A great question
Joe Allonby
joeallonby at gmail.com
Mon Feb 16 11:39:24 CST 2009
The common conflation of political and economic systems in people's minds is
an ongoing problem.
I have frequently reminded people that Communism is not the opposite of
Democracy.
You can have a "free market economy" in a totalitarian state.
You can have centralized economic planning and control of means of
production in a democracy.
I was always amused by Ronald Reagan hailing Lech Walesa as an
anti-communist. He was a communist so orthodox that he scared the Soviets by
meaning the things that they just payed lip service to.
But one of my early poli-sci professors reminded me: Fascism is as fascism
does.
On Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 12:13 PM, Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Laura asks:
> Is capitalism fascist? A genuine question. I'm not sure of the answer.
>
> I'm not sure either but I suggest SIZE MATTERS: small business
> 'capitalism', before some businesses
> become of a certain size---I know, how big?---does not have to be?
>
> I'm thinking, historically, of small merchants and other companies in, say,
> a pre-industrial America, just
> for a place to start talking......
> But then, if some BIG DOGS came to own all the land................???
>
> So, still thinking aloud here, the opposite of fascism, politically, is
> what? A kind of democratic individualism
> in which all one's 'rights' are not violated, trampled on, overrun???
>
> So, he continues giddily, out of semi-control here, maybe when capitalism's
> Companies became like Persons by
> law....(They are, ya know)!!! Suddenly, Company Persons became Giant
> Adenoids, so to speak!
>
>
>
>
>
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