Fascist states and politics are corrupt and transactional but at their core they are about violence - mass politics built around permission to engage in cruelty. They are inherently unstable, driving toward what Robert Paxton described as a "final paroxysm of self-destruction." - ThreadSky

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whstancil.bsky.social • 37 days ago

Fascist states and politics are corrupt and transactional but at their core they are about violence - mass politics built around permission to engage in cruelty. They are inherently unstable, driving toward what Robert Paxton described as a "final paroxysm of self-destruction."

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aercolini.bsky.social•37 days ago

I largely agree, but both Nazi Germany and Post-Reconstruction South had the assent (in some cases support) of the ruling classes who saw these violent movements as an opportunity to entrench their wealth.

ryancasey.dev•37 days ago

I do think it's important to remember that fascists and reactionaries are not reasonable, at a basic level. They aren't pursuing a goal other than cruelty. Sure, graft and such are nice, but even that will be sacrificed for a chance to be cruel.

ryancasey.dev•37 days ago

Hence why reasonable economic arguments just don't matter to a fascist. Immigration is good for the economy, but it doesn't matter. Universal healthcare is more efficient than privatized, but that doesn't matter. Many such examples.

edwarddavid.bsky.social•37 days ago

The fostered grievance and resentments are the means to the end. Evidently people can always be trivially persuaded to attribute whatever dissatisfactions they experience to other people and groups.

kagern.bsky.social•37 days ago

I'm not sure that that aligns with what we can see of these systems in history.
Even with their backs against the wall these regimes are willing to expend enormous resources on torture and murder.

edwarddavid.bsky.social•36 days ago

But they have to get elected first.

kagern.bsky.social•36 days ago

The fact that the grievance politics help them get elected does not mean they are not earnestly held.

These are not means but ends.

ryancasey.dev•36 days ago

They truly love to be aggrieved

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