In the latest edition of In The Blind Spot Ms Kaminska links to her conversation with Professor Roubini and has some commentary including this:
....Nouriel’s logic feeds into the usual criticism of rising populism, illiberalism and autocracy without any acknowledgement of the irony that the solutions the elite (Nouriel included) are proposing to fend off the “mega threats” the world is facing also include “subordinating individual freedoms” (Nouriel’s words not mine) on hitherto unappreciated levels.
Having pushed him on this a little further, it seems Nouriel justifies this view with the idea that illiberalism in the name of the greater and longer-term collective good of the world is acceptable. Illiberalism in pursuit of national interests is not. Authoritarianism in the name of combatting climate change, meanwhile, is even more acceptable because it is a means to an end and temporary. This is unlike, say, the authoritarianism of Putin or Xi which is intended to be permanent and an end in and of itself....
Roubini's (and the rest of the elite's) current pitch reads remarkably like our favorite interpretation of what Mussolini and Hitler were pushing:
An Excellent Definition Of Fascism
As stated on these pages more than once:
"And yes, I know the distinction between Fascism and vertical syndicalist corporatism based on guilds. I'm just using a shorthand, readily understandable usage...."
(a line that works as a great ice-breaker at parties and funerals).
The assumption often made regarding the famous quote from il Duce:
"Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power. "—B. Mussolini via BrainyQuote
is that he is was talking about our generally understood legal term 'corporation'. It was actually the Italian division of society into, say, the labor corporation, the farmer corporation, the religious corporation, the business corporation the political corporation, each trade (hence the guilds), each industry, etc.
Understanding that, it is easy to see how fascism morphs into totalitarianism, the total control of all aspects of individual lives, lives subsumed to the 'greater good' (as defined by those in power).
Which can be wrapped up in this handy definition via Debate.org:
Contrary to popular belief, fascism can be most accurately defined as the political belief that the state is more important than the individual. This belief is what allowed fascists to justify pursuing "racial purification" of humanity. They considered the individual rights of those they killed as less important than the greater good that they fervently believed would come to humanity through the supremacy of a certain race. Essentially, fascism focussed on community, rather than the individual, which is undoubtedly a hallmark of the left wing....
If interested see also "Hitler's Handouts: Inside the Nazis' welfare state" and "It wasn’t just hate. Fascism offered robust social welfare".
For the rest of Izzy's reflections on her talk with Roubini, plus Nazis, Andreesen and JFK and so much more,the place to be is:
In the Blind Spot (Roubini, JFK, TTF)
