It really is unprecedented as I can't recall an example of an advanced capitalist society collapsing under the weight of its own contradictions without an actual threat to the Bourgeoisie posed by an organized Labor movement. Germany and Italy are textbook examples of Fascism as they both had failed proletarian revolutions and burgeoning socialist movements.
If there are no immediate threats to their power, why would the Bourgeoisie need to, in the first place, resort to Fascists (initially a populist, "grassroots" movement born out of the petit-bourgeoisie only to be hijacked by the haut-bourgeoisie for class collaboration)? Perhaps China and the "Chinese-sympathetic fifth column" could act as that substitute, but so far we've just seen vague platitudes towards "freedom vs authoritarianism". What would it take for them to completely drop liberal democratic pretenses altogether, given how thinly-veiled it is now?
I suppose it's all just conjecture when there are events we can't foresee, but I can't help but think about this every time I see the US sink further into decline. "Interesting times" indeed.
For me I think it's because the very DNA of the US is founded upon fascism and evangelical extremism (the pilgrims were extremists wanting to make a one religion state as history shows and were fully into murdering and supressing those that did not follow along). Add in the genocide of Native Americans, enslavement of Africans into a near industrial scale globalized slave trade system, the suppression of voting to only landed white males originally and tbh it's amazing we haven't gone full fascist earlier and I only think it's because there was a somewhat credible leftist threat in the early 1900s with truly militant labor taking inspiration from the Soviets as well as many leftist social movements continuing into the 80s. However as we see now the state itself has learned from these movements such as via the militarization of police, the NSA being part of the surveillance state, and how the FBI and CIA have legally and illegally involved themselves in sabotaging anything threatening the status quo.
We're in unprecedented times. ICBMs, global supply chains, financialization, real time planetary communication, global warming, and of course late capitalism - This is, as far as I know, the first time that there's been nothing left that they can plunder and feed to the Imperial Core. This time it's not Labor threatening to collapse the system from within, it's the vacuum at the center of the Imperial core pulling everything down towards it.
They can't offer good jobs, they can't offer improving material conditions, they can't offer treats, they can't offer any kind of security or stability. All they've got left to motivate their hogs is the thrill of inflicting violence on someone who can't fight back.
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It really is unprecedented as I can't recall an example of an advanced capitalist society collapsing under the weight of its own contradictions without an actual threat to the Bourgeoisie posed by an organized Labor movement. Germany and Italy are textbook examples of Fascism as they both had failed proletarian revolutions and burgeoning socialist movements.
If there are no immediate threats to their power, why would the Bourgeoisie need to, in the first place, resort to Fascists (initially a populist, "grassroots" movement born out of the petit-bourgeoisie only to be hijacked by the haut-bourgeoisie for class collaboration)? Perhaps China and the "Chinese-sympathetic fifth column" could act as that substitute, but so far we've just seen vague platitudes towards "freedom vs authoritarianism". What would it take for them to completely drop liberal democratic pretenses altogether, given how thinly-veiled it is now?
I suppose it's all just conjecture when there are events we can't foresee, but I can't help but think about this every time I see the US sink further into decline. "Interesting times" indeed.
For me I think it's because the very DNA of the US is founded upon fascism and evangelical extremism (the pilgrims were extremists wanting to make a one religion state as history shows and were fully into murdering and supressing those that did not follow along). Add in the genocide of Native Americans, enslavement of Africans into a near industrial scale globalized slave trade system, the suppression of voting to only landed white males originally and tbh it's amazing we haven't gone full fascist earlier and I only think it's because there was a somewhat credible leftist threat in the early 1900s with truly militant labor taking inspiration from the Soviets as well as many leftist social movements continuing into the 80s. However as we see now the state itself has learned from these movements such as via the militarization of police, the NSA being part of the surveillance state, and how the FBI and CIA have legally and illegally involved themselves in sabotaging anything threatening the status quo.
We're in unprecedented times. ICBMs, global supply chains, financialization, real time planetary communication, global warming, and of course late capitalism - This is, as far as I know, the first time that there's been nothing left that they can plunder and feed to the Imperial Core. This time it's not Labor threatening to collapse the system from within, it's the vacuum at the center of the Imperial core pulling everything down towards it.
They can't offer good jobs, they can't offer improving material conditions, they can't offer treats, they can't offer any kind of security or stability. All they've got left to motivate their hogs is the thrill of inflicting violence on someone who can't fight back.
Good comment, comrade, with the fact that the demonrats are the brakes on accelerationism into a wall of contradictions.