Fascism is rising out of the corpse of liberal democracy

If the world's richest man does a fascist salute in a forest, does it make a sound?

Let’s state a few things that are obvious.

Donald Trump is, at best, proto-fascist and Elon Musk is a fascist.

Neither of these men hide their beliefs or their intentions. They wear them on their sleeve. They boast about them. They are proud.

And yet, most major news organizations seem confused about these facts. Media fell over itself to describe Musk’s proud and deliberate fascist salute (which he gave twice!) as anything but — from him “throwing his heart to the crowd” to an aspergers tic (??????????) to “the salute that maybe, kinda looked to be a little bit Nazi” or some variation.

So then why have there been so many institutions and individuals interested in avoiding saying what it was, downplaying it or even lying about it being a version of Céline Dion’s My Heart Will Go On chest thump?

These gymnastics are the process of making fascism acceptable. It happens when the day ends, Trump is crowned president amid a day of red flags and fascist salutes and Canadian media report that Canadian officials have sighed a sigh of relief — there were no tariffs promised. As if our closest neighbour becoming an out and active fascist isn’t the highest-level emergency for us.

(Of course, the tariff news came after the stories were filed).

This is the process of making fascism acceptable and every single institution in the United States is going to be part of this process, whether all-in, partially-in or somewhat in. Because to stand up to this would be to stand up to power, and most institutions have mutated under neoliberal capital to be structurally incapable of standing up to power, regardless of how bad that power might be.

While ink is spilled over asking whether or not a fascist salute is indeed a fascist salute, reality has already galloped forward. We sit in the dust and weigh whether or not the richest man in the world making two very obvious and proud fascist salutes is the same as photos of pro-Palestinian protesters who have one hand in the air.

This is all a distraction intended for us to ignore what’s really happening. The flurry of bills, yes, but also that the corporate world has embraced Donald Trump and will absolutely not stand as a bulwark between the people and fascist power. Of course, it never would, but to know that requires that we ignore most of what we are forced to swallow.

(It’s the same kind of distraction as the entire Trump Wants To Invade Canada discussion. He will not. This is all theatre for some plan that will near certainly not include invading Canada but probably invading somewhere else.)

Consider the markets. While journalists were digging deep into their simile handbook to find a way to not describe a fascist salute (but but but what if he sues us, the absolute coward sputters), Reuters reported that in the aftermath of the Trump inauguration, Wall Street was “giddy” and “Stocks are flying.” The S&P 500 hit a record high and the Nasdaq nearly met it’s last record high, which it reached in December.

Already, Trump has been good for business.

It is en vogue right now to debate what Canada should do to protect itself from these forces. But what’s less en vogue is speaking honestly about how many of Canada’s elites would embrace fascism (do embrace fascism) when push comes to shove.

So where does that leave the 80% of us who aren’t fascists? I’m not prepared to admit that the natural tendency of man is fascism and I don’t believe that the overwhelming majority of Canadians think so either.

Unfortunately, neoliberal capitalism is a road that leads to fascism and the folks who are at the head of Canadian industries are going to lean towards what the markets tell them is good rather than break with the prevailing logic. And the markets have said loud and clear: even this man who stands to break with the current tariff-free world order, is going to help our profits soar.

Sometimes, there are moments in history where the path forward is unclear or complicated. This is not one of those moments. In fact, the path forward couldn’t be more clear: either we break with this logic or we do not.

But because it’s so clear, we’re subjected to idiotic, brain melting debates like will Canada be invaded or is Musk actually aware of the Unique History of the Extended Arm Salute (he is).

My latest book lays out the obvious path forward, and so if you’re curious to read several dozens of pages about this, please pick up the book and flip forward to the last chapter.

But if you are looking for the shortest answer possible: we must stop this fascist wave by every means necessary. And the means abound: renewing democracy, investing in public services and civil infrastructure that isn’t pipelines, giving people what they need (price controls, rent controls, expropriate REITs, expropriate a least one grocery chain, one telecom, one airline, etc.), refusing orders, breaking with common and acceptable logic and practically, build an industrial policy that recovers Canada’s sovereignty from the markets. We have handed Canadian sovereignty (including control of our markets and our democracy) to the markets. The markets are rewarding fascism. We don’t have much time to do an about-face.

We must break with the logic that our corporations cling to, which promises them year-over-year profits. We must force them to listen. And how do we do this? Through general strikes, civil disobedience and movement building. We use every single tool we have available to us to break the machine. We stand up to the ones who stand to profit the most and we make their lives hell.

Sure, this is where the complicatedness of life lies: this shit is difficult. But do you know what? Organizing a general strike is not difficult when the alternative is the fucking fatality of fascism. Organizing within workplaces, building a democratic fightback is not difficult when the alternative is fucking death. The only person who will tell you it can’t be done is the person who actually benefits from the way that things are.

While the elites want us confused and distracted, we need to see into the future, which is easy if you look for the signs. Liberal democracy has already collapsed and our salvation is not going to be found in an election. And so, we need to get serious.

The only question then is: who takes the first serious steps?