Honestly dog, this is exactly the right question. I get it. Shoutout to you for asking it. Truly.

From the liberal perspective, this is exactly how it goes. “I voted against fascism, yet fascism still festers. What gives?”

The liberal framework pushes the idea that electoralism is the be all end all form of political participation, but leftists refute this. Leftists say that you have a plethora of other tools at your disposal to express yourself politically: buy a gun, do mutual aid, join an organization, read theory, participate in local politics, etc…

If your question is earnest, I’d encourage you to read some Lenin.

Yup.

What we are seeing now is a critical inflection point for liberals: do they do honest introspection and start to apply real criticism to the history of the US, or do they cover their ears and claim Trumpism is an aberration for which they have no reasonable explanation.

To put it simply, liberals now have a choice between

“Damn, this is really the outcome of the american political project, huh? How did we get here?”

And

“Trumpist fascism is un-American, and I am clueless as to how it took hold, but I am going to continue to vote blue no matter who!”

If the amount of liberals on .world bizarrely harkening back to the “good old days” of the founders, Reagan, Obama, and even dubya is any indication, I suspect most of them have gone with the second option.

There are plenty of racists who aren’t fascist. There are plenty or countries with racism problems that aren’t fascist. There are plenty of dumbfucks who aren’t fascist. There are plenty of illiterate countries that aren’t fascist. “Stupidity” (im being careful here - i dont think illiteracy = stupid) and racism predates fascism.

Youve reached the limit of the liberal ideological framework and have resorted to explaining fascism as some sort of cultural pathology. This is what happens when your idealist politics prioritizes individual psychology and moralistic explanations over historical and economic analysis.

It’s frustrating seeing liberals watch the fascist devolution in real-time, and just throw up their hands saying “well i guess americans are just stupid! QED!”. It conveniently absolves them for their complicity in facilitating fascism, and it spits in the face of victims of US policy, both foreign and abroad.

No, I think you missed my point entirely. No amount of shame, facts and logic, or blasts will stop fascism.

Until regulatory agencies stop being captured, until people can own homes, until people can retire, until people can get healthcare, until people can get childcare, the fascist devolution will continue.

You’re still clinging to this ultra liberal idea that the “marketplace of ideas” is what ultimately turns the wheel of history and politics. It’s the idea that politics and history is driven by individuals taking ideological stances, and that the only way to change history is to change minds. This could not be more incorrect. I really encourage you to do some introductory reading into Marxism - which historically has been the greatest defense against fascism, as well as has the most comprehensive explanation of how fascism happens. Wage Labor and Capital is a great start.

For starters, understanding that American fascism is not the result of voters simply not being informed enough. The idea that, if all Trump supporters simply had access to better information, if they all had better education, if they were exposed to the right argument… then they’d see the light and turn into democrats - is a supremely liberal idea. We need to understand that no amount of epic slams, no amount of late night talk show roasts, no amount of facts and logic will steer us out of fascism.

As we devolve deeper and deeper into fascism, it has been frustrating watching liberals flail to try and understand how the devolution is happening: is it because people are uneducated? Is it because of Joe Rogan’s podcasts? Is it because of Russian spies? Is it because Trump has started a cult? Is it because Fox News? Is it because lead was used in gasoline 50 years ago? Is it because we use lead water pipes? Is it because of Ronald Reagan? All of this waffling to avoid the hard questions. I.e, “is it possible that fascism is the only logical conclusion a nation which was founded solely by white landowners to do wholesale on genocide on native Americans?”

If you fail to start thinking about this devolution into fascism in terms of history, class, and material conditions, you’re always going to be hopelessly confused about the structures and frameworks that allow fascism to fester.

What makes you say that? It has went over perfectly well for the Trump team, and it was honestly a huge success for them in legitimizing this push for supreme executive power.

That playbook is literally how the US justice system has worked since pretty much the beginning. Our constitution explicitly enshrines the right to keep slaves.

And calling the Gulag Archipeligo a “first hand account” is laughable. That book is basically folklore and rumors.

When a “good” solution ultimately defangs or sedates workers with otherwise radical potential, then no, a “good” solution is inadequate and should be thrown out. Why is everyone bleating this empty aphorism all around lemmy? The simple fact is that the only way we are going to steer ourselves out of this devolution into fascism is with a hail mary: some sort of labor movement, a geopolitical shock, a massive strike, etc… And this (almost religious) faith in “good solutions” is not worth anything. It’s copium. It’s toxic positivity in the form of blind, religious hope.

From the DSA instagram 6 days ago:

Why didn’t the “economic blackout” change anything?

Stocks rose Friday instead of falling, and there was no sign that the “economic boycott” that spread across social media had any impact whatsoever, other than maybe being a promotional tool for smaller businesses.

Why didn’t it work and what would work instead?

We don’t have power as “consumers”.

Working people are always going to need to buy things. And even if a large portion of workers stopped buying everyday goods from Target or Starbucks, we’d still need to pay rent, pay the mortgage, pay utilities, and ultimately depend on a larger supply chain. You can’t “opt-out” of capitalism.

Boycotts that work are focused on a clear target and have with a specific demand, and are built on long-term, deep organizing. But even then, as a tactic, a boycott isn’t going to be what brings the economy to a halt to stop the Trump agenda.

We have power as workers.

In January 2019, a 35 day shutdown of the federal government came to an end after the flight attendants union announced their intention to strike. Such a strike would have grounded a large percentage of air travel, which even if just for a short period of time would have had a devastating impact on the US economy.

If we want to hit the ruling class where it hurts we need to organize as workers, not as consumers. Our power is in collectively withholding our labor, not withholding our dollars (which we only have in the first place by selling our labor).

Strikes are organized, not mobilized.

Strikes don’t happen because someone made an Instagram post calling for it and then everyone thought it was a good idea.

Strikes are the result of long-term organizing that builds tightly structured organization through a series of escalating actions that show the level of support for the union, which if successful leave workers confident and the boss afraid.

A strike can’t work if only a minority of workers walk out either. Strikes require a supermajority of workers to be effective.

So what can you do?

Join an organization like DSA that is working to build the kind working class power necessary not just to beat back Trump’s attacks but to win a better world.

Join the labor movement. Organize at work, in your union if you have one, and get trained on the secrets of successful organizing through organizations like Labor Notes. Looking for a new job? Consider taking a job in a “strategic sector” like healthcare, education, or logistics.

Stop scrolling and start talking to your coworkers, your neighbors, friends, and family. The revolution will not be posted. Revolutions are made through organizing.