Um, Can I Look Behind Door Number 3?

Ron Radosh and Michael Ledeen have dueling essays wondering if we are heading towards socialism or fascism. It's fascinating reading, although Ledeen has the stronger case.

Ron Radosh's essay is here

While the first part of Ledeen's is here and the second is here

Rather than the loaded phrase “fascism,” I think the term “corporate state” perfectly encapsulates not just the structure of our government, but also the behavior of our elites. They are more ethnically diverse than ever before, but they all seem to speak the lingua franca of the corporate retreat.

My only consolation for the current trend towards an overweening state is the underlying dynamism of American society. There is always someone or something new coming down the pike. Every generation has shown a resolute tendency toward reinventing or changing what has come before. Much of what you describe as underlying the corporate state - the therapeutic mindset, the quest for equality, the desire to protect “the children” - are associated in my mind with the Baby Boomers. I wonder if the (too) slow passing of the Boomers from the scene over the next 30 years might ultimately be what saves us.