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The real true fascism prevelant in the US.

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
Yup, yup, yup. It seems to me that you can name almost any societal problem and we can quickly connect the dots back to an oligarch who's either created the problem or is exacerbating it. We need to defang lobbyists, get the rich and corporations to pay taxes, reverse citizen's united, and so on.
Most are saying to dismantle the federal reserve. The same entity that I suspect that had both Kennedys wacked.

Also the rise of fiat currency in lieu of the gold standard pretty much put the nail in the coffin that made this country an oligarchy.

I dunno if this juggernaut can ever be removed but people do say this course will eventually be the end of this country alongside all the other great superpowers that had arisen and fell over the course of history.
 

PureX

Veteran Member
First point of order, we need to be specific with the terms we select in this discussion. What we are seeing is not fascism. With that said...

I agree that there are certain organizations that are bad about corruption: Wal-Mart, Amazon, etc.
I looked up the term, and where it comes from. And it comes from the image of bundling and binding sticks together to gain superior strength. A real life example of this is exactly what the republican party in the U.S. has done, and become, by forcing it's members to follow that party line in lockstep, regardless of how they might personally feel about it. And by punishing anyone that dares to deviate or express dissent. The Trump republican party is clearly and openly 'fascist', by the historical definition of that term.

The corporate version of fascism is exemplified by that consortium of corporate CEOs (I can't recall their collective name) that routinely gather together in private meetings with politicians that they 'own' and control to plan and strategize on how to achieve their next corporate agenda. The point being that everyone is 'on board' and everyone is intent on achieving the consortium's goals. No independent agendas, or actions.
I partially disagree. I have been a part of larger corporations and smaller organizations. There are some benefits to participating in larger organizations:
  • Larger organizations typically offer more resources to their employees in the form of salary, peripheral benefits, stock options, etc.
  • Larger organizations offer a more accelerated career path because there are more resources to learn from.
  • Larger organizations can have a greater impact to the community because they have more finances.
You will note that all these "rewards" are for serving the corporate agenda (maximizing profits), and are being given to increase your service to that cause. They have nothing to do with what YOU want unless what you want is what the corporation wants. And should you NOT share in their agenda (increasing profits to yourself as you increase profits to the corporation) you will likely be flagged for stagnation, or even weeded out. The corporate fascists do not want 9 to 5ers. They want you to join the cult of maximum profit and reward.
Now, with that said, accumulating resources at the top of our economic structure does have negative consequences that you touched on. We need to advocate for the individuals that find themselves at the bottom.
All that does is try to mitigate the symptoms. I think we need to fix the problem so as to eliminate those symptoms. And that means eliminating the 'corporation for the corporation's sake', and make commerce be about trading for the sake of everyone's well-being. Bigger is not better. Better is better. Right-sized is better.
 
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icehorse

......unaffiliated...... anti-dogmatist
Premium Member
Most are saying to dismantle the federal reserve. The same entity that I suspect that had both Kennedys wacked.

Also the rise of fiat currency in lieu of the gold standard pretty much put the nail in the coffin that made this country an oligarchy.

I dunno if this juggernaut can ever be removed but people do say this course will eventually be the end of this country alongside all the other great superpowers that had arisen and fell over the course of history.

I keep going back to where we were in the 50s. Unions were strong, the rich were paying significant taxes, we were building a strong infrastructure, and the middle class was booming.

It seems to me that if we could recreate that, we'd be in pretty darned good shape, no?
 

Audie

Veteran Member
I keep going back to where we were in the 50s. Unions were strong, the rich were paying significant taxes, we were building a strong infrastructure, and the middle class was booming.

It seems to me that if we could recreate that, we'd be in pretty darned good shape, no?
All ya gotta do is fight ww2 again.
 

icehorse

......unaffiliated...... anti-dogmatist
Premium Member
All ya gotta do is fight ww2 again.

Yeah, maybe.. But it seems like strong unions and taxing the rich are independent of a post-war boom, no? I mean, it's not like corporate profits aren't HUGE these days, and it's not like there isn't quite a bit of wealth, it's just that the wealth has largely accumulated into the hands of a very few.
 

PureX

Veteran Member
All ya gotta do is fight ww2 again.
And endure another great depression.

That generation of Americans did what they did and behaved as they behaved because they experienced for themselves not only the horrific results of greed running amok and causing the great depression, but of fascism rearing it's ugly head and running amok all across the world. And they were forced to unite as a nation and a people to fight against them both, at home and abroad, for their very survival. And as a result they were finally ready and willing to see past their own greed and fear and differences to put policies in place meant to ensure that they wouldn't have to endure these demons, again. But sadly, that generation did not teach the hard won lessons that they had learned to their children. And as soon as the great generation began passing away, the succeeding generations fell right back into the same greed and infighting and fear-mongering that had brought their parents nearly to ruin.

