I think you’re underselling the legitimate dire fear modern leftists have when they see the brutality of the periphery returning home.
Liberal democracies have historically been as brutal to their domestic populations as any historical fascist formulation. You can look at how the US treated (and still treats) it’s internal colonies / minorities. Nazi Germany explicitly wanted to carry out in eastern europe, what the US successfully carried out against native peoples, and failed.
Even outside of internal colonies, if you look at how the US or Britain treated its workers or its poor of their own races(they arguably entirely defeated its domestic working class movement, rebased their countries on finance capital, and exported class struggle to the global south), it doesn’t look any different than how the historical fascist
countries also defeated their working class movements.
To me, the basis of this is western chauvinism, and belief that “liberal democracy” isn’t far worse. By pointing a finger at fascism, they get to keep their belief in the supremacy of their mode of government, that continues to wreak havoc on not just the globe, but internally also. It’s a subtle form of western-supremacist scapegoating (pointing a finger at a settler-colonialism that dared to attack western countries also)
I don’t disagree that liberal democracies are capable and have been brutal to their populations, but to say they are just as brutal as fascism is just disingenuous. Contrary to popular belief, the average American does not live day to day in fear that they are about to get fucked by the state for no reason at all, and that’s even acknowledging the measures the state goes to criminalize and punish the most desperate in us society. We don’t fear state repression and death for the wrong opinion, looking a certain way.
It’s even more absurd to conflate fascism with European western democracies with their myriad of safety nets. I think painting things in this light doesn’t make socialism more appealing, just makes fascism look more acceptable and less dangerous.
I agree with critiques on us imperialism and the need for socialism, I just think it’s strange to treat fascism with kids gloves
Contrary to popular belief, the average American does not live day to day in fear that they are about to get fucked by the state for no reason at all, and that’s even acknowledging the measures the state goes to criminalize and punish the most desperate in us society.
We don’t fear state repression and death for the wrong opinion, looking a certain way.
Oh, and just like 2 years ago facebook handed over chat messages of a woman helping her daughter get an abortion to local cops. She’s in prison now.
And these are only recent things, the US is an entire country built upon the graves of indigenous peoples: something nazi germany aspired and failed to do in eastern europe.
Liberal democracies have historically been as brutal to their domestic populations as any historical fascist formulation. You can look at how the US treated (and still treats) it’s internal colonies / minorities. Nazi Germany explicitly wanted to carry out in eastern europe, what the US successfully carried out against native peoples, and failed.
Even outside of internal colonies, if you look at how the US or Britain treated its workers or its poor of their own races(they arguably entirely defeated its domestic working class movement, rebased their countries on finance capital, and exported class struggle to the global south), it doesn’t look any different than how the historical fascist countries also defeated their working class movements.
To me, the basis of this is western chauvinism, and belief that “liberal democracy” isn’t far worse. By pointing a finger at fascism, they get to keep their belief in the supremacy of their mode of government, that continues to wreak havoc on not just the globe, but internally also. It’s a subtle form of western-supremacist scapegoating (pointing a finger at a settler-colonialism that dared to attack western countries also)
I don’t disagree that liberal democracies are capable and have been brutal to their populations, but to say they are just as brutal as fascism is just disingenuous. Contrary to popular belief, the average American does not live day to day in fear that they are about to get fucked by the state for no reason at all, and that’s even acknowledging the measures the state goes to criminalize and punish the most desperate in us society. We don’t fear state repression and death for the wrong opinion, looking a certain way.
It’s even more absurd to conflate fascism with European western democracies with their myriad of safety nets. I think painting things in this light doesn’t make socialism more appealing, just makes fascism look more acceptable and less dangerous.
I agree with critiques on us imperialism and the need for socialism, I just think it’s strange to treat fascism with kids gloves
US cops kill ~1000 people every year, imprisons thousands of innocent people in its war on drugs and enslaves them in prison camps, keeps ~40k immigrants in prison camps (about 7k of them are children), and holds many political prisoners. The US even executed an innocent man just a few months ago.
Oh, and just like 2 years ago facebook handed over chat messages of a woman helping her daughter get an abortion to local cops. She’s in prison now.
And these are only recent things, the US is an entire country built upon the graves of indigenous peoples: something nazi germany aspired and failed to do in eastern europe.
You can find a lot more here