“Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power.”
There is no doubt that Mussolini would be pleased with the political reality gripping the United States today. The sweeping edicts, the rampant nationalism, the allegiance demanded to the same are all reminiscent of the rise of his Fascist state. But where Mussolini’s Fascism was predicated on the insistence that all sovereignty be subordinated to the State, that of Donald Trump flips the apparatus on its head. While it is unclear whether the quote above actually belongs to Mussolini, it is readily apparent that those currently holding the reins of power in the White House subscribe to the logic it contains.
It might be too early to say, but it is unlikely that Donald Trump and Elon Musk will make the trains run on time. Corporations did away with them long ago. Trains, those engines of efficiency, fell victim to the same commodification of individualism that has led to the society-crippling practice of isolating oneself within a pair of earbuds. We have been fully atomized, in order to maximize the attack surface that corporations can exploit.
“Fascism is definitely and absolutely opposed to the doctrines of liberalism, both in the political and economic sphere”
Corporate power over the state is nothing new. It has long been a tenet of liberalism, by which multinational corporations are allowed to evade taxes, circumvent regulations, and influence policy to maximize profits. But the corporatism of Trump and Musk eschews the liberal love affair with globalism and comparative advantage for the spectre of nationalism and protection. And it goes beyond liberalism’s lobby-intermediated state-corporate relations, cutting out the middleman by embedding corporate interest, in the form of Donald Trump and his henchmen, directly in the State.
Regardless of whether one labels it fascism, corporatism, or kleptocracy, what is clear is that a merger of state and corporate power has occurred. Paired with the nationalist populism that got it elected and coupled to an authoritarian, in the form of 66 Executive Orders, first 30 days in office, the current administration certainly appears increasingly fascist. Only time will tell whether it truly devolves into full blown Fascism or merely remains corporatism with fascist characteristics.