The Nightmare of Neoliberal Fascism
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- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
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A Socialist Project e-bulletin ... No. 1625 ... June 18, 2018
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The Nightmare of Neoliberal Fascism
Henry A. Giroux interviewed by Mark Karlin
Mark Karlin (MK): Why is it important to have an historical understanding of fascism to shed light on the age of Trump?
Henry A. Giroux (HG): The conditions leading to fascism do not exist in some ethereal space outside of history. Nor are they fixed in a static moment in the past. As Hannah Arendt reminds us, the protean elements of fascism always run the risk of crystallizing into new forms. Historical memory is a prerequisite to the political and moral witnessing necessary to successfully counter growing fascism in the United States today. As Richard Evans, the renowned historian of modern Germany, observes, the Trump administration may not replicate all the features... of Germany and Italy in the 1930s, but the legacy of fascism is important because it echoes a "warning from history" that cannot be dismissed.
What historians such as Evans, Timothy Snyder and others have suggested is that it is crucial to examine history in order to understand what tyranny and authoritarianism look like and how we can use the past to fight against such forces. While the United States under Trump may not be an exact replica of Hitler’s Germany, the mobilizing ideas, policies, passions and ruthless social practices of fascism, wrapped in the flag and discourses of racial purity, ultra-nationalism and militarism, are at the center of power in the Trump administration. When selected elements of history are suppressed and historical consciousness and memory no longer provide insights into the workings of repression, exploitation and resistance, people are easily trapped in forms of historical and social amnesia that limit their sense of perspective, their understanding of how power works and the ways in which the elements of fascism sustain themselves in different practices.
