“It’s much easier to de-extremify (or even radicalise) a fascist than a liberal, and the reason why is pretty clear to me now - liberals are far, far more invested in the maintenance of the status quo than the rank-and-file fascist is.”
This is super interesting to me, because it simultaneously challenges my assumptions while making intuitive sense. I don’t have any experience trying to de-extremify a fascist, but what you describe feels plausible
There’s a good reason why overtly fascist regimes rely on much, much more overt and direct forms of censorship than liberal ones - it is far easier to throw a spanner into the logic machinery.
The problem with liberals is that liberal propaganda starts making more and more sense the higher up in the working class’ class structure you go - a well-to-do lawyer from an upper-working-class family is going to be far more invested in the capitalist status quo than a hot-dog salesperson who is struggling to pay the rent. The more invested somebody is in the status quo, the more their logic will shield them from critiques of said status quo. Where you sit is where you stand… like the German quote goes.
There’s a distinct class thing going on here which we on the left has completely ignored - you can just hear it in the way liberals talk about people lower down the economic pecking order. Just see how upper-middle class folks talk about the “hillbillies” and “inbreds” that (supposedly) all voted for Trump.
This is super interesting to me, because it simultaneously challenges my assumptions while making intuitive sense. I don’t have any experience trying to de-extremify a fascist, but what you describe feels plausible
There’s a good reason why overtly fascist regimes rely on much, much more overt and direct forms of censorship than liberal ones - it is far easier to throw a spanner into the logic machinery.
The problem with liberals is that liberal propaganda starts making more and more sense the higher up in the working class’ class structure you go - a well-to-do lawyer from an upper-working-class family is going to be far more invested in the capitalist status quo than a hot-dog salesperson who is struggling to pay the rent. The more invested somebody is in the status quo, the more their logic will shield them from critiques of said status quo. Where you sit is where you stand… like the German quote goes.
There’s a distinct class thing going on here which we on the left has completely ignored - you can just hear it in the way liberals talk about people lower down the economic pecking order. Just see how upper-middle class folks talk about the “hillbillies” and “inbreds” that (supposedly) all voted for Trump.