Those who will not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
 

Heyo

Veteran Member
I didn't watch it either.
Maybe you should?
At least from about 7:20 to 8:40 where they define "corporate fascism".
Why do you think corporations have gained so much power
in recent years? In my lifetime in business, I've seen
regulation over us only increase.
Because corporations have combined their power with the
power of the government - which is fascism, if initiated by
the government and corporate fascism if initiated by the
corporations.
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
Maybe you should?
At least from about 7:20 to 8:40 where they define "corporate fascism".
It doesn't smell worthwhile.
If it were, posters here would've been able to use
it to make a stronger case there mere fear of
corporate power.
Because corporations have combined their power with the
power of the government - which is fascism, if initiated by
the government and corporate fascism if initiated by the
corporations.
I still ask for cromulent examples of fascism caused
by this corporate government collusion.
 

Kooky

Freedom from Sanity
It has to do with the merging of power by corporations and the government for mutual benefit excluding real people for corporations declared as people. Not the market itself.
The former is a direct consequence of the latter.
Corporations exist because they are excellent vehicles to generate profit and reduce individual liability in a market based capitalist economy. You couldn't remove these legal constructions and expect at the same time to retain the same functional industrialized capitalist economy.
 

PureX

Veteran Member
I still ask for cromulent examples of fascism caused
by this corporate government collusion.
Mandatory insurance of all kinds. The privatization of publicly built and owned utilities (theft, really), for profit health care that allows millions of citizens to die untreated, the systematic theft of social security funds to give tax breaks to the wealthiest individuals and corporations among us, a military industrial expenditure that costs us more than the next ten nations combined, a government created monopoly on drug prices, a legal system that is hugely biased in favor of the wealthy, ... how many examples do you need?

Of course, no amount of examples will be acceptable to you, I already know this.)
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
Mandatory insurance of all kinds.
You really believe that buying insurance, eg, for your car
is "fascism". Well, that's just ridiculous. Insurance is
very useful. If you plow into someone else's car, your
insurance would compensate them for damage & injury.
The privatization of publicly built and owned utilities (theft, really)...
Private utilities aren't "fascism". I've dealt extensively
with public utilities, publicly regulated private utilities,
& private utilities. I can assure that private utilities are
the best to deal with...less bureaucracy & better service.
private

The rest of your post suffers from the same failure
to link your hatred of capitalism with actual fascism.
 
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Kooky

Freedom from Sanity
I looked up the term, and where it comes from. And it comes from the image of bundling and binding sticks together to gain superior strength. A real life example of this is exactly what the republican party in the U.S. has done, and become, by forcing it's members to follow that party line in lockstep, regardless of how they might personally feel about it. And by punishing anyone that dares to deviate or express dissent. The Trump republican party is clearly and openly 'fascist', by the historical definition of that term.
An etymology is not a definition.

I think you'd find more productive comparisons by looking at the origins of the Nationalsocialist Führerprinzip, which was derived directly from the image of the owner-entrepreneur of a middle class business.
 

Quetzal

A little to the left and slightly out of focus.
Premium Member
The corporate version of fascism is exemplified by that consortium of corporate CEOs (I can't recall their collective name) that routinely gather together in private meetings with politicians that they 'own' and control to plan and strategize on how to achieve their next corporate agenda. The point being that everyone is 'on board' and everyone is intent on achieving the consortium's goals. No independent agendas, or actions.
This is something I need some reference material on. I have no knowledge of this.

You will note that all these "rewards" are for serving the corporate agenda (maximizing profits), and are being given to increase your service to that cause. They have nothing to do with what YOU want unless what you want is what the corporation wants. And should you NOT share in their agenda (increasing profits to yourself as you increase profits to the corporation) you will likely be flagged for stagnation, or even weeded out. The corporate fascists do not want 9 to 5ers. They want you to join the cult of maximum profit and reward.
I have never experienced this. In fact, most leadership that I have worked with have invested in me, my skills, and my financial security. That's the deal, right? I help build a product they have conceptualized and they pay me in return. This model works for both of us.

All that does is try to mitigate the symptoms. I think we need to fix the problem so as to eliminate those symptoms. And that means eliminating the 'corporation for the corporation's sake', and make commerce be about trading for the sake of everyone's well-being. Bigger is not better. Better is better. Right-sized is better.
The ultimate outcome of our economic model has yet to be seen. I am not convinced a radical deconstruction of what we have is the way to go. It has weaknesses, yes. But I would caution against throwing it all out at baseline.
 
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