A look at corporate authoritarianism that William Shirer called, “the best thing I’ve ever seen on how America might go fascist democratically.”
In 1980, US capitalist politics wore a “nice-guy mask”, a troubling disguise to cover up a creeping despotism in which the ultra-rich and corporate overseers were merging with a centralized state power in order to manage the populace. This immanent corporate authoritarianism threatened to subvert constitutional democracy. But unlike the violent and sudden usurpations that led to fascism in the days of Hitler, Mussolini, and the Japanese empire builders, this new “smiling” American breed of fascism was gaining ground through gradual and silent infringements on the freedoms of the American people. First published over three decades ago, Friendly Fascism is uncannily predictive of the threats and realities of current political and economic power trends. Author Bertram Gross, a presidential adviser during the New Deal era, traces the history and logic of declining democracy in First World countries and pinpoints capitalist transnational growth and inappropriate responses to global crises as the sources of late 20th-century despotism in America. Gross issues ever-urgent warnings about what happens when big business and big government become bedfellows – chronic inflation, recurring recession, overt and hidden unemployment, the poisoning of the environment – and simultaneously proffers a practical shift of perspective that could help US citizens build a truer democracy. He imagines an America in which heroes are no longer needed and the leadership is a group of non-elitists who “recognize the ignorance of the wise as well as the wisdom of the ignorant”.
Prescient As 2017 dawns, the US stands poised to embrace a boldly formed government of oligarchs, led by a “charismatic ” film-flam man who lacks not only experience and knowledge of world affairs, but any curiosity regarding what he does not know. Fascism is upon us. How friendly it is remains to be seen.
November 2016 – Timely as Heck Is it surprising that this obscure book is suddenly number two in sales in its category as this review is being written one week after the election of Donald Trump?Â
An extraordinarily farsighted book about a fascism that the majority will love It is almost unbelievable how prescient the author was in this book, which was published 37 years ago. The author analyses the roots of the upcoming new era as foreseen in the late 70′. The main characteristics of this era is a conjunction of what is called BigBusiness and BigGovernment backed by powerful media held in the hands of few. This novel form of power structure resembles in many points the traditional fascism, although the means of manipulation of society are in general less violent…