Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Michael Parenti: Fascism, The False Revolution, (both parts of his talk)

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Michael Parenti: Fascism, The False Revolution, (both parts of his talk)

Click here to access a recording of the first part of Michael Parenti's talk in Berkeley, California in 1995 re-posted recently by Maria Gilardin on TUC (Time of Useful Consciousness) website as a podcast (available via MP3 or ITunes). You are encouraged to explore many other recorded insightful talks on this website. (I thank Dave Ratcliffe of ratical.org for alerting me to this podcast.)

Michael Parenti and Maria Gilardin are both my contemporaries who have added immensely to my understanding of WWII and post-WWII issues. In this podcast Parenti explains so many mysteries that are hidden in mainstream discourse about fascism and its history. As you can readily understand, his talk in 1995 is very relevant to what is going on in today's world.

Fascism, as Mussolini said “..should be more properly called corporatism, since it is the merger of state and corporate power.” And history, as told by Michael Parenti, shows that in all fascist societies, be it Italy, Germany, Japan, Spain, and into the present, corporate power increased. And that gain in power such as tax cuts, deregulation, subsidies for extraction of oil and minerals involves a loss of power, rights, environmental and workplace protection and wages for those who work for a living.

Click on this link to listen to the second part of his talk in Berkeley in which his goes into more detail of how many US corporations supported both the Italian fascists and German Nazis, the real history of the lead-up to WWII, and the same essential issues that we are facing today under advanced capitalism.

You can also listen to his talk at this link.