The Slow March of Fascism

The Clea and Present Danger

Morning Comrades.

Seeing that over the new year a lot of new faces have showed up here, hi, welcome, a few words on how this substack is structured: There are three dispatches a week, usually on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Usually, and there are exceptions, one dispatch goes out to everyone and then the later two are for those comrades that can be patreons with a free for all introduction to the subjects at hand. The subscription fee is 5USD a month with annual subscriptions offered at a discount and you will always get a free 14 day trial here. Ideally, all of these would be free but there is no way in hell a 46 year old can survive on a full time chef’s salary in this economy. One day, sure, but for the time being that’s the deal.

With that out of the way, thank for all the feedback on Monday’s dispatch, it’s nice to be back and writing for all of you again. It is an honour and equally a pleasure to be able to reach so many of you and I will do my best to repay that trust by not wasting your time with falsehoods and useless bullshit. To point out the obvious, sharing this project with your friends is the surest way for it all to continue.

I realise that over I have referenced Martin Niemöller’s poem twice in the last few weeks and I will do so again today. Irrespective of the amount of times I have read it over the last few decades it is resonating so much harder every time I take step back from the actuality of reality and try to figure just what in the fuck is going on, especially in light of Monday’s text.

It serves as a timeless indictment of complacency in the face of authoritarianism, warning against the progressive erosion of solidarity under oppressive systems. While originally a reflection on the rise of fascism in Nazi Germany, its relevance extends to the post-1945 Western world, where the capitalist class has steadily utilised both hard and soft power to shift the Overton Window toward increasingly authoritarian ends.

By marginalising dissenting voices and normalising reactionary ideologies, Western capitalist societies have incrementally moved closer to a neoliberal, technocratic order that for all intends and purposes is a fascist project. Capitalism nurtures and weaponises authoritarian tendencies, citing significant historical episodes and insights from notable historians and we are going to dig just that little deeper today.