Do You Want Fascism to Come to the U.S. Sooner, or Later?

THE DUOPOLY WATCH | Steven Jonas, MD, MPH

In my most recent column, “The End(s) of Capitalism,” I discussed the factors that indicate that capitalism is (finally) coming to the end of its useful life.  They are, in no particular order of importance: over the last century or so, the capitalist ruling classes in most countries have managed to destroy for the most part any semblance of working class consciousness and any semblance of a militant trade union movement; in terms of its ability to produce and produce sustained growth, without fiscal or monetary stimulus (and in some cases event that doesn’t work) capitalism is running down; chronic, residual, unemployment is becoming common in many capitalist countries; the wealth and income gap (gulf) is becoming ever wider (as highlighted by a capitalist [on the liberal side] economist, Joseph Stiglitz), but with no significant political or mass-based opposition, the capitalists just keep on concentrating both, reducing thereby the amount of capital available for new investment; capitalist potential for making profit is becoming increasingly financialized, which reduces employment; and then there is CAR: Computerization, Automation, and Robotization, which reduces available employment and thus the workers’ share of the surplus value produced by their work.  And this is only a partial list.

Now eventually, this is going to lead to worker revolts of some kinds.  However, they will likely be quite some time in coming because of the growth of the “anti-immigrant” movements in so many capitalist countries, certainly including, with the rise of Trump, the United States.  Examples include the United Kingdom Independence Party in Great Britain, the Front Nacional in France, and the openly anti-Semitic Jobbik Party in Hungary (which was the home of the first fascist state, established by Admiral Miklos Horthy in 1919). 

It is difficult to know how many, if any, of these far-right parties, which certainly have major elements of fascism (see below) in their ideologies and programs, presently have any direct connection to a majority of their respective national ruling classes, and/or have been consciously created by them.  However, they are certainly very useful at this stage of history to their respective ruling classes, for they serve extraordinarily well to distract significant elements of their respective working classes from the real source of their difficulties --- that is, of course, capitalism and its natural outcomes resulting from its exclusive foci on producing profits and more capital --- to focus instead on “immigrants” and “others” who are different, instead of focusing on class struggle. 

The Trumpist Republican Party in the U.S. is a prime example of this.  Over the last 40 years, with a policy that can be encapsulated as “Reaganism,” the Republican Party has been the primary political representative of the U.S. ruling class, (although, please do not let us exclude the Democrats from responsibility as well).  It has established and led the policy and program agenda of which has led to misery for so many members of the white working class, from the destruction of the trade unions to the massive export of capital and with it deindustrialization, massive tax cuts for the rich and a steady decline in funding for various government agencies on which significant sectors of the working class depend, like the Veterans Administration.

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Source: The Greanville Post