1
often capitalized : a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition
2
: a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control
The above definition was obviously taken from an online dictionary. While it exposes the basic meaning of the term it does not include Mussolini’s famous definition that needs to also be considered. For Mussolini, perhaps in some sense the father of fascism, that form of government was the result of a marriage between corporations and government. Is this not precisely what is being attempted by the current Republican Party, having been bought by the Koch brothers and other corporations that have managed to control our MSM, most of our “think tanks,” and also the majority of our Congressmen (and quite likely at least a portion of our Supreme Court)? What else can one conclude when you learn that at least 62 of the recent freshmen in Congress received money from the Koch brothers, or that Governor Walker and other Tea Party Governors also owe their elections to corporate money? I try to be careful with terms and avoid wild claims of Hitlerism, socialism, communism, and so on, but I do not believe using fascism to describe what is currently being attempted by corporations and Republicans is either inaccurate or sensational. It seems to me perfectly clear that Republicans, particularly those identified with the Tea Party (funded by the Koch brothers), are, acting on behalf of their corporate sponsors, trying to do away with Labor and the Middle Class and thus make it possible for corporations and the wealthy to rule over the rest of us, the ordinary citizens and laborers that work for a living rather than just clip coupons. If they have their way there will soon be a two class society, the obscenely wealthy and the peasants, serfs, or wage slaves (subject to” severe economic and social regimentation”). I do not believe this is an inaccurate description of what is being attempted. An actual dictator is not important in this attempt at complete control because whoever is elected will have no recourse but to do as he/she is instructed. The Fascists are about to succeed unless something drastically occurs to stop them. I understand why the MSM does not use the term fascism, they are part of the program. You can call a spade a shovel if you wish, but it’s still a spade.
Definition of PHILISTINE
1: a native or inhabitant of ancient Philistia
2 often not capitalized a : a person who is guided by materialism and is usually disdainful of intellectual or artistic values b : one uninformed in a special area of knowledge
In addition to being fascists theose trying to take over also tend to be philistines, although this is not as simple as it might appear. That is, they want “us” to be philistines in that common laborers, serfs, peasants, slaves or whatever, should not and would not enjoy the “fine” arts as they do. While they wish to do away with all public funding of the arts, they themselves, I am pretty sure have no intention of giving up their multi-million dollar art collections, their Van Goghs, Rembrandts, Picassos, or even their outrageously expensive pieces of junk labeled “modern art.” Besides, once they have reduced the minimum wage and created enough unemployed who will have to beg for jobs, we “hoi poloi” won’t have enough money to enjoy anything but potatoes now and then.
This is not exactly true in the case of the United States where it is somewhat more complicated. This is because often those who have the obscene wealth also are “guided by materialism and…disdainful of intellectual or artistic values.” But once they have enough money they can at least pretend, and they do. I do not know why the inhabitants of Philistia came to give their name to what we now consider philistines. I do know that it has taken corporations and the wealthy powers that be a fairly long time to systematically dumb us all down far enough to accept the blatant anti-intellectualism that infects our culture, along with the absolute garbage that now passes for infotainment on the wasteland of television. We are, I fear, already a nation of philistines. The humanities and arts in general have already been starved in our Universities and Colleges, having to give up their more and more of their budgets to Business Schools and other professional schools (that probably shouldn’t even be part of Universities). If Republicans succeed in their current attempt to no longer fund the arts at all we will have literally given up any pretense of true “civilization.”
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
William Wordsworth
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