Economic Instabilities

Conventional understanding of the history of all sorts of un-democratic governments and societies prone to radical upsets is that economic issues lead to bad things for states in power. The global Great Depression likely played a role in the instability of multiple states and Hitler himself blamed war reparations for the widespread inflation and unemployment in Weimar Germany. While the rise of fascism is definitely not as simple as that and Hitler had ulterior motives for blaming the former Triple Entente for all of Germany’s woes economic issues in America has definitely come to head with recent neoliberal policies.

This article dealing with a summation of neoliberal economic policies in America is sound but I want to dig deeper into some of the negative effects of unfettered capitalism. For starters, as the article touches on, these effects are disproportionately harmful to people who are already poor or a person of colour. The effective deregulation of lobbying and media interference has meant that many Americans have been sold on the idea of their economic trouble being the fault of minorities often in the same situation as them. Many of the things we have talked about throughout this blog have been the fault of, effectively, the people in charge selling out ideals of an equally beneficial economy to this ideal of unfettered capitalism being able to play fairly.

Cooper, Ryan. (2018, January 8). “The Decline and Fall of Neoliberalism in the Democratic Party.” The Week. http://theweek.com/articles/725419/decline-fall-neoliberalism-democratic-party.

Feminization of Fascism

Marine Le Pen, to many, is one of the faces of the new far-right.

According to the BBC, she has repeatedly attempted to move away from the traditionally male, racist and intensely right-wing base of her party towards a cultivated mix of anti-immigration, Islamophobic rhetoric and a focus on ‘taking care of their own’. The thinking seems to go that once all of the immigrants and refugees have left France there will be plenty left for ‘real’ French people to enjoy government services and equal rights. As well, she has focused on appealing to white women and has called herself “quasi-feminist”.

It is with this last point that the modernization of her father’s party becomes clear. While the National Front focused heavily on racial politics before (particularly expressions of antisemitism), fascism and far-right politics tend to include a certain level of nostalgia surrounding gender norms that would discourage women leadership. Feminism, as well as labour rights and racial equality, was considered part of the corruption of society in early fascist states such as Germany and Italy. While the actual experience of women in fascist societies is far more complicated than the ideology presented it to be, the presence of a woman as the leader of one of the largest semi-far right parties in Europe is indicative of a new form of fascism: One that disregards some older enemies in exchange for focusing mainly on immigrants and a hatred for Muslims. Gays for Trump and the framing of Muslim people as particularly misogynistic and homophobic are similar expressions of this new tactic.

However, there is no guaranteeing that these groups remain safe when the far-right gains power.

Nowak, Marysia and Becky Branford. (2017, February 10). “France Elections: What Makes Marine Le Pen Far Right?”. BBC News. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38321401.

Russian Sockpuppets and Misinformation

So let’s talk about misinformation.

Recently, the Yahoo-owned website Tumblr was the latest in string of websites that admitted to unwittingly providing a platform for Russian sockpuppets to spread misinformation and propaganda aimed at influencing the 2016 American election. Unlike Facebook, Tumblr has left the reblog chains up, choosing instead to name the blogs responsible and inform users if they spread any posts by those blogs, leaving it up to them to delete or not.

Watching the ensuing discussion play out on Tumblr has been fascinating. While there are a few people who refused to believe they were duped and have even started a theory that the whole thing is an excuse to go after progressive bloggers, there has been some interesting discussions on the reblog chains of the original sock-puppet posts. Many of the sockpuppets tried to blend in with the general leftist atmosphere on Tumblr (with exceptions, of course), with some even pretending to be back Americans and members of Black Lives Matter. The political discourse they spread was along similar lines as real American activists but often with a sense of hopelessness at the institutions. As well, while it is harmful to assume that all anti-Hilary sentiment, especially from black people, on the internet was the result of Russian propaganda this was the other major theme of the political posts spread by the agents. Again, these agents were feeding off of conversations that already existed and mainly seemed to feed the fire by adding propaganda and enabling extreme reactions.

While Russia is not strictly a fascist state by definition, this whole episode has given us a glimpse at how an authoritarian government can embed misinformation into one of our most central means of communication.

Feldman, Brian. (2018, March 26). “Tumblr Is, Almost by Accident, Our Best Glimpse of How Russian Trolls Work”. Selectall. http://nymag.com/selectall/2018/03/tumblr-is-our-best-glimpse-of-how-russian-trolls-work.html

(The full list of blogs can be found at this link:  https://tumblr.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002280214-Public-record-of-usernames-linked-to-state-sponsored-disinformation-campaigns)

(Here are some extra sources of specific posts being analyzed: 1, 2)

Justified Paranoia?

