Averting Fascism

Fascism is rising – here is how to avert it.

A short video talk, linked below, sparked these thoughts, which I will share. May they bless us with the courage, and the presence of mind, to avert the rising of fascism once again – which, make no mistake, is indeed our present course, and rising now.

I disagree with Yuval on some points, but he is a definite ally if he champions democracy and freedom, and opposes fascism. And further, he wisely urges decentralization, in order to preserve the former and prevent the latter, as Thomas Jefferson and many others have realized and urged as well.

He also helped the cause of both freedom and justice, which are not at odds, except in the minds of the indoctrinated and confused, by distinguishing nationalism, which is helpful, from fascism, hubris, xenophobia and aggression, which are always dangerous as well as delusional.

Moreover, he hit the proverbial nail on the head, by saying that fascism stems from fear and ego. Precisely. Transcend, or at least keep in check, these two human weaknesses, and we can live in freedom, well-being, richness of life, unity amidst diversity, and in peace.

I would add, however, that it is not really vanity or ego that is the root problem, but only the surface appearance of the problem. Vanity and ego attachment arise when people lack confidence, dignity, and trust in themselves. That is why they have ego attachment and vanity, and must continuously puff themselves up and build themselves up in various ways.

As Aldous Huxley, C. Wright Mills, Erich Fromm, and myself have pointed out, the deeper problem is that the people do not trust themselves. That is why they seek ego affirmation. And it is the deeper reason why they give their power away to elites, demagogues, false messiah figures, authoritarians, and to fascists.

(See: Brave New World Revisited, The Power Elite, Escape From Freedom, and my own work, Enlightened Democracy, and, The People vs The Elite.)

We must encourage and inspire the people to trust themselves. That is the root challenge. Then, they, and we, will make mistakes, certainly; but we will avoid the terrible pitfalls of fascism and elite rule, which are always incomparably greater disasters, and result in far greater suffering, far greater problems, and far greater evils.

Respect yourself and others. Trust yourself. Keep your dignity at all times. Have compassion for all beings, and for yourself. Forget the petty ego, which is a charade. True dignity runs deeper than that.

Inspire, encourage and empower yourself and others. Then, fascism will become impossible; and a better world for all, a world of freedom and justice both, will be, not only a beautiful dream, but a reality.

Or we can do what the majority of people, including activists and intellectuals, are doing. Cross your fingers and hope for the best. That should prevent fascism. It always worked before.

J. Todd Ring,

September 17, 2020

Ok, WordPress is being buggy again. I must ditch this platform soon. I can’t seem to paste the video link, sorry!

Web search – on Swiss Cows, never the fascist tech giant Google:

Why Fascism Is So Tempting

See also, my recent essays:

Knowledge Is Power

The Failure Of Propaganda

Sinking All Ships

Any Enemy Will Do

Importing From China

Geopolitics 2020

Flash Drive Revolution