We are all susceptible to conspiratorial thinking. It’s a truism that people with wealth and power are loath to give up said wealth and power, but to go from that to thinking that there’s a master plan to wreak Fascism that’s been unfolding for decades is very likely wrong.

While the end result (wreaking Fascism) may be the same either way, IMO the slide to Fascism wasn’t planned, but emerged from the various incentives put in place. Wealthy people want to protect their wealth, and in doing so make a thousand selfish deals that cause a Fascist government to emerge.

Were there people who wanted a Fascist state? Sure. People like Newt Gingrich wanted a permanent single-party state. Project 2025 was an explicitly Fascist roadmap. Stephen Miller is our Goebbels. But these people got their chance to play Nazi because wealthy people felt that platforming them has a good return on investment.

There is no master plan. It’s all rich and powerful people not wanting to let go.

There is also a risk in conspiratorial thinking that can lead us to conclude that the enemy to a progressive society is a small cabal of shadowy lords with Hitler mustaches planning Fascism around the world, when the real enemy is actually a system that enables the hoarding of wealth and power. Fascism is only one symptom of this problem; other forms of subjugation may form that does the same job, including widespread serfdom in an otherwise democratic nation (which is what US capitalism and lack of national welfare basically is).

Attacking an imaginary cabal will not address the main problem; attacking wealth inequality will.

• #opinion
• #politics