In “America’s Weimar Moment”, Damon Linker takes the position of reviewing a television series of some of the events of the later Weimar period to assure American readers that the circumstances they are in now are different enough to avoid a resurgence of fascism. This is a useful argument when used to illustrate the actual specificities of the Weimar era but when used to dismiss legitimate fears of what harm the Trump presidency can do in the future it seems a little besides the point.

I understand the impulse to defend Trump as not as bad as Hitler. This blog itself is guilty of maybe convincing people that the two are one and the same. There is a fine line between useful historical/political analysis that point out specific trends in populist leaders that undermine democracy and Godwin’s Law. But, and this is key, there is also a point where imploring critics to keep some perspective in mind crosses over into ignoring any real dangers that may occur.

Even outside of dictatorships, governments have done some real damage. Ronald Reagan, for all his latter sanctification, ignored the AIDS crisis until thousands had died. American presidents have started meaningless wars, quietly intervened with other countries’ elections and undermined the freedom and safety of domestic citizens. Saying “Trump is the new Hitler” is exaggerated for sure, but wariness over what he can do with his power is absolutely justified.

And all of this is ignoring what his election has done to the general political climate, with increased attacks on Jewish and Muslim Americans in particular.

No, America is not Weimar Germany. But to dismiss people’s fears is to implore them to stick their collective heads in the sand.

Linker, Damon. (2018, March 23). “America’s Weimar Moment”. The Week. http://theweek.com/articles/762160/americas-weimar-moment.

Apolitical Fiction

How much is our pop culture a reflection of our society?

The idea that fiction impacts how we view the world is a surprisingly pervasive one. One of the most famous iterations of this is the scapegoating of video games in the wake of the Columbine shooting. If people play video games that mimic shooting people, the argument went, then surely that level of violence is normalized. While not everyone will go out and commit atrocities, enough will that censorship should be accepted.

This is not what the Frankfurt School (and by extension possibly Kyle Kallgren) is necessarily arguing. Their approach to pop culture is almost the opposite: rather than pop culture influencing behaviour, societies deep impulses find their way onto the big screen. Seigfried Kracuer and his fellow academics were trying to find a reason for both the failure of the USSR to live to up global communist dreams and how their native Germany could fall to fascism.

Kraceur and other members of the Frankfurt School examined the popular, ‘apolitical’ films of the Weimar era cinema and were able to find numerous examples of the cultural anxieties of the time. More specifically, several of the popular films dealt with themes of authority versus chaos and found authority preferable. Their thesis is less that fascism and populism are the fault of the media we consume and more than societal issues that are below the surface can be found in the mainstream ‘popcorn flick’.

So, what can be found in lurking in our pop culture?

KyleKallgrenBHH. (2016, November 30). From Caligari to Hitler: Imaging the Tyrant – Between the Lines. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndFysO2JunE

Strongmen and Sieges

Vladimir Putin’s government in Russia is one of the most illustrative examples of authoritarianism in Russia, as well as an example of new nationalism through enemies

Nation-building, particularly post-French Revolution has usually revolved around creating an imagined community. Traditionally this was a linguistic or even religious community, although this is not necessarily the case. In an effort to consolidate power, Putin has tied himself to conceptions of a ‘strong, successful Russia’, to the point where his re-election campaign was “Strong President, Strong Russia’. This is blatant, to the point where it seems like he can get away with it because of the successful narrative he has created for himself. Selling Russia as a nation under siege is a remarkably effective way to stifle any criticism of his regime on both the domestic and international spheres. His nation-building is based on the tension between Russia and the rest of the world, particularly the United States and Europe and this tension is designed to make the populace view him as the best means of protecting Russia as a whole.

Putin would probably be flattered by accusations of him as a strongman dictator. Russia has such a shaky history with democracy that ‘respects human rights’ is not necessarily a selling point in their politics. His narrative is carefully constructed and avoiding playing into them is something that requires a much deeper discussion.

Greg Walters. (2018, March 19). “Don’t Expect a Fourth Term to Make Putin Any Friendlier to the West.” Vice News. https://news.vice.com/en_ca/article/8xk9mg/dont-expect-a-fourth-term-to-make-putin-any-friendlier-to-the-west.

