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Read this, & then try to deny the terrifying parallels between many of the techniques, policies & especially the rhetoric deployed by Boris Johnson's @Conservatives, Trump's Republicans & the Bolsanaro, Oban & other right wing regimes, & Hitler's Govt. https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/the-ways-to-destroy-democracy/
I'll list a few of the more obvious parallels.
Hitler:
Won mass support on the back of a major economic crisis
Offered voters a vision of a better future, one he contrasted with the policies of the parties that had plunged the country into crisis in the first place.
Hitler:
Won mass support on the back of a major economic crisis
Offered voters a vision of a better future, one he contrasted with the policies of the parties that had plunged the country into crisis in the first place.
Hitler:
Initially attracted the poorest people to vote for him by demonising opponents.
Emphasised a nationalistic moral restoration of the nation.
Projected purpose and dynamism in contrast to dithering or acting as mere administrators.
Initially attracted the poorest people to vote for him by demonising opponents.
Emphasised a nationalistic moral restoration of the nation.
Projected purpose and dynamism in contrast to dithering or acting as mere administrators.
Hitler:
Was a master at denouncing existing political & democratic conventions & manipulating the media.
Issued an endless stream of slogans to win potential supporters over: he would 'make Germany great again', 'give Germans work once more' & put 'Germany first'.
Was a master at denouncing existing political & democratic conventions & manipulating the media.
Issued an endless stream of slogans to win potential supporters over: he would 'make Germany great again', 'give Germans work once more' & put 'Germany first'.
Hitler:
Would revive the nation’s rusting industries, laid to waste by the economic depression.
Would crush the alien ideologies—socialism, liberalism, communism—that were undermining the nation’s will to survive and destroying its core values.
Would revive the nation’s rusting industries, laid to waste by the economic depression.
Would crush the alien ideologies—socialism, liberalism, communism—that were undermining the nation’s will to survive and destroying its core values.
Hitler:
Would "use vulgar comparisons" & “not shy away from the cheapest allusions.” Hitler’s language was
Never use measured or careful language.
Mobilise base allegations & vile stereotypes, designed to gain maximum attention from the media & maximum reaction from voters.
Would "use vulgar comparisons" & “not shy away from the cheapest allusions.” Hitler’s language was
Never use measured or careful language.
Mobilise base allegations & vile stereotypes, designed to gain maximum attention from the media & maximum reaction from voters.
Hitler:
Would use sophisticated (& blunt) propaganda techniques taken from the new practice of 'public relations'.
Flaunt his vulgarity & exploited tribal hatreds;
Lied and lied and lied his way to success.
Would use sophisticated (& blunt) propaganda techniques taken from the new practice of 'public relations'.
Flaunt his vulgarity & exploited tribal hatreds;
Lied and lied and lied his way to success.
Hitler:
Insisted politicians of the other parties, were hopelessly venal and corrupt and should be put in jail.
Insist Nazi thugs were good people who were victims of a “monstrous blood-verdict”.
Insisted that liberal newspapers that criticized Hitler were the "lying press.”
Insisted politicians of the other parties, were hopelessly venal and corrupt and should be put in jail.
Insist Nazi thugs were good people who were victims of a “monstrous blood-verdict”.
Insisted that liberal newspapers that criticized Hitler were the "lying press.”
Hitler:
Imprisoned vagrants.
Deported illegal Polish immigrants.
Demonized & shut down Feminist associations.
Pulled out of international organizations, tore up treaties with cynical abandon, dismantled or emasculated structures of international cooperation erected post WWI.
Imprisoned vagrants.
Deported illegal Polish immigrants.
Demonized & shut down Feminist associations.
Pulled out of international organizations, tore up treaties with cynical abandon, dismantled or emasculated structures of international cooperation erected post WWI.
Hitler:
Triumphantly declared “our departure from the community of nations".
Assured voters he would “rather die” than stay within a community of nations
Gleefully challenged then shut down the country’s democratic institutions.
Destroyed the freedom of its press and media.
Triumphantly declared “our departure from the community of nations".
Assured voters he would “rather die” than stay within a community of nations
Gleefully challenged then shut down the country’s democratic institutions.
Destroyed the freedom of its press and media.
