January 4
GUEST: Walden Bello,
Internationally known scholar and activist, Professor Emeritus
at the University of the Philippines, and winner of the Right
Livelihood Award takes a close look at how some societies
transition from democracy to fascism.
Fascism
101
Suddenly, fascism is in. We read about it and worry that our Democratic presidential candidate, Joe Biden, just isn't up to it. We then polish off that old conundrum: vote for the lesser of two evils. And since Trump is in fact a fascist, almost anything would be better.
But Biden has a few tricks up his sleeve. He and his secretary of state, Blinken, are really warmongers, eager to take risks to advance our military empire. We see it in Ukraine, Taiwan, and now the Middle East. Our weapons makers just can't keep up with the tremendous demand for killing instruments.
With this Cold War mentality comes a willingness to murder entire populations. The genocide in Gaza is part of the expansion of the American empire. The thousands of children starving to death is just the price we must pay to rule the world. During the Bush administration, the Democratic Party joined the peace marches. But they were always just lying.
So do we chose Genocide Joe or Trump the fascist? Are we willing to live with the starvation of children, or acquiesce to a right wing white nationalists takeover? Do we want syphilis or gonorrhea for the next four years?
Walden Bello walks us through the histories of recent fascist governments, almost all supported by the American Empire. Perhaps our time to suffer has come.
