Fascism is Inevitable
Arkajyoti Dutta
Research Scholar, Bose Institute
Fascism is like herpes. It waits stealthily within the realm of democracy and waits for years for the loss of horrifying memories (like immunity of host organism) of the Democratic people, whose forefathers torn the shackles of tyranny, to resurface with the flares of patriotism. The moment Democratic people starts looking at Fascism as a mere historical event, the germination of Fascism initiates. Fascism, like death, is inevitable.
The, necessary and sufficient, strength and weakness of Democracy is that it is of the people. Who are these people? These are the same people who fights for twenty minutes before placing an order in a restaurant and ends up ordering Mutton Biryani and Chicken Chap (although some have changed their trends to Chicken Chow Mein and Chilly Fish). These are the same people who would complain about potholes and then read articles on “11 different ways to reduce your income tax”. These people are none but us. We, the people of India, have voted for a single person in a parliamentary form of government. Our country does not follow a presidential form of government where there is a duel between two contestants and due to lack of options we are compelled to choose one. It may happen that we are fascinated by the epitome of capitalism but sorry my friend, we are entitled to vote for the Tricolour and not the 50 sparkling stars. And in a parliamentary form of government we all gallantly believed that one single person is contesting in 543 different constituencies at the same time. Of course getting 15 lac rupees just by casting a vote is the biggest incentive we ever received.
Every nation gets the government it deserves. Many have accused the present government of being Fascist. Is this even relevant? Can a parliamentary form of government ever become a prey of Fascism? Fascism is like a persistent pathogen in the body of Democracy. Every time the immunity of the host is compromised, Fascism wakes up from its deep slumber and changes the democratic We, the people of India, into We, the Parsee people of India or We, the Hindu people of India. Patriotism is the biggest weapon of Fascism. The Earth is the habitat of all human beings. It's the humans who have drawn borders on its surface and divided it. Patriotism has never helped in building a nation. It's the hard work of the people of the county that shaped its future. If we are already feeling proud of being something how could we achieve anything more than what we already have? Another burning problem with patriotism is that it's not limited to the love of one's own nation but demands spontaneous hatred for another and the moment love of our own nation is surpassed by the hatred for the other nation, seeds of Fascism are implanted.
Democracy seeks for opponents to survive whereas Fascism seeks enemies. Democracy would never wipe out Fascism believing that even a Fascists' voice need to be heard.
Irrespective of religion, race, caste, creed and sex, everyone in a Democracy has equal vote. Everyone has equal power and opportunity in choosing their representatives. Equality is a myth in Fascism. Fascism looks at equality as the sheer waste of merit. If I work harder must not I lead a better life? Yes of course, but not at the cost of anyone else's life. America for the Americans, Herrenvolk, Hindu-rashtra and Get_Brexit_Done are some of the war-cries of Fascism. What they try to explain is that outsiders are taking share of our job opportunities.
What they don't convey is that Government policies and employment opportunities are not like an apple that needs to be divided among the citizens. Rather these are like rain drops, which affects all and sundry irrespective of their birth but depending upon their need and eligibility. The importance of equity over equality is a debatable topic though, however, any of them or both are far better than discrimination. Echoing with equality, secularism is an obligatory cuss word in Fascism. Secularism demands that the State and its representatives must not be influenced by religious institutions. Everyone gets a free will to follow and preach their religion in a peaceful manner but the State must not get involved in promoting one over another even beyond the veil of protecting the minority community. In a Secular state there are no minority or majority on the basis of religion. These are just statistical figures required for bringing policies for the deprived.
Media, both electronic and social, acts as a catalyst in the uprising of Fascism. Nowadays, everyone has an opinion. In a democratic country, having opinion and taking a stand is the best quality a citizen possesses. But one must also learn to listen, think, analyse logically and then argue or conclude. Instead we are constantly engaged in shouting, screaming, hurling verbal abuses, making personal attack and the worst, comparing a present situation with a past incident and nullifying every argument demanding an explanation for that past mishap. The government is a service provider and we must not have any emotional attachment with it. One need not have to take the responsibility of the wrong deeds done by the previous government because for those misdeeds we voted for change. But if the new one is also presenting the same wine in a new package, or presenting poison in the package of wine, we must unite against it. In democracy, every voice has equal weightage. So when everyone is shouting, none is heard. The protests become background noise. At this point, the Supreme leader appears and promises to direct the nation towards a golden future. The dream of a utopian world compels even the staunch believer of democracy to think twice. The Fuhrer tells a lie and repeats it for so many times that everyone starts believing it and as we all know nobody asks the victor whether he told the truth.
Democracy has its own flaws. Corruption is the potent. Allowing a person to contest the election while in prison is ridiculous. Lack of discipline and punctuality in the judiciary system increases frustration of the citizens. Expecting an executioner to deal with an accused respectfully when the latter is holding a gun becomes disgustful at times. But these are the loopholes that democracy needs to look into very carefully or else Fascism is bound to creep in. In an age old democratic country, whose youths have forgotten the darkest days of tyranny, it’s very easy for anyone like Winston Churchill to prove that Democracy is the worst form of government. Democracy has to find out solutions to these meandering problems and the answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.