Hitler:
Got Goebbels to say: “If the Jewish press still thinks it can intimidate the National Socialist movement with veiled threats, if they think they can evade our emergency decrees, they should watch out! One day our patience will run out".
Got Goebbels to say: “If the Jewish press still thinks it can intimidate the National Socialist movement with veiled threats, if they think they can evade our emergency decrees, they should watch out! One day our patience will run out".
Hitler:
Made sure that with the disappearance of a free, critical media, & the subordination of law-enforcement agencies, the path was open for a massive expansion of political corruption at every level of the regime.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
#NeverAgain
#NeverForget
Made sure that with the disappearance of a free, critical media, & the subordination of law-enforcement agencies, the path was open for a massive expansion of political corruption at every level of the regime.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
#NeverAgain
#NeverForget
I'm aware of the dangers of overstating the parallels between contemporary leaders & Hitler, so been cautious to only point out obvious similarities.
I was prompted to write it by the release of this footage showing Britain First harassing migrants: https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1299297059649003520
I was prompted to write it by the release of this footage showing Britain First harassing migrants: https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1299297059649003520
Nearly forgot: "Leading Brexiters who accuse civil servants of sabotaging Britain’s exit from the EU are adopting dangerous tactics similar to those of rightwing German nationalists between the two world wars, former head of the civil service has warned." https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/feb/03/brexit-civil-service-1930s-germany?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
And here's a succinct summary of the political techniques taken directly from Fascism, which dominate politics in the UK & USA.
#NeverForget
#NeverAgain
#NeverForget
#NeverAgain
And how does this all get translated into local democracy?
Cllr Julian Leppert, of far-right party For Britain, says it would be ‘ideal’ if Epping were for white people only. https://www.eppingforestguardian.co.uk/news/18676559.councillor-says-epping-ideally-whites-town/?ref=fbshr&fbclid=IwAR3ffab_uVQAPHEhSpGATH2zfphxAY27Q6_lisseNGblQnX96v6lfmwAarI
Cllr Julian Leppert, of far-right party For Britain, says it would be ‘ideal’ if Epping were for white people only. https://www.eppingforestguardian.co.uk/news/18676559.councillor-says-epping-ideally-whites-town/?ref=fbshr&fbclid=IwAR3ffab_uVQAPHEhSpGATH2zfphxAY27Q6_lisseNGblQnX96v6lfmwAarI
And here's the view of what's happening right now in Trump's America, from those who have witnessed first hand the collapse of democracies and the rise of fascism. https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1300743117344321537
Ruth Wodak is a brilliant linguist who has been analysing far-right populist discourse for decades.
In the context of the latest "migrant crises" & Govt, press & far-right demonization of refugees, we urgently need to learn from her analysis & insights.
https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/140215/1/DAS889109_REV1RWcom_2_.pdf
In the context of the latest "migrant crises" & Govt, press & far-right demonization of refugees, we urgently need to learn from her analysis & insights.
https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/140215/1/DAS889109_REV1RWcom_2_.pdf
In 2018, the 'Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Committee' published research into 'Leave EU' & Cambridge Analytica's #Brexit campaign strategy.
It includes explicit admiration for Goebbel's Nazi #propaganda by key figures involved in it.
https://old.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/digital-culture-media-and-sport-committee/news/fake-news-briant-evidence-17-19/
It includes explicit admiration for Goebbel's Nazi #propaganda by key figures involved in it.
https://old.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/digital-culture-media-and-sport-committee/news/fake-news-briant-evidence-17-19/
Nigel Oakes is founder & CEO of Behavioural Dynamics Institute & SCL Group, the parent company of Cambridge Analytica.
In 1992 he said: "We use the same techniques as Aristotle and #Hitler ... We appeal to people on an emotional level to get them to agree on a functional level."
In 1992 he said: "We use the same techniques as Aristotle and #Hitler ... We appeal to people on an emotional level to get them to agree on a functional level."
Oakes points out the Nazis 'leveraged an artificial enemy' to make people scared, & through this incited hatred of Jewish people.
From 2015, Andy Wigmore of Leave EU, along with Arron Banks, had multiple meetings with Russian officials posted at the Russian embassy in London.
From 2015, Andy Wigmore of Leave EU, along with Arron Banks, had multiple meetings with Russian officials posted at the Russian embassy in London.
