Friedrich A. Hayek, author of The Road to Serfdom (1944), delineated the conditions that become evident in a nation transitioning toward fascism. Those conditions have been extant and strengthening in America over the past decade. Unfortunately, Hayek does not delineate the conditions to be observed when fascism fails--the disintegration of the nation, the inward turning on one another, and the blaming and hiding and massive popular denial of participation. It is possible that the current disintegration of the Republican Party is evidence and confirmation of just how close to fascism America had come.
Yesterday, Michael Grunwald wrote this for the Washington Post:
"After minutes upon minutes of soul-searching, Republicans are now in recrimination mode. And the GOP's various factions all agree: This wouldn't have happened if the party had listened to us."
Richard Viguerie, who has been called "the funding father of the conservatives" has been talking and writing for some time about the administration's betrayal of the conservative movement. And some conservative talk show hosts have been disclaiming their famed role as mouthpiece for the Republican Party.
All this is not as bloody as Nazi Germany and fascist Italy in the 1940s--we are not in the middle of an actual war on our soil. Yet the reflections of the 1940s disintegration in Europe appear in what is happening to the Republicans today. Hayek shows us that we were in the conditions leading up to fascism. The historical parallel to the disintegration of our one-party rule era suggests we were a lot closer to fascist-like government than many thought. It is evidence of just how dangerous this recent period in our own history was.
Why be concerned? Because the disintegration is not complete, and many of the forces and people who put it together have already sworn they will do it again. Here's Richard Viguerie:
"We've taken over the party three times in my lifetime; we'll do it again. This is a marathon, not a sprint."
Enjoy the victory, but be on guard.