What should be done about Russia and Ukraine?

[MFrohike]

137. My try

Sorry it took me a bit to get back to you. I wrote a long post yesterday that just seemed like overkill and somewhat off topic. So, I'll go for brevity and on point today.

The essence of fascism is not in the calculated hate, the propaganda campaigns, the murders, the looting, or the destruction. Those are all the gravy. The essence is the utter arbitrariness of it. Think of it as nationalistic feudalism on super-steroids. All that matters is the accumulation and maintenance of power. Remember the end of 1984, well not the very end, where the Party operative explains the difference between the Party and "all other oligarchies of the past?" That could be a primer on how to identify fascist thinking.

It's the lack of rules, other than some variation of the fuhrerprinzip. It's so far removed from the rule of law or even informal ground rules that it's really hard to describe. The only way it could really be described is anything goes. If you have the power, you can do anything you want. If you don't, you'll be on the receiving end of that anything. It's somewhat like Rome's old clientela structure, if you discarded all the customs and mores of the past. Sure, you keep the hate and prejudices. After all, every group needs an external binding agent to bring it together (and probably make it pliable). Otherwise, it's a rampant chase for power, with all the degradation that it implies.

How does all of that apply to the US, Russia, or Ukraine? There's definitely a sense of that lawlessness in both Russia and the US today. Has it risen to the point where the average person can honestly look at his or her government and say, "Oh my God, we're being ruled by gangsters"? I don't think so. I mean, if you took Hitler and Himmler out of the picture, the rest of the Nazi regime was pretty much indistinguishable from the Capone mob, though not in the scale of their brutality. Is either country really at that point?

I can't help but look at Russia today as somewhat of a recreation of 19th century Tsarist Russia. It's heroically corrupt, fairly authoritarian, and interested in the same things that have always interested Russia (to be fair, I really should say the Russian leadership instead of Russia, but forgive me the shorthand). It just doesn't give off the same feeling as a fascist regime. I should say a modern fascist regime, none of which really exist but modern fascists appear to look to the example of Germany not Italy for their inspiration. I think if we do see one in the near future, which gets more likely with every passing year of economic depression, it will be as vicious as its heroes.

I don't think Ukraine is a fascist regime, either. I am concerned about the utter lack of concern displayed by Kiev regarding those self-described neo-fascist groups they let run wild in the east. I don't know if it's a sign of desperation or just stupidity. Only a fool thinks he can ride herd on a pack of rabid dogs.

I hope this all made sense.