Wez
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DJP – ‘Have you not seen what has been happening in the town hall meetings?’
Well no – I’m glad you have such access. So you don’t think there is any important political significance in the MAGA movement? Accidentally I heard a Trump speech on the radio the other evening at some major political venue full of suited normal looking politicians who cheered wildly after his every sentence – reminded me of a Hitlerian speech and the hysterical response it received.TM – ‘As a socialist, are you telling me, that as you’ve gone through life surrounded by patriotic ignoramuses mocking your socialism, poo-pooing it, proud of their ignorance, ridiculing your knowledge, your experiences, etc., that you don’t feel any superiority to them? I can’t believe that.’
Of course I’ve been frustrated and angry at such people but my experience has been that once you get to speak with them one to one then most seem to show a , perhaps grudging, respect for my knowledge. Also I’m aware of the circumstances which brought about my own consciousness (my brother-in-law was a professor of Russian history and explained to me that the bolshevik revolution was not socialist and certainly not ‘Marxist’) were down to luck and my own dislike of being told what to do without explanation etc.
TM – ‘I think most in the armed forces are there because they see no other option for themselves, certainly those in combatant roles’
My friend was referring to those in control of the armed forces – the ‘generals’ if you like. He seemed to think that their oath to the constitution protects America from a military coup. I must admit I wasn’t aware of such an ideological commitment in their armed forces – it could again be merely wishful thinking on his part.
TM – “Their” ideas are the slogans given them by commanders. They are taught to obey, no matter what.’
I think that your elitism is showing again. Soldiers are ordinary members of the working class with minds of their own if they choose to use them.
TM- ”Only the big capitalist parties have the funds to monopolise electioneering.’
Same everywhere – if you’re that cynical then why bother to be a socialist – we might as well all give up.
I suspect that the US is going through a significant change because as my friend stated ‘MAGA’ is a religious cult that is sweeping the country like no other in recent memory.TM – So you don’t think that the same old Republican/Democrat cycle has run its course? I have an American friend who is in despair about what’s happening over there. Rather naively he pins his hopes on the supreme court judges stopping Trump with reference to the constitution. He also believes that the same loyalty to the ‘constitution’ is stronger than mere nationalism in the armed forces. I will have to examine this ‘constitution’ more closely and find out how it came to be deified by the ‘liberals’ over there.
Am I the only one who’s quite enjoying the schadenfreude caused by the shock, bewilderment and terror of the western world’s establishment power brokers because of Trump’s policies? The greatest weakness of all establishments is their complete inability to imagine any kind of change. From a working class perspective it is rather amusing to see our ‘leaders’ in such disarray.
So, no contact sports allowed in socialism? No motor racing coz it’s too dangerous? No martial arts or sumo? I could go on but you get my point. What’s a testosterone filled young man to do? – take up competitive knitting perhaps or tiddlywinks.
Perhaps we should ask why some people join the party and never leave? For me it’s because every major problem in the world is caused by capitalism and all of the reforms that have been tried, in my lifetime, have failed. You just have to ask yourself if a democratically arrived at answer to any problem by the working people involved is preferable to ideologically driven careerists who have no other interest than to please their parasitic masters? It’s what young people call ‘a no brainer’ and if you want blueprints for how problems are caused and overcome usually you can turn to those working in the industry concerned. They are usually rightly cynical that these answers will be ignored by their employers but if we can destroy that political cynicism most of the answers already exist.
In terms of the obvious failure of ‘liberal’ democracies in the US to deliver any of its promises the political context does seem to have parallels with the 1930s as far as those who voted for Trump as a ‘strongman’ outside of the political establishment who can deliver them from their miseries. Also probably those in the Republican hierarchy might be having second thoughts about their ability to control him – another parallel with Hitler. As for his personal ideology- he seems not to have a coherent set of political beliefs which, of course, has always been both the strength and weakness of ‘fascism’. We accept ‘state capitalist’ as a legitimate label for extreme leftist ideology so why are we so wary of describing extreme right-wing ideology as ‘fascist’? We also believe, despite being constantly told that capitalism has drastically changed over the years, that it is essentially the same beast as it ever was so what prevents a replay of the 1930s? An important difference, in real terms rather than ideological ones, is the role of the US military – does Trump have support from the generals? Perhaps the trauma of the defeat in Afghanistan might be a factor? Anyways if it looks like a duck, behaves like a duck and quacks like a duck then it’s probably a fookin’ duck.
Since Adam’s perspective on fascism has been posted here I thought I would add my own – also published in the Standard. As you can read I have a rather different view, proving perhaps that socialist writing does not represent an ideological monolith? https://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/socialist-standard/2020s/2024/no-1438-june-2024/fascism-as-ideology/
TM – I have had the reverse experience with people when they learnt of my ‘extensive’ reading habits (not so much now as I tend to fall asleep quickly these days when reading or watching TV) – especially from those who regard themselves as ‘uneducated’. Of course it’s all dependent on how you speak with people and the ‘dialectical’ approach wins out every time against the ‘didactic’ preaching that always turns people away. I know of many who are highly educated and intelligent but who come across as elitist and arrogant. Not implying that you are one of these TM but perhaps your conversational approach might need modifying?
TM – ‘We will only know it was possible when it happens. If something possible never happens, then it wasn’t possible.’
Look at it the other way around – if socialism never comes to pass does that mean it was always ‘impossible’? At this time it seems that its establishment is ‘improbable’ but that doesn’t make it impossible. Our species has the ability to imagine alternatives and given the right material conditions they can be considered possible – indeed without this synthesis there could be no change.
paula – ‘If we accept that humans were born equal, where did it all go wrong? Why did private property develop? Was it because men overpowered women. At what point in human history did we go so far wrong?’
The question assumes that our species had a choice as to its future. Like the natural environment for other species humanity had to adapt to the world created by its own technology. The invention of agriculture had social and political consequences that could not be predicted at the time. Humanity did not have the understanding (consciousness) to have any chance to control these consequences. It is only now possible, through socialist consciousness, that such a possibility exists. Our work and tech inventions define us as a species just as the natural environment defines the success (or otherwise) of other animals.
Presumably it will advocate numerous and impossible reforms to capitalism like so many of its kind have done before.
ALB – I think you were one of the editors who rejected my summary of the theory for publication in the Standard many years ago – I’m surprised that you forgot. Here’s the link: https://wezselecta.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-death-instinct.html#comment-form
ALB – My main influences in this area were ‘The Authoritarian Personality’ by Adorno and several others and Marcuse’s ‘Eros and Civilisation’. I am fascinated by the dialectical relationship between life and death that the theory of the ‘Death Instinct’ postulates.
