A common reactions I get when I tell people I study fascism is, "oh, do you study far-left authoritarianism too ACCUSATORY GLARE" There's a lot to unpack there, but let's start here: "Oh, you study cancer? Do you study heart disease too, or are you just a big hypocrite?"
-
-
The real issue though is that people have been taught that fascism and communism are two different words for authoritarianism. I hear this over and over again, and it's not true.
Show this thread -
Communism is an economic theory that has been implemented in different ways to differing degrees of success. From Denmark to the USSR to the good old USA, Marxist and other communist/socialist thinkers have influenced policy, with various results--some very bad, some pretty ok
Show this thread -
That's because communism is an actual robust political theory. Maybe you don't like that theory but holy shit is it intellectual. Lots of writing on it. Detailed. Debate rages on within the wider label of communist/socialist. Different schools of thought, exhaustively explored
Show this thread -
Fascism is fundamentally different. There is no ideology. There is no consistent thought. There is no significant body of work Fascism does not believe in truth or falsehood. It believes in whatever brings it to power and allows the in-group to triumph
Show this thread -
It's a sort of intellectual virus that erodes the adherent's ability to think and to perceive the world And I think that's fascinating
Show this thread -
Final thought: of "I study fascism" feels like a personal attack, it might be worth meditating on why that's the case
Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.