Alan Olsen writes
But it is also the case that industrial countries, when they fall on hard times tend to fall back on an authoritarian "bread and circuses" approach to governing. Fascism in 1930's Germany was one such govenment. ... ... ... (Remember that Hitler was elected.) I think that this country is ripe for such a movement.
Not so. Fascism was a more sophisticated and coherent philosophy than you give it credit for. Hitler mass marketed a vulgarized mass market version to the ignorant unwashed masses, but this was only after the political romantic philosophies came to have substantial support among the intellectuals, and this philosophical support was translated into political support by intellectuals for the various volkish parties, one of which was the National German Socialist Workers party, which Hitler later joined and swiftly came to dominate. There really is no similar contender on the scene today. The fascists were able to take power only after the ideas that underly fascism had been growing in support and sophistication for three hundred years. When put into practice this system of ideas suffered a devastating setback, not only the particular form that we called fascism, but all forms. While a military dictatorship is possible, a military dictatorship that is not armed with good volkish philosophy is unlikely to be capable of doing much harm, because military dictatorships are continually and gravely threatened by loss of internal cohesion and discipline. A military takeover might well be a good thing. The soldiers could in the short term impose discipline on a corrupt and lawless government, and in the long term would profoundly weaken that which they sought to strengthen. --------------------------------------------------------------------- We have the right to defend ourselves and our property, because of the kind of animals that we James A. Donald are. True law derives from this right, not from the arbitrary power of the omnipotent state. jamesd@netcom.com