- 15 Feb 2014 18:59
#14364988
There has always been heated debates over the economics of fascism and the trend among many on this forum is to take the theory of corporatism seriously. One of the more absurd moves of the American right is to declare fascism and NS leftwing socialist movements, which they clearly were not. Nonetheless there are many self-proclaimed fascists who play up these socialist aspects and declare themselves third way opponents of international capitalism.
I want to take an entirely different approach and point out that Fascist Italy and NS Germany were the ONLY countries in the early 20th century that carried out a massive privatization campaign while the rest of the world turned towards Social Democracy, New Deal, Communism, and other state interventionist tactics. In fact, the very word 'privatization' was coined by an Englishman who studied the Third Reich. Nearly all state interventions were in fact headed by bourgeoisie who had party membership in their respective regimes.
This massive privatization effort would not be duplicated again until the rise of neoliberalism in the 1980s. I therefore reject the nationalistic and autarkist model of fascism and NS in favor of a model that emphasizes state subsidizing favored international corporations.
Although it may seem counterintuitive I should point out neoliberalism and nationalism have never been at odds and have acted as complimentary forces in many countries.
Sources for my claims:
Fascist privatization: http://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/12319
Nazi privatization: http://c4ss.org/content/124
I want to take an entirely different approach and point out that Fascist Italy and NS Germany were the ONLY countries in the early 20th century that carried out a massive privatization campaign while the rest of the world turned towards Social Democracy, New Deal, Communism, and other state interventionist tactics. In fact, the very word 'privatization' was coined by an Englishman who studied the Third Reich. Nearly all state interventions were in fact headed by bourgeoisie who had party membership in their respective regimes.
This massive privatization effort would not be duplicated again until the rise of neoliberalism in the 1980s. I therefore reject the nationalistic and autarkist model of fascism and NS in favor of a model that emphasizes state subsidizing favored international corporations.
Although it may seem counterintuitive I should point out neoliberalism and nationalism have never been at odds and have acted as complimentary forces in many countries.
Sources for my claims:
Fascist privatization: http://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/12319
Nazi privatization: http://c4ss.org/content/124