Re: Liberalism, Facism

[boddhisatva <kbevans@xxxxxxxxx>]

                Lisa,


        Liberal philosophy created a new status for the untitled man.
However, as you point out, nobody really took this status seriously for at
least a hundred years.  The mass mobilization of workers for industry even
demeaned the untitled man further.  However the mass mobilization of
soldiers for WW 1 required the usual patriotic hoopla and blessing of the
feudal rites and traditions (all those shiny helmets and lovely
parades).  Where before few soldiers enjoyed the special respect that the
elite lent to those who served them militarily, now there were many.
When the soldier returned and found he had to join the ranks of the doubly
disrespected, he rebelled, and demanded respect.  His fellows demanded it
with him.  Fascism was about pride for the working man.  It created a
NEO-feudal order where the 'Great Man" was king and the working class were
all his knights.  As we know it certainly wasn't ALL working men, but it was
many more than previous rhetoric included.  And it had still had enough of
the dominance/subservience logic of the old way to make it less threatening
than socialism.


        Capitalism required mass mobilization for industry.  Mobilization
meant alienation from identity.  Fascism filled the void for identity and
pride, and thus made the system more socially stable.  There were far too
many revolutions and upheavals in early capitalism for it to survive with a
feudal aristocracy and the attendant social logic.  Yet there had to be a
logic for the privileged to keep their place.  Meritocracy was that logic,
and fascism was the cult of meritocracy.



                peace,


                        boddhisatva






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