The New Facism
TimeWatch Editorial
February 10, 2016
It was Thursday, October 24, 1929. Eleven years after World War I had ended. A record 12.9 million shares were traded on the stock market that day. Investors were feverishly dumping their holdings in stock. Today, we know Black Friday as the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States (the fourth Thursday of November). Since 1932, it has been regarded as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season in the US, and most major retailers open very early (and more recently during overnight hours) and offer promotional sales. On October 24, 1929 that Thursday was known as “Black Thursday.” The History Channel records the fact that five days later, on “Black Tuesday” some 16 million shares were traded after another wave of panic swept Wall Street. Millions of shares ended up worthless, and those investors who had bought stocks “on margin” (or with borrowed money) were wiped out completely. There were also serious financial issues in Europe.
The Treaty of Versailles required Germany to pay 132 billion gold marks (US$33 billion) in reparations to cover civilian damage caused during World War I. It was signed on 28 June 1919. That war which had begun in1914 ended in 1918. Germany became economically devastated. By 1930, the Germans were in the grip of the Great Depression with a population suffering from poverty, misery, and uncertainty, amid increasing political instability.
With perfect timing, along came Adolph Hitler.
“In his speeches, Hitler offered the Germans what they needed most, encouragement. He gave them heaps of vague promises while avoiding the details. He used simple catchphrases, repeated over and over. He would makeGermany strong again; end payment of war reparations to the Allies; tear up the treaty of Versailles; stamp out corruption; keep down Marxism; and deal harshly with the Jews.”The History Place
Hitler indeed promised to make Germany strong again. He promised to make the Germans a special nation. He promised to rid them of anything or anyone that might be inferior. The people loved him. They followed him everywhere he went. He was never specific where policy was concerned, his charismatic personality and presentation was enough. Hidden beneath the false promises was the fascist phenomenon; to rid the land of the Jews and to create a master race. But Hitler’s is not the only brand of Fascism there is, there are others.
“Political movements that can rightly be called fascist were in the forefront and exercised power in a number of European countries, particularly during the 1930s up to 1945. These included Italy’s Benito Mussolini, Germany’s Adolf Hitler, Spain’s Francisco Franco, Portugal’s António de Oliveira Salazar, France’s Philippe Pétain, Hungary’s Miklós Horthy, Romania’s Ion Antonescu, and Croatia’s Ante Pavelic.” Samir Amin, The Monthly Review, The Return of Fascism in Contemporary Capitalism
These countries were all willing to manage the government and society in such a way as not to interfere with the fundamental principles of capitalism, specifically private corporate capitalist endeavors. This is why modern versions of Fascism can remain hidden below the surface. Today, when one combines intense surveillance, with a fragile global economy and huge migrations of millions of individuals seeking refuge amidst the threats of violence in their home countries, the call to make your nation great again, suggests the birth of a strict governmental approach.
The subtle controls that are put in place provide the cover for a Democratic process that no longer exists. The fixing and manipulation of elections and their results, is the essence of a new approach to management. Mesmerized by the promise to ‘make the nation great again’ no one actually asks the question ‘how?’ They simply trust, ignoring the greatest danger that exists; the subtle, gradual shift.
To be forewarned is to be forearmed.
Cameron A. Bowen