Wigmore stated that he believes that the propaganda techniques of the Nazi's were 'very clever'.
He also confirmed that exploiting voters concerns about immigration was central to their campaign during the #Brexit referendum.
He also confirmed that exploiting voters concerns about immigration was central to their campaign during the #Brexit referendum.
Given the extreme messaging around immigration used in the #Brexit campaign, these statements suggest that data analytics was used to target voters concerned about this issue, & to frighten them with messaging designed to create 'an artificial enemy' for them to act against.
Extract from "Caste" by Isabel Wilkerson.
"They underestimated his cunning & overestimated his base... At the height of their power at the polls, the Nazis never pulled the majority they coveted & drew only 38 percent of the vote in the last free & fair elections..."
Uncanny.
"They underestimated his cunning & overestimated his base... At the height of their power at the polls, the Nazis never pulled the majority they coveted & drew only 38 percent of the vote in the last free & fair elections..."
Uncanny.
One helpful concept for understanding this is Zygmont Bauman's #Retrotopia
The insecurities & anxieties in our increasingly violent world lead many to give up on the effort of building a better future & turn towards the ‘retrotopia’ of an ideal past. https://www.radicalrightanalysis.com/2019/01/04/does-retrotopia-explain-the-rise-of-the-radical-right/
The insecurities & anxieties in our increasingly violent world lead many to give up on the effort of building a better future & turn towards the ‘retrotopia’ of an ideal past. https://www.radicalrightanalysis.com/2019/01/04/does-retrotopia-explain-the-rise-of-the-radical-right/
Bauman argues that many share a sense of being left behind, abandoned, ignored (not ‘listened to’) & made redundant. This demise is blamed on traditional political elites, the MSM, foreign foes, & narratives frequently saturated with elaborate theories of conspiracy & treason.
It's also the outcome of a dramatic U-turn in the public mindset: “from investing public hopes of improvement in the uncertain and ever-too-obviously untrustworthy future, to re-investing them in the vaguely remembered past, valued for its assumed stability & so trustworthiness”.
Bauman's work can give us hope for the future, in difficult times: he seeks to reorient the contemporary gaze toward a common future, reconstructing civility & ‘the capacity for dialogue & encounter’.
For a more nuanced & academic take on Bauman's work:
https://www.theoryculturesociety.org/review-zygmunt-bauman-retrotopia/
For a more nuanced & academic take on Bauman's work:
https://www.theoryculturesociety.org/review-zygmunt-bauman-retrotopia/
A less sociological & more psychological explanation can be found in 'personality types'.
A large study of Brexit voters found Leave-voters share a an 'authoritarian' personality trait with Trump supporters & supporters of European far-right parties. https://www.onlineprivacyfoundation.org/opf-research/psychological-biases/personality-authoritarianism-and-cognition-in-brexit/
A large study of Brexit voters found Leave-voters share a an 'authoritarian' personality trait with Trump supporters & supporters of European far-right parties. https://www.onlineprivacyfoundation.org/opf-research/psychological-biases/personality-authoritarianism-and-cognition-in-brexit/
The 'authoritarian” personality is partly determined by genes, it features a strong desire for order, obedience, conformity, & cohesion within the “in-group” with which the person identifies.
Knowing this makes influencing or 'nudging' them MUCH easier. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2173681-how-your-personality-predicts-your-attitudes-towards-brexit/#ixzz6XRrJOhFH
Knowing this makes influencing or 'nudging' them MUCH easier. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2173681-how-your-personality-predicts-your-attitudes-towards-brexit/#ixzz6XRrJOhFH
Increasingly, evidence supports the view that “neoliberal fascism” is emerging globally:
“Neoliberalism became an incubator for a growing authoritarian populism, fed largely by economic inequality.”
Patrick Farnsworth interviews Henry A. Giroux. https://truthout.org/audio/henry-a-giroux-on-neoliberal-ideology-and-the-road-to-fascism/
“Neoliberalism became an incubator for a growing authoritarian populism, fed largely by economic inequality.”
Patrick Farnsworth interviews Henry A. Giroux. https://truthout.org/audio/henry-a-giroux-on-neoliberal-ideology-and-the-road-to-fascism/
