Theory about Time Travel and Fascism

or "Why Hasn't A Time Traveler Killed Hitler?: The Thread"

The socioeconomic factors that go into creating fascism are always larger than one man. While the specifics of Hitler's rhetoric had a large influence on the specifics of fascism in Germany, there is a chance it could have occurred in Germany anyway, or elsewhere. A good chance.

Killing the Strongman Leader while he's a baby or whatever, might just result in a different asshole replacing him somewhere else. Maybe later, maybe even earlier, depending on what changes.

Stopping fascism is bigger than murdering one man, limiting a time traveler's options.

Stopping fascism altogether and forever would require stopping capitalism altogether and forever, which is too big of a job for one person, even with a Time Machine. Teaching the people of the world to work toward mutual benefit rather than personal profit isn't a one man job.

So what CAN a time traveller do?

They can selectively influence the timeline to make sure that, when fascism does happen, the most bumbling, incompetent, drug-addled, weirdo psychopath they can find who can possibly ever actually find a way into that position.

Think about Hitler for a moment. Really the only thing he had going for him, compared to other fascist leaders, was gumption.

And that got him killed. And a lot of other people who actually mattered killed. Fuck that guy.

But it could have been so much worse.

Like, the Axis winning that war was never a likely outcome, despite their strong start, but Hitler's poor decision making definitely didn't help. His personality traits and drug addictions made him one of the worst possible people to lead in a multi-front international war.

So I posit that nobody has killed Hitler because they were too busy killing all of the Worse-Than-Hitlers so that we'd end up settling with Hitler, who was an asshole, but potentially the best plausible timeline option without humanity dismantling capitalism.

Capitalism just sucks THAT BAD.

This is also why Donald Trump is currently POTUS.

End of thread.