this post was submitted on 20 Sep 2023
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Memes

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago (3 children)

How is fascism a result of capitalism? It would exist just the same way without capitalism.

[–] [email protected] 57 points 1 year ago (2 children)

The argument is that as more people are harmed by capitalism and realize it's flaws, the more likely the ruling class is to embrace fascism rather than let their ill-gotten gains slip away from them.

Definitely clumsy here, but I can make sense of it.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I mean, yes, but you should understand that when the creator of this meme wrote "capitalism" they really meant "liberalism" but didn't want to scare the normies.

It's not just about the ruling class, it's about uncertainty leading people to look for "strongmen" to provide direction and certainty, no matter how false it is, creating the popular support needed to overthrow democratic institutions.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Strongmen like Lenin and Stalin who provided direction and certainty in uncertain times?

Or a strongman like George Washington?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

1: Anarchists and democratic socialists literally coined the term red fascism to describe Leninism.

2: Your examples all overthrew the rule of absolute monarchies, neither of which was quite exactly capitalist thanks to the owner class often being nobility.

3: Leaving aside for the moment that post-colonial America would absolutely be considered fascist by modern standards, even as its existence began to solidify the ideology of liberalism, I don't think the meme is literally stating liberalism becomes fascism the moment it stubs its toe.

If anything, based on the characters used, it implies the fight over institutional power as the fascists try to seize control.

And, ironically to authoral intent I assume, Superlib there would absolutely body Homelander lol

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Still doesn't make much sense, fascism is a populist movement.

It would make way more sense if it said Feudalism instead. Keep the peasants in line with your armed militia class, eventually murder-robots. The peasants might be miserable, but they're going to work the land because that's they're only choice to survive.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Re robots

We won’t need them to work the land. And we will starve them as they’ll no longer be needed. There will be two classes. The ruling class, and the maintenance class. And it’s timing is perfect considering that in about 100 years every population model says humans will go from 10 billion to less than 1 billion as quickly as our population grew. And it will coincide with extreme scarcity due to climate change. Unless we start nuclear war first, of course.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Can you link a model supporting your statement? I wasn't able to turn anything up showing a predicted population decline from 10 billion go 1 billion.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Neoliberalism is agnostic to the form of government so long as profit keeps moving. Business is still done in the worst countries. And that keeps capital voting with their wallets for an increase in evil.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

While fascism can exist without capitalism. when an unrecoverable economic crisis happens under a capitalist country and the system is not challenged, instead minorities like jewish people or immigrants take the blame

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

I dont think that is generally true. It may have happened in the past and may also happen in the US, but the opposite can happen with people turning to socialism like in many countries. In times of crisis people turn to extremes, but that doesnt mean it has to be fascism.