14 similarities between Harper's conservative government and known Fascist governments.
Now that the do nothing Budget for Canadians has been presented and the Fair Election Act is being rammed through Parliament, it is perhaps time for progressives to understand what they are really facing.
Now, no one is saying that Harper himself is a Fascist, but the word fascism has been bandied around a lot by people angry with Mr. Harper, so let's take a look at the 14 defining characteristics of fascism to see if they're truly relevant to the situation Canada finds itself in.
Now that the do nothing Budget for Canadians has been presented and the Fair Election Act is being rammed through Parliament, it is perhaps time for progressives to understand what they are really facing.
Now, no one is saying that Harper himself is a Fascist, but the word fascism has been bandied around a lot by people angry with Mr. Harper, so let's take a look at the 14 defining characteristics of fascism to see if they're truly relevant to the situation Canada finds itself in.
The following information was posted on Facebook but I found that posts On Facebook sometimes get taken down or they do not receive a wide enough audience,so I am reposting here with the links to the original
Thanks to Shaun Fryer and to Michael Nabertfor
compiling most of these links which saved me a ton of time. Please, if you've got more links to share to back this up, share them in
the comments. Every check mark on the fascism list brings our country closer to
the equivalent of Mussolini’s Italy, Franco’s Spain, Suharto’s Indonesia,
Pinochet’s Chile, and yes, even Hitler’s Germany. Even one is a problem. Buckle
up, Canada.
The original 14 points article started circulating during the 2004 election cycle in the US. The origin was an email chain letter that began circulating, attributed to one "Dr. Lawrence Britt, a political scientist," who had apparently written a 14-point article listing the defining characteristics of fascist regimes.
First let's address a few misconceptions. First of all, there is no "Dr. Lawrence Britt." The author of the 14-point fascism inventory, Laurence Britt, is a former corporate executive who wrote and published a dystopian novel about right-wing extremism, titled June 2004, during the height of the Lewinsky scandal. That is, to the best of my knowledge, his only published volume.
In the real June 2004, he achieved some level of fame with an op-ed published in the humanist magazine Free Inquiry. This op-ed was forwarded around from inbox to inbox, and readers eventually began putting a "Dr." in front of his name and referring to him as a political scientist who had compiled the fascism inventory independently of the Bush administration. He had not done so, and had never claimed to do so. The article was, and had always been intended to be, an argument against the Bush administration.
Does that mean that his article is invalid? Not at all. All of the 14 points he identifies can potentially threaten our civil liberties, and they are all points that Canada has in common with the twentieth century's most frightening fascist regimes. The trouble is that they also point out that the Canada has many traits that are common with many non-fascist regimes, and in some cases represent longstanding elements of Canadian. political culture. Here is the link to the 14 points. http://www.rense.com/general37/char.htm
The original 14 points article started circulating during the 2004 election cycle in the US. The origin was an email chain letter that began circulating, attributed to one "Dr. Lawrence Britt, a political scientist," who had apparently written a 14-point article listing the defining characteristics of fascist regimes.
First let's address a few misconceptions. First of all, there is no "Dr. Lawrence Britt." The author of the 14-point fascism inventory, Laurence Britt, is a former corporate executive who wrote and published a dystopian novel about right-wing extremism, titled June 2004, during the height of the Lewinsky scandal. That is, to the best of my knowledge, his only published volume.
In the real June 2004, he achieved some level of fame with an op-ed published in the humanist magazine Free Inquiry. This op-ed was forwarded around from inbox to inbox, and readers eventually began putting a "Dr." in front of his name and referring to him as a political scientist who had compiled the fascism inventory independently of the Bush administration. He had not done so, and had never claimed to do so. The article was, and had always been intended to be, an argument against the Bush administration.
