"By a series of reinterpretations of the Constitution, the reformed Supreme Court has so relaxed the austerities of the supreme law as to give government a new freedom. In this process it has cast itself in a social role. Formerly its business was to say what the law was, according to the Constitution; if people did not like the law they could change it, only provided they changed it in a lawful manner by amending the Constitution. Now the Supreme Court undertakes to say what is justice, what is public welfare, what is good for the people and to make suitable inflections of the Constitution. Thus law is made subordinate to the discretions and judgments of men, whereas the cornerstone of freedom was that the government should be a government of law, not of men."
--Garet Garrett, Ex America, 1951
Good quote, from an old rightist. He wrote that in 1951 and it foreshadowed the Constitutional revolution that the Warren Court would bring about.
But the revolution started with Lochner v. New York (1906). There we see the beginnings of the doctrine of "substantive due process. This doctrine says that the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause guarantees rights beyond procedural rights. In Lochner the Court manufactured a "freedom of contract" right out of the due process clause.
Lochner is the forebear for the menu of rights the Court fashioned later in the 20th century, including the so-called "right" to an abortion(Roe v. Wade).
Fourteen Defining
Characteristics Of Fascism
By Dr. Lawrence Britt
Source Free Inquiry.co
5-28-3
Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each:
1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
4. Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread
domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
5. Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.
6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
9. Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
10. Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
14. Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
Hey Genreal Disarray: The big clue that this is biased "historical" ana1ysis of fascism is that SOCIALISM is not one of the fifteen.
In the terms of American "right" and "left", midcentury European fascism is a Left-wing movement, not a conservative movement. This is corroborated by the ties between European Fascism and midcentury American Leftists and liberals.
Why did leftists Du Bois and Steffens have such kind words to say about the Nazi (Germany) and Fascist (Italy) regimes? Why did Mussolini come to Fascism via the Socialist Party? Why did so many Nazis, particularly the Strasser brothers, adopt National Socialism after coming from Socialism Socialism? Methinks the good doctor omits what links people such as him to fascism: namely, socialism.
What? No response from James? He's probably reading up on socialism on Wikipedia. I suppose that's what he gets for posting talking points that he can't defend.
Sorry James. Make that 'The General'.
"9. Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite."
That right there is a sham. Hitler commandeered industries.
"5. Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated"
As opposed to all those female-dominated countries in the 30s--when there was fascism.... C'mon, you know ALL the countries with females in major roles, back in the 30s.
"Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed"
Except that homosexuality was encouraged in the SS. And abortion was a denial of nature's right to do you in by natural selection (Hitler's "Aristocratic principle of nature").
Don't forget #15. Lack of para-sailing leaders. That, and I would bet that every single fascist regime--universally recognized as a fascist regime did not believe in Global Warming.
Please clean up after regurgitating.
