Comments on: Fascism in British politics http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/10/26/lessons-in-history-fascism-in-british-politics/ now with extra source Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:58:05 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Tim Dymond http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/10/26/lessons-in-history-fascism-in-british-politics/#comment-42918 Tim Dymond Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:38:09 +0000 http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/10/26/lessons-in-history-fascism-in-british-politics/#comment-42918 Another reason that Britain did not go Fascist between the wars is that it was arguably already fascist. If you take a fascist state to be an anti-democratic police state built on theories of racial superiority - then most subjects of the British Empire already lived under a Fascist state. OK - the British colonial officials in India and Africa were usually nicer than Hitler or Mussolini (hardly a major achievement). But the Nazi Empire was essentially European Imperialism applied to Europe and Europeans - which is why it discredited those remaining European empires including the British one. If Germany had been allowed to keep its Imperial possessions after WWI - Hitler may have ended his days as a petty colonial tyrant in Tanganyika. By all means admire Britain's finest hour against the Nazis, but don't credit it to some special quality of British pluck. Another reason that Britain did not go Fascist between the wars is that it was arguably already fascist. If you take a fascist state to be an anti-democratic police state built on theories of racial superiority - then most subjects of the British Empire already lived under a Fascist state. OK - the British colonial officials in India and Africa were usually nicer than Hitler or Mussolini (hardly a major achievement). But the Nazi Empire was essentially European Imperialism applied to Europe and Europeans - which is why it discredited those remaining European empires including the British one. If Germany had been allowed to keep its Imperial possessions after WWI - Hitler may have ended his days as a petty colonial tyrant in Tanganyika. By all means admire Britain’s finest hour against the Nazis, but don’t credit it to some special quality of British pluck.

]]> By: Richard Green http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/10/26/lessons-in-history-fascism-in-british-politics/#comment-42886 Richard Green Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:09:31 +0000 http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/10/26/lessons-in-history-fascism-in-british-politics/#comment-42886 "It could never happen here!". How pleasantly narcissistic of us Anglo-Saxon/Westminster types. To say that the British character would not accept Fascism because they recognised that Mosley was a clown is to take a very ahistorical perspective of fascism's successes on the continent. After all, Hitler was a great clown in Germany...until he started to gain success. Nor was the fact he was rejected by the urban working class. Did the NSDAP fare any better in the Communist dominated Urban areas of Germany? Right until 1933 there was violent clashes there. To see why Fascism failed in Britain it would make more sense to see why it succeeded on the continent. It was far less the appeal of the ideology than the notion that they might actually form a government. Not what for what they would do, but the fact that they would do SOMETHING. Anything! Anything but have elections every three months in a vain effort to form a government. In Britain there was a government, then another. First past the post and non-proportional representation generally at least avoids uncertainty, so there was always someone in charge doing SOMETHING, when there wasn't in early 20s Italy or early 30s Germany. The respective heads of state appointed Hitler and Mussolini simply on the basis that they could actually govern where no-one else could, a choice King George was never required to make. It is absurd vanity on the part of English speaking people to assume it was our vital moral character that prevented fascism in our societies, it was the dumb luck of our political systems. “It could never happen here!”. How pleasantly narcissistic of us Anglo-Saxon/Westminster types.

To say that the British character would not accept Fascism because they recognised that Mosley was a clown is to take a very ahistorical perspective of fascism’s successes on the continent. After all, Hitler was a great clown in Germany…until he started to gain success.

Nor was the fact he was rejected by the urban working class. Did the NSDAP fare any better in the Communist dominated Urban areas of Germany? Right until 1933 there was violent clashes there.

To see why Fascism failed in Britain it would make more sense to see why it succeeded on the continent. It was far less the appeal of the ideology than the notion that they might actually form a government. Not what for what they would do, but the fact that they would do SOMETHING. Anything! Anything but have elections every three months in a vain effort to form a government.

In Britain there was a government, then another. First past the post and non-proportional representation generally at least avoids uncertainty, so there was always someone in charge doing SOMETHING, when there wasn’t in early 20s Italy or early 30s Germany. The respective heads of state appointed Hitler and Mussolini simply on the basis that they could actually govern where no-one else could, a choice King George was never required to make.

It is absurd vanity on the part of English speaking people to assume it was our vital moral character that prevented fascism in our societies, it was the dumb luck of our political systems.

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