Tommy Douglas on Fascism: “Once more let me remind you what fascism is. It need not wear a brown shirt or a green shirt -- it may even wear a dress shirt. Fascism begins the moment a ruling class, fearing the people may use their political democracy to gain economic democracy, begins to destroy political democracy in order to retain its power of exploitation and special privilege."
Saturday, 2 January 2010
Tommy Douglas on Fascism
Tommy Douglas on Fascism: “Once more let me remind you what fascism is. It need not wear a brown shirt or a green shirt -- it may even wear a dress shirt. Fascism begins the moment a ruling class, fearing the people may use their political democracy to gain economic democracy, begins to destroy political democracy in order to retain its power of exploitation and special privilege."
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11 comments:
smart man that Tommy...and a dam fine one too...we could use him now!
He had foresight.
destroying political democracy
Harper just shut down parliament again.
When they did that in England, it began a serious change in the political system.
Wisdom and vision
This devotion to TD is a head scratcher for sure.
Once you allow yourself to think you have a right/obligation for the good of society to round up, to segregate and basically eliminate any sector of the population, advocate the state to do it for you, because you think they have no right to live or are a blight on the human landscape, you are in fact despicable swine, even if you do good things along the way
Here read his thoughtful ideas for your self:
http://morris.mcmaster.ca/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=W20E4526539R7.99100&profile=lib&source=~!morris&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!784779~!4&ri=3&aspect=basic_search&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=Douglas,+Thomas+Clement,+1904-&index=AUTHO&uindex=&aspect=basic_search&menu=search&ri=3#focus
Harper shut down Parliament because unelected Liberals in the Senate were blocking and delaying legislation passed by the democratically elected House of Commons.
"Well", you might say "Let's have an elected Senate." Yes, let's. But which party has been asking for that for years? Hint: Not the Liberals.
Only in the minds of Liberals can someone who is agitating for an elected Senate instead of a sinecure for Liberal bagmen and hacks be portrayed as a fascist. I'm sure you have no trouble swallowing Orwell's 2+2=5.
This isn't about party politics to me. Besides, there are more than 2 parties.
And there are people who don't participate because they see all the parties as serving only the upper and middle class.
Did you know that 50% of Canadians by individual income, make less that 25,000 a year?
Grey Lady - you painted a perfect picture of Harper's exact MO.
Hey Grey lady I might remind you that Tommy rejected eugenics twice as Premier, and health minister. Both times when it was suggested as a law by his party.
Ohhhhh and lets not forget he pushed to have the eugenics laws in BC which were enacted by the Liberals in he 40s years terminated. BTW that happened but only when the NDP took power. Shocking the truth will set you free my friend so take your lies somewhere else.
Actions always speak louder then words.
Kevin - the only thing delaying legislation is the constant proroguing of Parliament by the Prime Minister. This is the second time in less than a year that the Government's own bills have been wiped off the Order Paper by the Prime Minister's own edict.
Quoting Orwell to justify Harper's stacking of the Senate - which he swore he would never do - is sheer idiocy.
Four legs good. Two legs better.
To turn this trope on its head, here is a quote from a recent article by Moishe Postone, an Edmonton born professor at the University of Chicago:
"The conventional Stalinist and Social Democratic representation of Nazism and fascism as simply tools of the capitalist class, used to crush working class organizations, always omitted one of their central dimensions: These movements, in terms of their own self-understanding and their mass appeal, were revolts. Nazism presented itself as a struggle for liberation (and supported “anti-imperialist” movements in the Arab world and India). The basis for this self-understanding was a fetishized understanding of capitalism: the abstract, intangible, global domination of capital was understood as the abstract, intangible global domination of the Jews. Far from simply being an attack on a minority, Nazis anti-Semitism understood itself as anti-hegemonic. Its aim was to free humanity from the ruthless ubiquitous domination of the Jews. It is because of its anti-hegemonic character that anti-Semitism poses a particular problem for the Left. It is the reason why, a century ago, anti-Semitism could be characterized as the “socialism of fools.” Today it can be characterized as the “anti-imperialism of fools.”
- Moishe Postone, Hamburg 2009 - Another German Autumn
http://b-g-h-u.blogspot.com/2009/12/moishe-postone-hamburg-2009-another.html.
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