parowley said:
The democratic history of the United States, the fact that it has a very well developped and robust civil society and the freedoms already constitutionally entrenched mean that it is extraordinairily unlikely that a true, historical fascist regime will arise. That doesn't mean, however, that the current government can't share certain aspects common to fascist regimes. That's the point I'm trying to make.
In times of great societal stress, this is possible in any country. But, those aspects that are common to fascist regimes in this regard are not the defining elements of fascism, nor are they the causes of fascism.
You mentioned in one of the points the so-called fraudulent election with regard to Florida. Think about what you're suggesting: a narrow margin of victory in a hotly contested election may have been held together by some monkey business...this is fascism? If it's anything (and I'm not saying it is) it's corruption. Find me a democratic/republican nation that has never experienced fraud in an election...
It's easy to pick out singular examples that match a list of characteristics; I could devise a list of characteristics for a communist state and find examples in the U.S. and Canada that demonstrate both are headed in that direction. But it wouldn't be valid to do so in my mind; it's too simplistic and ahistorical.
As to the link, or lack thereof, between fascism and free market capitalism: well, history is the best indicator, the evidence is there and plain to see. One thing, though, development is clearly important. You can't slap down a free market system in a place that has never had such and expect it to take hold overnight; the same is, of course, true about democratic systems of government. But where frre markets develop over time, fascism has a hard time taking hold. Alot has to do, not with the specifics of the system but with it's consequences: success. Fascism feeds off of fear (as does socialism and communism), we all know this. When it comes to industry, that fear is either because of a nation's industrial weakness (prompting nationalization of an industry) or a monopoly's greed (prompting goverenment take-over). Under what circumstances could this occur in the U.S.? One problem: two many corporations. Another: history of Government-control leading to failure. Yet another: private sector out-performs gov. (USPS vs. UPS/FedEx). Still more: participation of international companies in the U.S. market (long history of this, even during the Isolationist period in U.S. history). I could go on; these examples fit England and Australia, for the most part (particulary the latter). England has it's own unique history; I would be shocked if anyone even suggested that it might one day turn towards fascism.
Bye for now,
Rob
