Why Voldemort is a fascist... (LONG)

[arrowsmithbt]

No: HPFGUIDX 108830

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Nora Renka" <nrenka at y...> wrote:

> Why Voldemort is a Fascist, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and 
> March in Step (LONG)
> 
Kneasy:
Ah, conformity. Something to be encouraged in others since being
out of step yourself affords wonderful opportunities to induce 
disgruntlement in those around you. Not that I'm about to dispute
your analysis or it's conclusions,  but  my understanding is that
posts expressing mere agreement are frowned upon by Admin and
so the occasional interjection is not only acceptable but obligatory.

> Nora: 
> Many an intrepid poster has made the casual invocation of Nazis (and 
> been toasted by Godwin), but I intend to go one further, being a 
> member of that class of people that dear Kneasy has so kindly warned 
> us all about, the academics.  The purpose of this post is to argue 
> that Voldemort's ideal regime, as extrapolated from information so 
> far, lines up in a number of critical ways with the theoretical 
> bases of fascist ideology.  Fascism is a system notoriously 
> difficult to define because of its sheer irrationality, so this 
> analysis posits a particular mutation for the circumstances of the 
> WW.
> 

Kneasy:
I don't disagree (except that Kneasy thinks academics  are wonderful -
without their copious output my hearth would be cold before December)
except to wonder about the "theoretical bases" bit. It seems that the
instigators of these lunacies develop  them on a more or less ad hoc
basis. The supporting philosophy, theory or whatever gets tacked on
as they go along - they don't have a philosophy so much as an agenda.
But deep in their rat-like brains lurks a realisation that a rationale will
sooner or later become necessary;  something to brandish before
unthinking enthusiasts and as page-filler in the Glorious Leaders
memoirs labelled "early influences" - otherwise, Heaven forfend! they're
indistinguishable from opportunistic bandits.
And that, IMO, is more or less what  Voldy is. 
 
> Nora:
> Common Characteristics of Fascism:
> massive snip>
> 
> My gut has been telling me that the fascism analysis works out.  No, 
> it's not exact, as we don't have a kind of solid state established 
> yet, but I think enough of the aspects correspond closely enough to 
> make this a theoretical system worth considering.  This could, of 
> course, be utterly destroyed next book.  I hope it has a little more
> solidity than that.
> 
> The more I think about it, though, the more it seems to me that the 
> blood ideology is really one of the major driving factors generating 
> the large-scale conflict that defines the series.  It seems to be a 
> good portion of what attracted Voldemort's followers. 
snip 
> Slytherin may well have felt that the Muggleborns were bad 
> primarily because they were a security risk--but there's something
> inherently rather nasty about picking your students based on purity 
> of blood.
> 
> The blood thing and the related issues are what CoS is really about.
> Dumbledore is the guarantor of the Muggleborn students' right to 
> attend Hogwarts, and this freedom and openness is what Lucius Malfoy 
> is attempting to attack.  It's the forces of reaction versus the 
> Open Society, a struggle for the public sector.  Hogwarts is the key 
> into being someone and something in wizarding society for those not 
> born into name and money, and for those people with the name and the 
> money, these uppity folks are disrupting their historical privilege, 
> what they think they're entitled to.
> snip
> 

Kneasy:
Lots of parallels highlighted, and very little to dispute in terms of what
fascism is/was. The question is "does it apply  to Voldy?"

Does Voldy actually have a political philosophy or reasonable facsimile
thereof? I doubt it. (I'm ignoring the DEs for the moment.)

There used to be a notice stuck on my office wall - "The Rules". 
It started:
1. The Boss is always right,
down to
10. The Boss is always the Boss, even in bathing togs.
(Since I was the boss I thought it eminently reasonable.)
Voldy would subscribe to it immediately and enthusiastically. But it wasn't
a political creed or manifesto, it was a joke outline for despotism.

