Fascism Now? Ask Me How

“Wealthy Americans shift support to Obama, survey says."

So is it “liberal guilt”? I doubt it. Just plain idealism? Possibly... but idealistic people don't usually get rich – too many conflicts. OK then, how about old fashioned elitism? More likely, but still not enough. Ah! I have it – since the path to wealth these days typically involves heavy government involvement – you get yourself the right contracts with the right agencies by bribing the right members of the executive or legislative branches – bigger government means more money for me (I can hear them saying). Bingo! No longer is the concept of “big government” considered incompatible with making your pile – in fact, the most assured way of making it is, indeed, to jump on the government gravy train and stop trying to make it “on your own”, “in the free market”. What an old fashioned idea! Do you think any of the robber barons in charge of the stock market, the mortgage lenders, the banks, etc., were ever operating as true free-market capitalists? Forget about it. They were in the government's pocket from Day One, and vice versa. In fact... well, it might be a coincidence, but the whole situation reminds me of the classic definition of “fascism” -- I mean the real thing, not the kind the liberals accuse you of if you question affirmative action. Now, this is not to say that the “country club Republican” is an extinct species, far from it. But once you're hooked on the government teat, you start looking around for an even bigger one, and by gosh, the Democrats have it. When it comes to government, the Republicans can do “big”, but only the Democrats can do “huge”, and this is what they all want. There is nothing like transferring wealth from people who provide goods and services on the free market, to those who have the government on their side. We see now that this process, which has been focused mainly on the defense industries since, say, around the Civil War, is now undergoing a quantum expansion – the last piece of the puzzle, if you will, in the process of government and business becoming, basically, synonymous.

So here's my question. How long until we have special stores that are only open to the nomenklatura, i.e. the bureaucrats? Oh sure, there are “exclusive” stores and “shops” now, but any schmuck can at least get in the door. This might not always be the case. After all, the people who are “running the country” and the economy need their perks. As the Gospel says, muzzle not the ox that trods out the grain.