Date: Sun, 2 Nov 1997 11:55:04 -0800 (PST)
From: Tom Scheff <scheff-AT-sscf.ucsb.edu>
Subject: Re: Who wields the fasces?, continued


Saul,

The implications: the rise of fascism depends not only on economic
stagnation, inflation, etc, but also on emotional and relational 
processes.

Centrally, widespread ALIENATION between persons and groups in a 
society, in the isolation mode, and widespread collective shame,
are causes of the rise of fascism. The Allies made the mistake of
HUMILIATING the Germans after their defeat in 1918. The Germans,
like the French in 1871, managed their shame by masking it with
anger and the lust for revenge. IMO, this process is the most
important cause of WW1 and WW2. 

In the 1945, the Allies didn't make the same mistake. In order
to defend against Communism, they shored up the Germans and Japanese,
instead of tearing them down. One implication: if the victors of ANY
war want to avoid a second round, avoid humiliating the defeated
side. 

Closer to home, if we want to avoid future fascism in our own and
other societies, lets do something about the widespread alienation
and humiliation in these societes. Think about the emotions that all
those who lost their jobs in the continual downsizing that is going
on: it may be good for the stockmarket, but it may be creating 
a mass of potential supporters of radical, even facist solutions to
unemployment (one of Hitler's claims was that he would eliminate 
unemployment, and he did).

Tom

Thomas J. Scheff, Professor Emeritus
Dept of Sociology, UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA. 93105
Phone 805 893 3510   Fax   805 893 3324
Web   http://sscf.ucsb.edu/~scheff/scheff.html