Alienation, autonomy, and ideology

Category: Class (Page 23 of 24)

Is Trumpism a Fascist Movement?

Trump Fascist

Source: Alisdare Hickson (https://www.flickr.com/photos/alisdare/42730197674)

As I said in my previous post, I’ve been sitting for awhile on the question of whether Trumpism is a fascist movement. But to answer this question, I needed to first sketch out what fascism is. A lot of people use ‘fascist’ to mean something like ‘very bad.’ Even historians and social scientists use the word without thinking about the economic and political contexts in which fascism grows.

So I offered five historical conditions where fascism grows. And a starting point for defining it. That starting point was: Fascism is the emergency management mode of capitalism. It arises during times of serious crises and left-wing threats in order to save capitalism from itself.

Here we are, then. Is Trumpism a fascist movement?

Continue reading

What is Fascism?

Fasces fascism

Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/fasces/media/202174/223607

I’ve been sitting for awhile on the question of whether Trumpism is a fascist movement. Are we moving toward fascism in the United States?

It’s a big question, and it’s gotten lots of passionate responses. But I find a lot of the responses ill-informed or otherwise misguided. I also find that it’s a complicated question. Generally, I try to keep these posts to around 1500-2000 words. And to a focused topic. On the issue of fascism, however, I found this to be a burden.

So this is the first post I’ll write on the topic. I’ll add a second, and possibly a third, later. I’ll start by clearing some ground.

What, exactly, is fascism?

Continue reading

A Leftist Take on Universal Basic Income (UBI)

Universal Basic Income

Source: Ron Mader. https://www.flickr.com/photos/planeta/30873329263

Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a curious idea with a curious history. It enjoys strong support from some parts of the political right, some parts of the political left, and a fair share of the tech sector (the ‘Silicon Valley‘ crowd). It’s entering the mainstream from multiple directions.

On the right, Milton Friedman supported it. In his book Capitalism and Freedom, he advocated for a negative income tax that would establish an income floor.

On the center-left, Guy Standing advocates for it. He’s best known for his 2011 book The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class. For Standing, a universal basic income is the best way to bring stability to the lives of temporary and/or part-time workers.

On the left, David Graeber defends it as a short-term measure. His motivations come from some general themes he lays out in two books, The Utopia of Rules: On Technology, Stupidity, and the Secret Joys of Bureaucracy and Bullshit Jobs: A Theory. Graeber thinks a universal basic income will simplify bureaucratic structures and enable people to leave pointless jobs they hate.

But what is UBI, and can it do all these things? Should the left support it, or should leftists be suspicious that so many right-wingers support it?

I’ll take a crack at answering these questions.

Continue reading

Capitalism and Racism: Which is Prior?

Marxists, other leftists, and/or antiracists have argued for decades about the relative importance of capitalism and racism. They’ve framed the issue in different ways. Some people discuss which system exerts the greatest force on society. Others discuss which system offers the more fundamental social explanation. Some people talk about which one came first, historically. And still others ask which we should address first in our leftist movements.

Not only that, but approaches aren’t even mutually exclusive.

You might ask: what’s the difference between these frames? If so, that’s unfortunate, because they are different. It’s possible to argue, for example, that racism (or capitalism) came first historically, but that capitalism (or racism) explains more or should be addressed first.

And so, I’m going to sort out some of these issues in this post. I’ll use Ibram X. Kendi’s book Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America as a reference point.

Continue reading

Why is Labor Day in September?

labor day

Source: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2010/09/06/president-obama-labor-day-fight-americas-workers-continues

Let’s say you don’t live in the United States or Canada. You’re probably confused that we celebrate Labor Day in September. Even Americans might not know this is unusual.

Most countries celebrate International Workers’ Day on May 1. And for most people, this is a holiday of the radical left. By contrast, most people see Labor Day as a holiday for center-left labor movements. International Workers’ Day is broadly international, while Labor Day is mostly American and Canadian.

That’s close, though not exactly right. For one, both holidays come from the US. Specifically, from the US in the 1880s. We know the September Labor Day date came first, but there’s disagreement over the details. What we know pretty well is that someone from the Knights of Labor established it in 1882. And the US made it a federal holiday in 1894.

But International Workers’ Day originated in the US as well. Likely because of the pre-existing folk holiday May Day. A bit later, the Second International set May 1 as a day of labor in 1891. However, in addition to May Day, the May 1 date refers to the Haymarket affair in Chicago.

Continue reading

« Older posts Newer posts »