I was recently perusing through a lecture given by the Marxist thinker/theorist Aijaz Ahmad. His "Right-Wing Politics, and the Cultures of Cruelty" is defintely a good read. His methodological underpinnings, I believe at least, give one a solid set of tools for analysis. He is obviously not the first to undertake such endeavors but he has a knack for clarity, coherence (a much needed alternative to "post-modern" obfuscation and density that is found in many academic pieces) and the ability, quite frankly, to get to the point. And so it is with fascism. For him the latter can be used in several ways namely to malign something as reprehensible when one is outraged say at a specific action and the ideaological movement(s) that gained popularity in inter-war Europe. There is however a third appellation, "...in which the word `fascism' is used to negotiate a very complex experience, spanning a whole century and virtually the whole world, in which a wide range of ideologies, movements and regimes have arisen which are not exactly the same, so that it becomes irrelevant to speak of a singular `fascist paradigm' to which all of them correspond, but which are in some fundamental way of the same design and frequently of the same inspiration." Moreover, "...every country gets the fascism that it deserves, by which I simply mean that the specific form that a fascist movement takes shall always depend on the social physiognomy of that country: that is to say, the economic, political, philosophical, aesthetic, religious, cultural and ideological forms that are specific to that country." Much of the talk also deals with anti-colonialism and how and why given states had(have) the priorites they do, contrasting rational and inclusive notions of citizenship with the more idealized and romantic forms. He fill in relevant historical background and discusses the resurgence of communalism in India. The lecture itself was given in 1998 while the BJP was in power. One may then wonder why I have bothered to post up the quotes; well because it is more necessary than ever to be rational, scientific, and libertarian, thus drawing from the best traditions of the enlightenment. A concrete analysis of societal ills can pave the way for a more humane and tolerant understanding among peoples and prevent religious and right-wing demagoguery from taking hold among the masses. Often times, when people do not have a coherent sense of what besets them, combined with economic troubles, then they turn to mythic notions of solidarity. As Ahmad writes, "...the end-of-the-century fascisms of today correspond to the Late Imperial period of full globalisation of the capitalist mode, in which the mode has provisionally triumphed over communist states but faces internal crises of stagnation in the core countries and unmanageable social tensions in the less industrialised countries, brought about in part by that imperialist globalisation and in part by the defeat or decay of the socialist, democratic and secular-nationalist projects within the imperializes countries." And significantly enough those fascisms, "...fashion an anti-materialist conception of revolution, anti-liberal conception of nationalism, anti-rationalist critique of Modernity, anti-humanist assaults on the politics of liberation, in a rhetoric of "blood and belonging", and in the name of a glorious past that never was." These quotes should just serve as a reminder to think critically and look for solutions not in some remote subjective ideal but objective examinations of the, "history of material production." Furthermore, one does not have to be a Marxist to realize civic pluralism and a commitment to people's material well being are fundamental if one wants to promote and build a more humane society. Here in the United States we should be proud of our heritage and traditions of free speech, abolitionism, and philosophical pragmatism. And in an era which has witnessed complete undue privatization, perhaps looking nostalgically back at the New Deal "Coalition", despite all its flaws (and its corporatism), is something worthwhile, or for others, a missed opportunity.