In much the same way as communism is the opposite of fascism and nazism. Yet their methods and outcomes are remarkably similar.
However I would say that anarcho-capitalism (i.e. what people like Thiel actually mean by “libertarianism”) is not that dissimilar from fascism.
> Reducing the size and scope of government is not fascism
It’s not. Replacing it with unaccountable mega-corporations controlled by megalomaniacal oligarchs. Well, that’s something else.
Anyway IMHO arguing about semantics i.e. are Musc & co. actually literally “fascists” or only figuratively is counter-productive. We should focus more on their goals and the tools they are using to achieve them.
> Fauci was unelected
> Elon being “unelected,”
That justifies Musk/DOGE in what way exactly? I really don’t get this perspective, “the other was dishonest and/or made major mistakes so we get to lie through our teeth as well”? Fauci was a dishonest liar (or whatever) so we can use extreme falsehoods to justify our actions too? Really?
How more hypocritical can you get? I mean I do get that you might have valid and justifiable views but is dishonest demagoguery really the vehicle you want to use to share them? Why?
> to have that conversation
Perhaps. Doubling down on “fascism” (literal or figurative) does not seem like the best solution?
Just saying the left worships Fauci and hates Musk. The intellectual dishonesty is profound. Nobody on the left was criticizing Fauci and he had a far greater impact on freedom than Musk has. I don’t care that Musk or Fauci weren’t elected, I’m calling out the hypocrisy of complaining about unelected Musk whilst ignoring unelected Fauci.
And words have meaning. If people don’t mean fascism, then they should say what they mean, but fascism is a convenient term because it invokes Mussolini, Franco, and Hitler in ways to imply that Theil is an aspiring Mussolini, Franco, or Hitler. Which is complete nonsense.
What I keep not understanding - from this side of the Atlantic where the debate over COVID restrictions appears to have been a lot less charged - is why 'the right' in the US seem to lose sight of the fact that these restrictions were put in place because of a global pandemic whose ultimate trajectory was unknown at the time. They were not put in place because of some social ideology - though I would accept there was overcaution on the science front. I don't think the left worships Fauci, he just came to represent 'scientism' - as opposed to gargling with bleach - and was blindly defended just as Musk and Thiel have come to represent anarcho-capitalism, whether this is a fair representation of their views.
Are you also complaining about the existence of unelected supreme court justices? Cabinet members? Any political appointees? Civil servants? Cause I don’t see how makes sense otherwise..
Fauci was a civil servant and also an appointed official advisor to the president.
It has been completely standard for presidential advisors to wield significant political power for decades just think of Kissinger, Brzezibski, Scowcroft, Rice, Rove etc. (for better or for worse, my point is just that Fauci wasn’t somehow particularly unique or special).
These are official positions in the Executive Office of the President.
Musk is just some random guy who is seemingly allowed to do whatever he wants. I won’t comment on what impact Fauci’s recommendations might have had. However as far as we can tell he had significantly less direct power than Musk has currently (despite not holding any office, he’s basically a private consultant..)
> If people don’t mean fascism, then they should say what they mean
Perhaps. Being only partially accurate is arguably still much better than continuously and obviously lying all the time and misrepresenting objective facts (like Musk or Trump).
In much the same way as communism is the opposite of fascism and nazism. Yet their methods and outcomes are remarkably similar.
However I would say that anarcho-capitalism (i.e. what people like Thiel actually mean by “libertarianism”) is not that dissimilar from fascism.
> Reducing the size and scope of government is not fascism
It’s not. Replacing it with unaccountable mega-corporations controlled by megalomaniacal oligarchs. Well, that’s something else.
Anyway IMHO arguing about semantics i.e. are Musc & co. actually literally “fascists” or only figuratively is counter-productive. We should focus more on their goals and the tools they are using to achieve them.
> Fauci was unelected > Elon being “unelected,”
That justifies Musk/DOGE in what way exactly? I really don’t get this perspective, “the other was dishonest and/or made major mistakes so we get to lie through our teeth as well”? Fauci was a dishonest liar (or whatever) so we can use extreme falsehoods to justify our actions too? Really?
How more hypocritical can you get? I mean I do get that you might have valid and justifiable views but is dishonest demagoguery really the vehicle you want to use to share them? Why?
> to have that conversation
Perhaps. Doubling down on “fascism” (literal or figurative) does not seem like the best solution?