uberman stands up unharmed. ]
Hitler : You smothered the bomb with your body, and you’re not even bleeding! Who are you?
Uberman : I am… Uberman! I have superhuman powers, and Ifight for untruth, injustice, and the Nazi way! And I have X-ray vision!
Lois Laneoff : X-ray vision? Can you see through my clothes?
Uberman : Ya! And through his , too. [ points at Jimmy Olstein ] He’s a Jew!
What about the in-between option? Being blocked from a social media platform because you criticise the government, or something the government strongly supports.
Well, I suppose that depends. Is it because the government supports it, or is it that the views one wishes to express are considered abhorrent by a large number of people, and the government and the social media platform just happen to be on the same page as those people?
I was thinking of people criticising Israel/actions of the Israeli government on US social media. Don’t think I’ve seen anyone kicked off for criticising the US government directly.
I guess the question would be whether the social media platform blocked you because of government pressure. If a private company, on its own, sponsors a gung-ho patriot social media platform that won’t stand for people criticizing old glory, that’s their business (not fascist). But if a government says that since the social media platform will lose their protection from lawsuits, if they kick off any supporters of the president then that might be fascist.
Could you show me an example of that? I’ve seen a lot of people who are critical of Israel on US social media claim that you can’t be critical of Israel on US social media, but I’ve never actually seen it happen.
I’ve never looked into it to see how true it is, but I’ve seen claims that so-and-so was suspended due to criticising Israel. My question was if that happened, would it be fascism? But I can try and find an example if you want.
But you made sure to spread it.
Oh ffs. I only explained what I was thinking of because ASL totally misinterpreted it.
@Alessan, I found an article saying the social media companies are blaming glitches and their automated moderation algorithms:
While that definitively warrants further investigation, I can’t really see it as fascism.