Curbing politics of fascism

Growing tendencies of extreme right-wing forces necessitate a proactive role from citizens to counter them

Is democracy across the world under threat? Going by the recent political instances across major democratic countries in the world, it is visible that democracy is being used as a mechanism by the extreme right-wing or fascist leaders to stiffen their control over their constituents.

Democracy is a double-edged sword. It not only provides a platform for different communities or groups to articulate their views and to become a part of democratic functioning but also provides sufficient space for Hitler-style leaders to establish totalitarian regimes. It should be noted that Hitler grew his charisma and transformed the then Germany into a Nazi state by using the democratic apparatus. Subversion of democratic institutions by fascist leaders from “within” rather than by using an external force or agency could be attributed to the failure of existing democratic networks to meet the aspirations of the populace.

All Around One Man

Although democracy as an ideal has an in-built insulation mechanism to resist the extremist voices, it is clear that democracy lacks a system to contain a scenario where one man or a group dominates the political picture. The concentration of power around one man or a group of leaders poses a threat to democratic processes in the long run. By using religious and cultural cards, the self-styled leaders attack the state of the republic, where protections and freedoms for minorities are guaranteed, and transform the existing democratic setup into a majoritarian state.

Excessive centralisation at the cost of federal spirit, strengthening political and bureaucratic executives over other democratic organs like the legislative and the judiciary and the deliberate weakening of civil society organisations and other democratic groups are some of the basic measures which the fascist leaders resort to for achieving their political ambitions and objectives.

Accountability and transparency are seen as major irritants for the self-styled leaders. Diversity and tolerance come under attack and are viewed with suspicion. Under the guise of national security, freedom and liberties are curtailed. Bowing and scraping to the populist leader is deemed as a patriotic act and dissent is considered as an act of sedition. People who stand up against suppression and draconian measures are branded as anti-nationalists.

By taking advantage of constitutional loopholes or ambiguity, they try to re-write the Constitution according to their will to enhance their executive powers. To consolidate their powerbase, they label a section or a group, within or outside of the nation, as an enemy and use the propaganda machine against the enemy. To strengthen their appeal among the majority, they breed fanatic elements or groups.

Distorting Facts

In addition to the existing communication channels, social media would serve as a tool to spread lies or fake news. The lunatic groups and supporters of the fascist regime create abusive caricatures of their enemies and opposition leaders on social media. In a political environment where truth is a lie and a lie is believed as a fact, freedom of expression is a myth.

During the fascist regime, it is not only the independence and autonomy of democratic institutions that are called into question but also the essential conditions for the existence of an individual (obviously the poor) that are threatened. The division of a society in a fascist era on the basis of social cleavages like class, religion, race and culture would become much more clear and stronger than in a capitalist or liberal phase.

Blessed with the gift of the gab and the ability to twist the general discontent among the masses to their advantage, these leaders create baseless theories and distort facts. They move heaven and earth to stay in power.

It is important to realise that the rise of fascist politics is directly linked to economic and social conditions of the day. Economic factors like poverty, unemployment, inequalities, personal or national debt, corruption and above all sentiment around global trade act as catalysts for the change in the political environment. All these factors provide the breeding ground for the rise of fascist politics. The moment when capitalist economy is in trouble due to mismatch between supply and demand, the social and political cleavages in society will come to the fore.

Earlier, the western nations were under compulsion to adopt social welfare measures as they feared the socialist revolution might be imported into their territories from the eastern block if they deny security measures for the working class. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the western economies felt that they no longer needed to follow welfare measures as the ideology of capitalism was now hailed as an unchallengeable doctrine in the field of economics.

Fascist Leadership

Under the mask of protectionism and self-reliance, the fascist leadership allocates wealth-creating assets or state-run companies and industries that are crucial for national security to business lobbies who are close to or supported the rise of the fascist leadership. Social welfarism is viewed as an unnecessary intervention of the state and the fascist economic system revolves around the principle of “natural selection” and “survival of the fittest”. In the eyes of fascist leadership, inequalities are common and the social hierarchy is an organic phenomenon.

On the international front, the fascist leadership of a nation would have a natural propensity towards an extreme right-wing or fascist leadership of other nation due to their ideological convergence.

With the rise of technological developments and globalisation, the capital (physical and financial) has been moving from the west to the eastern nations where business entities make more profit at the expense of employment of youth in the developed nations. No growth in real wages of the working class and the failure of liberal political parties to bring these issues into the mainstream political agenda have been providing hardcore right-wing leaders the platform to attack and degrade the political processes in specific and democracy as a whole. In addition to neoliberal reforms, the revival of social Darwinism has been dominating the political and economic landscape of major democratic nations.

An informed citizenry is the backbone of democracy. The growing tendencies of extreme right-wing forces in the developed and developing world alike necessitate the active role of citizens to counter anti-democratic forces. If the citizens across the world turn a blind eye to these developments, the world would be set for another holocaust.

(The author is Director, Samudrala VK IAS Academy)

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