Does that mean that his article is invalid? Not at all. All of the 14 points he identifies can potentially threaten our civil liberties, and they are all points that Canada has in common with the twentieth century's most frightening fascist regimes. The trouble is that they also point out that the Canada has many traits that are common with many non-fascist regimes, and in some cases represent longstanding elements of Canadian. political culture. Here is the link to the 14 points. http://www.rense.com/general37/char.htm
Once you have read it, we can ask
whether the Harper government demonstrates those indicators of fascism. It
turns out there's more than a few damning examples.
Powerful continuing Nationalism
This link speaks for itself
Identifying Enemies/Scapegoats
The term terrorism gets slung around a
lot to justify all sorts of things
Rampant Sexism
Mr Harper's government is surprisingly
sexist.
Obsession with National Security
Canada's new National Security state
and here
It is in fact unsurprising that more
than one journalist is connecting the dots on the national security state
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/murray-dobbin/2009/11/stephen-harper’s-national-security-state
Here's extensive spying on activists
and on First Nations
Corporate Power is Protected
Oddly enough, corporations don't seem
to be struggling like ordinary Canadians in Harper's Canada. Why do you think
that is?
and he is a cheerleader for new
corporate super-rights that surpass and override those of citizens and indeed
even the nation
Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
Arts? Seriously? Who cares about arts?
let's cut the arts
but the arts aren't nearly as much a
target as intellectuals, science, and evidence.
with cutbacks to research
And it's apparently not enough to
suppress modern research, we are also destroying decades of previous research,
to impoverish the entire scientific community with but only book burning, but
effectively whole library burning
In fact, just watch this, it'll break
your heart if you care about facts entering our decision making process at all
Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
Ah yes, mustn't forget the rampant
cronyism.
We're actually reaching for cronyism
on an international scale
Disdain for Human Rights
The Harper government has nothing but
disdain for human rights.
FIrst nations rights violated here
Trying to keep human rights out of
CETA
and more about how for Mr Harper,
trade trumps human rights across the board
or how about the right to protest?
In fact, it's clear he really doesn't
care for First Nations people at all
Supremacy of the Military
Harper's military policy is decidedly
imperialist
Here Harper refuses to sign an arms
trade treaty to combat militarism out of control
Controlled Mass Media
Here we've got taxpayers funding
Harper's own version of 'journalism'
which is a little North Korean-esque
in its obsessive message control
and taking control of the CBC
Religion and Government Intertwined
Religion and politics together again
in Canada
You might even say he's on an
evangelical mission,
Labour Power is Suppressed
And here's an ongoing war on
unions.
more union bashing here
and clearly more to come
Obsession with Crime/Punishment
So obsessed with crime and punishment
that even Texas says "whoa, that's a bit much"
to the extent that we're making
prisons unsafe
but if we point out that the evidence
doesn't support the policy, there's no sanity on that front
Fraudulent Elections
Not only did fraud absolutely take
place, but the Harper government engaged in "trench warfare to prevent the
case from coming to a hearing on its merits."
Feeding into a mindset that they have
the right to whatever they can get away with
Some comments from Facebook
HS said Some of those are certainly a tad hyperbolic, but we're definitely stepping way too far in that direction.
HS said Some of those are certainly a tad hyperbolic, but we're definitely stepping way too far in that direction.
MN said that "According
to the CCPA Conservative corporate tax cuts have allowed corporations to hoard
$572 billion -- over half a trillion dollars in taxpayer subsidized profits
while increasingly shifting their workforce to precarious jobs."
http://rabble.ca/.../austerity-protestors-barricade...
http://rabble.ca/.../austerity-protestors-barricade...
HF said Same
thing here in the U.S. There's a wave of fascism being spread around the world
by the rich and corporations and gross inequality is also part of it.
DS added this
link http://rabble.ca/.../canada-creeps-toward-becoming-closed...
DZ said This
has a families ring to it
SH said And
add to the list: colonial genocide. I don't really know if it's proper to say
Harper's big on religion and government intertwining. I'll admit I don't know
much to make a judgment, but whatever influence of religion in Canadian
politics is certainly far less than what folks down south have to deal with it.
Or at least, far less apparent.
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