62
Why a professor of fascism left the US: ‘The lesson of 1933 is – you get out’
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2025
62 points (100.0% liked)
European Federalists
628 readers
61 users here now
A subreddit for those who are dedicated to the establishment of a democratic and federal European Union.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
It's a well-written article. Given her specific expert knowledge, it may be a sensible choice to relocate just across the border, from where she may be able to fight back through writing, speaking, networks. However this is not a practical solution for many people. So what does she advocate for everybody else to do ?
I'm afraid that if people passionate about democracy migrate to gather themselves in just a few 'refuge' corners of the world, that leaves the vast majority of space, resources, and left-behind people under power of autocrats, or at best conservatives (who are already strong in parts of eastern europe, due to the exodus of younger progressive types to the west).
When I think about the immigrants coming to Ellis Island, lots of those people had nothing. They sold everything to afford the trip to the US and risked everything. Same thing today with immigrants coming to America literally on foot carrying their only worldly possessions, risking everything on a trip through the desert for the chance at a better life.
So when people say, “it’s not a practical solution,” yeah, I get it’s not ideal, but it’s possible to be poor and relocate. And if you’re in fear for your life, that means it’s something you need to do, regardless of how difficult it is.
Sure it's possible for some people, my point is about the scale: a country of 350 million, of which it seems one half is being led to hate the other, can't rely on emigration to a neighbouring country of 40m to escape the horrors of fascism. Even if the most potentially persecuted third escaped mainly to Europe (>100m somewhat dwarfs "wir schaffen das", but just suppose ...) that would leave the maga half to make a grand alliance with Russia (controlling most of the northern hemisphere food surplus), and professors in Toronto wouldn't hold out long in that scenario... People have to stay to fight back, smartly (before this evolves to hard civil war).