Bad Math and Deal Breakers

Flat-out lying to the press and a foreign leader over something that is easily checked should be a deal breaker.

However, for Donald Trump’s administration its just another one that should be added to a long, ever-growing list. This focus on what makes a good story and appealing to his base over working out a complex trade deal with one of America’s closest international allies is extremely telling. This is what populist leaders do when they get enough power: they still make it seem like they are dealing with an out-of-touch elite and are the only ones that are telling the truth. Therefore, they create mistrust around the press and other leaders to cement their status as the one, true Voice of the People.

Donald Trump deliberately misinterpreting economics to paint Canada as yet another moocher with a trade deficit while threatening NAFTA should be a deal breaker. The fact that is isn’t, just as his likely collusion with Russia isn’t and that the the tape leaking of him bragging about sexual assault during the election wasn’t is a sign of how terrifyingly normal this has become.

(2018, March 15). “Trump ‘Admitted Making up Figures to Justin Trudeau’. BBC. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43418892.

A Little Closer to Home

Populism, more than offering real policy promises, often revolves around a narrative of “elites” versus the real people that the populist leader now represents. Doug Ford has deeply embedded this narratives in his successful campaign for the leader of the Ontario PC party.

Frustration with the previous governing party is a very common aspect of many, many election campaigns but there has been a very specific idea that Doug Ford has emphasized in his election campaign: The Liberals as a group of out-of-touch and dangerous ideologues that have ruined Ontario with their focus on selectively beneficial policies and progressive pandering. More specifically, he has criticized their new sex ed guidelines and in general has presented himself as much more socially conservative than his opponents both within and outside of the party.

While populism, again, does not have to be a negative thing Ontario residents seriously need to rethink possibly electing an unqualified, volatile populist premier.

McQuigge, Michelle. (2018, March 11). “5 Things to Know about New Ontario PC Party Leader Doug Ford”. Global News Toronto. https://globalnews.ca/news/4075791/ontario-pc-party-leader-doug-ford/.

Unpopular Populism?

Populism, to say something nice for once, does have the positive attribute of sometimes legitimately being popular with the population.

Donald Trump, for all that he exhibits some of the worst attributes of what populism can look like, has never even really had that.

It is well acknowledged by now that his win, due to losing the popular vote in an election where a good portion of the population did not participate in the election, is representative of the structural issues in how American presidential elections are run and how much gerrymandering and the electoral college have created these issues with disproportionate power in specific, largely Republican states.

President Trump is now having to maybe admit that even his largely problematic win was the result of foreign tampering. His reaction this week, desperately trying to deflect attention from the investigation into Russian tampering in his election win onto “crooked Hillary” and the Obama administration yet again. While this may seem unfair, his attempts to change the narrative to blame Obama again and paint himself as innocent make him come off as having something to hide.

Whether or not the allegations concerning Russian tampering are true (I, myself, believe in ‘no smoke without a fire’), his reaction to the investigation have the effect of delegitimizing his government by itself.

Pengelly, Martin. (2018, March 5). “‘Bigger than Watergate’: Trump attacks Obama over Russia meddling response”. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/mar/05/bigger-than-watergate-trump-attacks-obama-over-russia-meddling-response.

Fascism and Femininity

Women, in fascism/many forms of populism are largely restricted to the private sphere. Like so many elements of fascist societies, it is a more extreme expression of previous societal values as well as an appeal to a nostalgia vision of the past.

This is not necessarily accurate to the actual reality of how fascist states functioned. In Germany, for example, women often worked in the state administration, largely as secretaries. However, similar to other contexts, the women who worked were almost always unwed and once they married their focus was expected to shift to motherhood.

Similar to masculinity, the acceptable expressions of femininity becomes very limited under fascism. Strict control over women’s movements is deemed necessary in order to avoid the corruption of society from influencing their actions. Somehow, at the same time, the corruption of society is to blame for their desires to be outside of the home and away from their children at all. Motherhood is viewed as the greatest ambition of women, as demonstrated by very military-esque awards given to women who successfully birth many children.

The isolation of women into the home was again, something that was more an ambition of the ideology than something that happened in ever case in fascist societies. However, it was an extremely present part of fascist discourse surrounding gender roles.

Katie Schmid. (2018, February 19). “Why Would Anyone Want to be a Wife?”. The Establishment. https://theestablishment.co/why-would-anyone-ever-want-to-be-a-wife-b48d81d097c4