There's been a lot of research about what makes fascism come to fruition, and I want to think about complacency (or perhaps apathy?) as one of the biggest factors.
The structures of fascism exist from the beginning of a nation-state. The creation of police, jails, the definition and protection of national borders...all of these aspects of contemporary democratic states also form the backbones of fascist regimes. The difference is in how the people respond to their use.
And that's where complacency comes in. Democracies require the voting populace to function as stewards; you've gotta keep up on your sh*t. You have to know election dates, locations and requirements to vote. You have build connections with new and old citizens alike, along with future citizens, in order to get anything done. And you have to focus locally, because space may be practiced place (see Michel DeCerteau), but nation is imagined community (Benedict Anderson), and you cannot imagine the community without practicing it locally.
There was a big kerfuffle over a jacket last week: a clear statement of apathy from one of the members of the current administration. In my research, I argue that apathy is not the appropriate affective response to scandal. But what happens when the scandal is apathy itself? Is the appropriate affective response to apathy... outrage? Or is it more apathy? Or must we calibrate our affective responses based on the power dynamics at play?
I've long thought that the only way to survive this administration is to ignore it, not apathetically perhaps, but more in the way that Buddhist monks were able to overcome their torture in Chinese prisons. The president was elected in large part thanks to his celebrity image, and the only way to weaken a celebrity image is to cease to be interested anymore. But that does not work while he continues to hold (and abuse) actual power.
What is clear to me is that maintaining apathy in the face of gross misuse of power only ensures further abuse of power. Therefore, apathy will not work to halt his actions just yet. It will only serve to aid abuses of power, as one of the primary structures of fascism.
The structures of fascism exist from the beginning of a nation-state. The creation of police, jails, the definition and protection of national borders...all of these aspects of contemporary democratic states also form the backbones of fascist regimes. The difference is in how the people respond to their use.
And that's where complacency comes in. Democracies require the voting populace to function as stewards; you've gotta keep up on your sh*t. You have to know election dates, locations and requirements to vote. You have build connections with new and old citizens alike, along with future citizens, in order to get anything done. And you have to focus locally, because space may be practiced place (see Michel DeCerteau), but nation is imagined community (Benedict Anderson), and you cannot imagine the community without practicing it locally.
There was a big kerfuffle over a jacket last week: a clear statement of apathy from one of the members of the current administration. In my research, I argue that apathy is not the appropriate affective response to scandal. But what happens when the scandal is apathy itself? Is the appropriate affective response to apathy... outrage? Or is it more apathy? Or must we calibrate our affective responses based on the power dynamics at play?
I've long thought that the only way to survive this administration is to ignore it, not apathetically perhaps, but more in the way that Buddhist monks were able to overcome their torture in Chinese prisons. The president was elected in large part thanks to his celebrity image, and the only way to weaken a celebrity image is to cease to be interested anymore. But that does not work while he continues to hold (and abuse) actual power.
What is clear to me is that maintaining apathy in the face of gross misuse of power only ensures further abuse of power. Therefore, apathy will not work to halt his actions just yet. It will only serve to aid abuses of power, as one of the primary structures of fascism.
Very interesting thoughts!
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