There has never been a hint that Voldy wishes to change any of the 
structures in the WW in any fundamental way - he just wants to run it.
True, there are likely to be a lot of bodies exiting feet-first, but it's
highly unlikely that there will be systematic purges of entire classes
or groups. Muggles he'll leave alone, except for perhaps sporting
activities such as happened after the World Cup. There are too many of
them to mess with, and though wizards mock technology  Tom was 
brought up a Muggle; he knows that technology *works*. The few tens 
of thousands in the WW dare not challenge tens of millions with a 
history of witch-hunts and hope to maintain a laid-back existence.
A bonfire might tickle -  fine; try some napalm or VX.
Eventually they'd have to isolate themselves again just to be  sure
of a decent nights sleep.

Mudbloods are a different problem -  they have power, magical power,
just as much as his DEs do. And they too out-number the DEs massively.
This isn't some docile crowd of unarmed peasants to be herded about. 
*If provoked sufficiently* they will fight back with exactly the same 
weapons as the DEs use. 

To sustain it's raison d'etre fascism needs a target minority to point
to while whipping up public emotions. The problem is that Voldy
supporters *are* the despised minority. Oops!

What  he would prefer is a decapitation; remove the current movers
and shakers -  the *individuals* not the system - change the name on
the headed note-paper, and  he's in business.

He's a would-be despot, with all the inherent weaknesses of militaristic
despotism.
1. He cannot (and anyway wouldn't dare to) delegate his personal power.
It resides solely within and with him. Any major problem and he has to 
deal with it personally. 
2. He cannot trust anyone. Ever. Any challenge to his rule is not to the
Ministry or his 'government', it's to him as an individual. There is no such
thing as a 'loyal opposition'.
3. There will be challenges and plots, mostly from within the ranks of his
own 'supporters'.

You may say that all of the above were evident in the fascist dictators of
the last century. Of course they were. But that's because they were just a 
sub-set of a type that has recurred throughout history -  The Dictator.
>From Herod the Great, through Ivan the Terrible to Idi Amin the only thing
that changes is "who's going to be for the chop this time?" Unfettered
personal rule has a habit of becoming the same old thing, the label put
on it is irrelevent. It's depressing; every few decades another example
seems to crawl out of the woodwork.

All in all, Voldy'd fit nicely into the pantheon of the Roman Emporers, 
though they went a step further and had themselves declared gods.
"Oderint dum metuant" might have been made for him, because like
Tiberius and unlike that lot last century, Voldy is not interested in the
adulation of the crowd, the political education of the masses, the cries 
of "Our hero!"  For make no mistake, in Italy, Germany, Spain, fascism 
or its equivalent was a *popular* movement. It had the  support of the
majority of the populace until it all went pear-shaped. It could not
have survived and prospered for so long without that mass approval. 

Voldy doesn't have mass approval and never will have. He knows this;
all he wants is total obedience. That's not a political stance -  that's
thuggery.

And who does he have to help him? DEs and crypto-Voldyist purebloods.
The purebloods themselves are split, only a fraction of which (how big a 
fraction is unclear) actually support him, so he can't expect to get a
"purebloods vs the rest" fixture lined up. It won't wash. Too many
purebloods recognise the distinction for the farce it is. And they seem
to be a remarkably individualistic bunch, wizards. He'd need a DE at
the front door of every house and even then he couldn't make it  stick.

His supporters are living in their own little dream-world. He doesn't
care what they want or what they believe and the smarter amongst
them (Malfoy for example) must know this. He's just an opportunistic
jackal, sniffing out personal advantage. No potential martyr for the 
cause he; It's unlikely anyone is apart from the occasional nutter like 
Bella.

The 'pureblood' mystique is a conceit, not a cause, and most of them 
know it. And it might not be too clever to push it hard when the
Great Leader is himself one of the Great Unwashed.

I see CoS differently, not so much an attack on the Hogwarts admission
policy as the attempted neutralisation of DD and Harry. Sure, get DD out
and Malfoys mob could run the school how they wanted, but that would
be a bonus, not the main aim. Ginny was probably targeted for the same 
reason, a strike at DD's supporters (and purebloods too!) Of course a  
variation on this theme was tried again with rather more success under
the reign of Umbridge, with DD and Harry once more  the main target. 

Phew! Written more than I intended.
But in conclusion -  Voldy matches most of your criteria for consideration
as a fascist, but I'd deny him any political underpinings at all.
He's a murderous thug - plain and simple - and (unlike the DEs) never
bothers to try and justify himself with some spurious philosophy.