Fascism of a New Type?

Here we set out to synthesize a number of generalizations from previous chapters to further conceptualize present-day American militarized state-capitalism with an abiding focus on the potential for a distinctly new type of fascism in the U.S. We see in the growth of a modern power structure, sui generis, the locus of an authoritarian state, economic oligarchy, deeply-embedded nationalism, militarism, and perpetual warfare – all essentially sustained within existing class, social, and institution arrangements. While the U.S. has not become a fascist system at this historical juncture, these strong tendencies can be seen, in tandem, as underlying a new kind of fascist trajectory. Parallels with classical fascism in Italy would be clearly visible. Strong counterforces – social movements, third parties, intellectual dissent – would probably be needed to stave off such an outcome, but oppositional forces in American society are presently weak and marginalized. As noted, this outcome could readily unfold within the existing parameters of a militarized state-capitalism.