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Fascism

Horror as By-Product

Horror as By-Product

Readings of the Holocaust as an economically-senseless manifestation of anti-Semitism obscure its reality—a brutal, messy, mostly technologically crude operation made feasible by the immense scale of the German war economy. What consolations are offered by such an interpretation?

The Promise of Video Games

The Promise of Video Games

Helldivers 2 uses the video game form to raise fundamental questions about agency and intention. Unfortunately, like so much of the culture industry, it ultimately compromises its core message for the typical rewards of the entertainment industry.

How Nazi Billionaires Escaped Justice at Nuremberg

How Nazi Billionaires Escaped Justice at Nuremberg

Although they shared responsibility for the crimes committed by the Third Reich, many German capitalists got off easy because Washington saw them as potential allies in the Cold War with the USSR.

Is Trump Hitler, or just… Woodrow Wilson?

Is Trump Hitler, or just… Woodrow Wilson?

Comparing Trump to Hitler and Mussolini obscures the basis of his mass appeal, prevents us from confronting the neoliberal center, and demonizes a large segment of the population that we’d like to win over. There are better analogies out there, and ones that are closer to home.

Class Politics and Status Politics

Class Politics and Status Politics

An excerpt from a classic text on the rise of Prohibition distinguishing class politics from the symbolic, expressive movements of status politics.