March 7, 2016

Notes on Facism: Some quotes

For many years, we have reported on the potential for fascism in the United States, It has not been a popular topic until recently with the hints provided by Donald Trump. Our view is that Trump has more in common with some Latin American dictators of the past than with a Hitler or Mussolini, but with the issue on the table, we will be publishing some items on fascism from our. archives beginning with a few quotes

Sure, we'll have fascism, but it will come disguised as Americanism." - Huey Long

We can have democracy in this country or we can have great wealth in a few hands, but we can't have both. - Louis D. Brandeis

No one can be truly powerful unless he has access to the command of major institutions, for it is over these institutional means of power that the truly powerful are, in the first instance, truly powerful - C Wright Mills

If a nation wishes, it can have both free elections and slavery. - Gary Wills

Through clever and constant application of propaganda, people can be made to see paradise as hell, and also the other way around to consider the most wretched sort of life as paradise - Adolp Hitler

2 comments:

Dan Lynch said...

Re: Huey Long quote. It's doubtful that Huey ever said that since Huey died in 1935, when Mussolini and Hitler were just starting to appear on the radar and the word "fascism" did not have the negative context that it has today.

Wikiquote only lists one Huey comment related to fascism, talking about Hitler: "Don't liken me to that son of a bitch. Anybody that lets his public policies be mixed up with religious prejudice is a plain god damned fool."

Now THAT sounds like something Huey Long would say! Huey avoided campaigning on divisive social issues and instead he emphasized economic issues that united the 99%.

There have been many attempts to smear Huey as a fascist or as a demagogue because Huey scared the crap out of the establishment. The real Huey was a populist with a good heart and street fighter smarts.

Anonymous said...

Just being a Jerk, and a Bully is not necessarily being a Fascist. Heck, we've had somebody leading our country from a "Bully Pulpit" before and didn't complain. OK, maybe Teddy Roosevelt wasn't a Jerk though.

But. Having a government where the leaders are fat and happy being coddled by rich corporations, allowing corporations to write legislation and influence the judicial system...