This title does not reflect the views and opinions of myself or any reasonable person.
FASCISM is bad
-HPPO
Now,
Political centrism has gotten a lot of bad press recently and its not going to get better anytime soon.
But political centrism is not the same as fascism
extreme centrism is fascism though.
Political centrism is the people stuck in the middle saying things like we should pay taxes to support roads, education, and cushion the blows of the free market/tragedy against members of our society when they fall on hard times.
Fascism is a large governing body that has extensive and unaccountable control over the nation state that it rules over. The fascists decide who gets a helping hand, where and who builds the roads, and who gets educated in what field. They do this according to their own world view without much input from those being governed.
The right of the political spectrum is not fascist. The further right you go the larger the individuals sphere of influence over the matters in governance. Your town would decide where to build the roads, if to build and maintain a school, and who qualifies for assistance from the taxes raised. You could literally walk into a town hall meeting and demand an increase to the minimum wage, if their are enough people in your community who agree with you and support your proposal. Boom new minimum wage.
The left is not fascist either. The further left you go the smaller an individuals sphere of influence but the larger the scale of policies once enacted. If it would cost your town of 100 to build a road costing $100,000 dollars that is $1,000 per resident but if your road was part of a larger network say 500,000,000 people. The cost per payer for that road is far less than the smallest unit of currency, or the entire thing is paid for by a tax levied on an excess of profits that exists somewhere as a result of the flaws in free market systems.
The far left can lead to fascism because the further left you go the more control you surrender to the whole of the governing body and therefore the more likely that a fascist style government can arise. Once a fascist government has taken control they never give that control back to the lower levels of government, free market forces, or individuals.
The far right can lead to fascism because once fewer restrictions are placed on legal organizations and greater autonomy is given to individuals, the more uncertainty you create. Uncertainty and the Unknown cause individuals, businesses, and groups to become afraid. Fear leads to individuals yielding their authority and autonomy for security. If you’re afraid you’ll starve to death if you don’t accept a job that pays you a slice of avocado toast once a day, you’d probably take that job. And they will continue to shrink the ratio of avocado toast to work preformed until your employer has reached the bare minimum to keep you productive, profitable, and alive. In an effort to create more certainty for themselves, those with the avocado toast will gather as much authority and influence as they can until they have become fascists.
What does this have to do with Aristotle and virtue?
Aristotle defines a virtue as in between two extremes in behavior.
The most common example given is in between cowardice and recklessness lies courage.
Therefore in between the left and the right is the virtue of centrism.
As explained before once a governing body has gone too far left or too far right it will self correct and that governing body will become fascist becoming neither left nor right on the political spectrum, but by strict definition a virtue.
Aristotle virtues must be practiced and are not innate.
It is a practiced virtue to eat only what you need.
To not over-consume or starve yourself.
But if you have no choice in the matter it is not a virtue.
If you never have the opportunity to over eat at a buffet or you are withheld food though famine, then your choice in the quantity consumed is not a virtue.
So if you have the opportunity to make a difference in politics but you do nothing, you are not virtuous
If you don’t have the opportunity to make a difference in politics, you are not virtuous.
If you have both the opportunity and you use it well that the virtue.
Basically stop alienating centrists because they are left or right from you on the spectrum.
How come in 2019 have we come to recognize gender as a spectrum but policy has become binary?
Go with love and grace,
hngyhngyhppo
hngyhngyhppo 