Thoughts about apathy and fascism. First, capitalism and the “liberal democracy” we associate with it have long promised to solve all our social problems: but they don’t, and they can’t. Indeed, they bring new intrinsic problems that are sold as features: loss of the commons, economic instability, fear of unemployment, the alienation of being under the control of the boss, the politician, and the bureaucrat, the particular kinds of sexism and racism, the separation from nature, the disruption of community, the alienation of consumerism, and more. We may be told these are trade-offs that bring us a better life, but the people who gain from the trade-offs are not the people who pay the price.
That means there is a huge well of dissatisfaction, resentment, anger, and fear even when the system is working well, for the pundits’ definition of well. Crises, economic, political, and social, crank it all up and people conclude the system does not work and seek solutions. Without positive, progressive, democratic options, they are vulnerable to the false hope of fascism. It’s not so much fascists appeal to a non-existent golden age so much as they tap into that well of dissatisfaction, etc. and turn the heat up and play on that longstanding sense of grievance with “the system” to promise a new way. And they legitimate that anger and give voice to it in ways that offer temporary catharsis.
Meanwhile, the moderates never say, “look, you’re right, the system has long failed you and your anger is entirely justified. Let’s build something better together.” They hedge. They compromise, they sound hypocritical, because they want to maintain and tinker with the system that brought people to the point of crisis and despair and that keeps the moderates in power.
At the same time, when capitalism stumbles and profit rates fall, when people organize and push back, a segment of the capitalist class is only too eager to promote fascism and state violence as a way to hang onto their wealth and power. Fascism drowns out other alternatives because of the power of the wealthy and their control of the media and political system. Their control isn’t complete, but it doesn’t need to be to be effective. They drown out progressive alternative voices, break unions and left movements, leaving people with few real choices and opportunities to build something positive.
And again, the moderates who largely say “vote for us because we will make the system better using the most modern tools and technologies to do so” are telling people thier anger and fear and actual historical experience of “the system” don’t matter and they should settle down and wait for things to get better. That patronizing response only fuels anger.
Given all that, the fact that so many people conclude that voting is not the answer or that voting for alternative parties is important may make some sense. It is an opportunity, not a crisis, for a progressive left. And we see in some of the part of the reason for the appeal of Bernie et al.
I’m not saying “moderates are fascists,” not at all. I am saying they do not address the deeper problems of the system and so are unlikely to reach large numbers of people. That they then turn around and blame those people for the rise of fascism doesn’t help.