The Iron Heel of Fascism

The title is a phrase from a Jack London novel read many years ago called "The Iron Heel" in which London writes about how fascism evolves. There are also many others that address this, including "Friendly Fascism" by Bertram Gross and "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis. I recommend all three, although the Sinclair Lewis book is rather hard to find.

Amazon.com gives the following blurb about "The Iron Heel":

"The Iron Heel" was written in 1908 and remains one of the more prophetic novels of the 20th century. His track record with regards to a national secret police agency, the rise of Fascism, the creation of attractive suburbs for the middle class while the unemployed and menials live in "ghettoes," is markedly better than that of Edward Belleamy's "Looking Backward," Aldoux Huxley's "Brave New World," or George Orwell's "1984," the novels that are usually lauded and judged by their prescience in terms of utopian literature.

Another blogger, Maya's Granny, wrote a very interesting post this morning about the various conditions she sees and it reminded me of the book.

As unpopular as the view may be, I do believe we are coming frighteningly close to seeing fascism in the US. .. if it is not here already.

Laurence Britt wrote an article called "Fascism Anyone?" in which he compares some of the more notorious fascist regimes and came up with 14 commonalities.

1) Powerful and continuing nationalism
2) Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
3) Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause:
4) Supremacy of the Military
5) Rampant Sexism
6) Controlled Mass Media
7) Obsession with National Security
8) Religion and Government are Intertwined
9) Corporate Power is Protected
10) Labor power is suppressed
11) Disdain for intellectuals and the arts
12) Obsession with Crime and Punishment
13) Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
14) Fraudulent Elections

I will not elaborate on these. It's far more interesting to know what readers think about it. I just want to present it for discussion and thought. In future entries, I will share some of my own thoughts and experiences in the past that have led me to draw this conclusion.


May we all be free from oppression ~


Thailand Gal

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