Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Can Twenty-First Century Fascism Resolve the Crisis of Global Capitalism?

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

Monday, April 29, 2019

Can Twenty-First Century Fascism Resolve the Crisis of Global Capitalism?

Click here to access article by William I. Robinson from Radical Political Economy.

Because I am seeing my energy declining at my age of nearly 83, I debated on whether I should offer a critique of this seriously flawed article. I prefer re-posting articles that really aim at understanding this deteriorating world at the hands of transnational capitalism.

So, first off, I would answer the question in the headline. No, 21st century capitalism or any capitalism cannot ultimately ever resolve their various crises. Robinson declares that it can: "A fascist outcome to the crisis of global capitalism is not inevitable." Thus, he appears to be a reformist. Secondly, I find his use of "Trumpism" as not valid. "Isms" always imply an ideology. Ascribing Trump's style in the White House does not qualify.

I also recently read his book Into the Tempest where his outlook on world political and economic affairs was limited to that of the US/Anglo/Zionist Empire's world. This is not the whole world. There are nations that are contesting the neoliberal and imperialist policies of the Empire and succeeding. Russia, China, Iran, and Venezuela come to mind. I think the efforts of those nations could very well impose a major reverse in the actions of the Empire. Europe is showing signs of waffling over their allegiance to the Empire. His book totally ignores this challenge.

I think Robinson is a product of US academia in which he has been exposed to pressures to conform to capitalist views and experienced a lot of censorship in materials he's been exposed to. He in his education was not likely exposed to the writings of Marx, Durkheim, and other radical writers and historians. I know I wasn't. I had to access their views independently by going to the college library, assuming that it is large enough.