(Ideas of the author are personal; may not be related to Editorial)
Research Scholar, Bose Institute
Fascism is like herpes. It waits stealthily within the realm of democracy and waits for years for the loss of horrifying memories (like immunity of host organism) of the Democratic people, whose forefathers torn the shackles of tyranny, to resurface with the flares of patriotism. The moment Democratic people starts looking at Fascism as a mere historical event, the germination of Fascism initiates. Fascism, like death, is inevitable.
The, necessary and sufficient, strength and weakness of Democracy is that it is of the people. Who are these people? These are the same people who fights for twenty minutes before placing an order in a restaurant and ends up ordering Mutton Biryani and Chicken Chap (although some have changed their trends to Chicken Chow Mein and Chilly Fish). These are the same people who would complain about potholes and then read articles on “11 different ways to reduce your income tax”. These people are none but us. We, the people of India, have voted for a single person in a parliamentary form of government. Our country does not follow a presidential form of government where there is a duel between two contestants and due to lack of options we are compelled to choose one. It may happen that we are fascinated by the epitome of capitalism but sorry my friend, we are entitled to vote for the Tricolour and not the 50 sparkling stars. And in a parliamentary form of government we all gallantly believed that one single person is contesting in 543 different constituencies at the same time. Of course getting 15 lac rupees just by casting a vote is the biggest incentive we ever received.
Every nation gets the government it deserves. Many have accused the present government of being Fascist. Is this even relevant? Can a parliamentary form of government ever become a prey of Fascism? Fascism is like a persistent pathogen in the body of Democracy. Every time the immunity of the host is compromised, Fascism wakes up from its deep slumber and changes the democratic We, the people of India, into We, the Parsee people of India or We, the Hindu people of India. Patriotism is the biggest weapon of Fascism. The Earth is the habitat of all human beings. It's the humans who have drawn borders on its surface and divided it. Patriotism has never helped in building a nation. It's the hard work of the people of the county that shaped its future. If we are already feeling proud of being something how could we achieve anything more than what we already have? Another burning problem with patriotism is that it's not limited to the love of one's own nation but demands spontaneous hatred for another and the moment love of our own nation is surpassed by the hatred for the other nation, seeds of Fascism are implanted.
Democracy seeks for opponents to survive whereas Fascism seeks enemies. Democracy would never wipe out Fascism believing that even a Fascists' voice need to be heard.
Irrespective of religion, race, caste, creed and sex, everyone in a Democracy has equal vote. Everyone has equal power and opportunity in choosing their representatives. Equality is a myth in Fascism. Fascism looks at equality as the sheer waste of merit. If I work harder must not I lead a better life? Yes of course, but not at the cost of anyone else's life. America for the Americans, Herrenvolk, Hindu-rashtra and Get_Brexit_Done are some of the war-cries of Fascism. What they try to explain is that outsiders are taking share of our job opportunities.
What they don't convey is that Government policies and employment opportunities are not like an apple that needs to be divided among the citizens. Rather these are like rain drops, which affects all and sundry irrespective of their birth but depending upon their need and eligibility. The importance of equity over equality is a debatable topic though, however, any of them or both are far better than discrimination. Echoing with equality, secularism is an obligatory cuss word in Fascism. Secularism demands that the State and its representatives must not be influenced by religious institutions. Everyone gets a free will to follow and preach their religion in a peaceful manner but the State must not get involved in promoting one over another even beyond the veil of protecting the minority community. In a Secular state there are no minority or majority on the basis of religion. These are just statistical figures required for bringing policies for the deprived.
Media, both electronic and social, acts as a catalyst in the uprising of Fascism. Nowadays, everyone has an opinion. In a democratic country, having opinion and taking a stand is the best quality a citizen possesses. But one must also learn to listen, think, analyse logically and then argue or conclude. Instead we are constantly engaged in shouting, screaming, hurling verbal abuses, making personal attack and the worst, comparing a present situation with a past incident and nullifying every argument demanding an explanation for that past mishap. The government is a service provider and we must not have any emotional attachment with it. One need not have to take the responsibility of the wrong deeds done by the previous government because for those misdeeds we voted for change. But if the new one is also presenting the same wine in a new package, or presenting poison in the package of wine, we must unite against it. In democracy, every voice has equal weightage. So when everyone is shouting, none is heard. The protests become background noise. At this point, the Supreme leader appears and promises to direct the nation towards a golden future. The dream of a utopian world compels even the staunch believer of democracy to think twice. The Fuhrer tells a lie and repeats it for so many times that everyone starts believing it and as we all know nobody asks the victor whether he told the truth.
Democracy has its own flaws. Corruption is the potent. Allowing a person to contest the election while in prison is ridiculous. Lack of discipline and punctuality in the judiciary system increases frustration of the citizens. Expecting an executioner to deal with an accused respectfully when the latter is holding a gun becomes disgustful at times. But these are the loopholes that democracy needs to look into very carefully or else Fascism is bound to creep in. In an age old democratic country, whose youths have forgotten the darkest days of tyranny, it’s very easy for anyone like Winston Churchill to prove that Democracy is the worst form of government. Democracy has to find out solutions to these meandering problems and the answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.
(Ideas of the author are personal; may not be related to Editorial)
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