Why did the middle classes support fascism?

most people can tell you this the Germans voted for the Nazis this is of course true but it's not very politically enlightening it might lead people to think that support for the Nazis among Germans was near unanimous but they never actually received a majority of the German vote even in 1933 after voter manipulation and severe repression against leftwing voters the Nazis received less than half of the votes this is not to deny of course that the Nazis received a terrifying amount of support at their Peak but to understand this support we have to ask a

more specific question what sections of the German population was it that provided the Nazis with so much support it is well known for instance that the Nazis came to receive support from Germany's leading industrialists and various military officials but that's a very small percentage of the population as a modern political party it also needed a more numerous electorate a Mass base the political parties of the viar Republic tended to represent relatively coherent social groups but the Nazi party was quite varied its support base went through a lot of changes and was a varied mix of

scattered social groups with the Nazis acting as a kind of catchall party of reactionary protest against the viar Republic and everything it represented it drew its votes from sections of civil servants Protestants White Collar employees rural Ral residents soldiers and others but despite this variety there was one social group that above all others served as the Nazi party's main support base from its Inception to its seizing of power and that is the lower middle class by which I mean not simply middle income earners but economic positions such as those of small business owners the self-employed

shopkeepers merchants and in rural areas land owning farmers in other words what is often referred to as the petty Bourgeois and the Nazi party knew this and explicitly addressed itself to them it called for the revitalization of the middle class presented themselves as its protectors and attacked the other parties for failing the middle class saying that they had quote forgotten the rights of their middle class constituents and deliver the handicrafts and Retail Commerce to the Liberals and marxists it played into the middle class's fears of being pushed into the ranks of mere workers the Nazi

party which otherwise can seem hopelessly contradictory makes a lot more sense when you recognize the middle class component of its base consider for instance the seemingly contradictory way in which the Nazis described the viar Republic on the one hand they attacked it from a seemingly anti- capitalist perspective saying the Republic was ruled by the ruthless greed of big business financers in banks on the other hand they attacked it from an anti-marxist perspective saying that the country was in the hands of marxist Jews who had no respect for property rights this tension was the outcome of

the middle class standpoint it represented consider small business owners on the one hand they feared big businesses which due to their extensive capital and scale were able to operate more cheaply and efficiently and thereby often pushed small businesses out of the market by out competing them or buying them up this was the source of their anti- capitalist sentiments as they saw that unregulated market forces and their Tendencies towards monopolization threatened their businesses in favor of big Capital but in so far as the employed people in their small businesses they were opposed to calls for wage

increases they also resented the labor movement for demanding public social policies that were partly funded by business owners taxes and the opposed the radical labor movement's calls for the socialization of private property in both the capitalist and the Socialist systems they saw attempts to take away the business that they had invested so much in and this is one of the things that made Nazi rhetoric so appealing to them the way they saw it big businesses were able to influence politics by means of their massive wealth and the working class was able to influence politics by

means of their large Collective organizations namely trade unions and Mass parties and in between these two the middle classes were left behind and they saw the Nazi party as their new Representatives coming to the rescue and this sense of being threatened from both directions threatened by both big capital and big Labor led to a kind of middle class paranoia so characteristic of fascist politics a paranoia that very easily lends itself to various kinds of xenophobia and anti-Semitism and conspiracy theories about who really runs things this explains also the contradiction in how Nazi propaganda depicted Jewish

people on the one hand they were described with characteristics typically associated with the rich greedy self-interested and concerned only with money on the other hand they were also described in ways associated with the poor that they are dirty uncultured and spread disease this was a characterization of the Jew that the middle classes could apply to both the big capital s and to organize labor which was appealing in the way that it simplified the World Behind all these things that threatened my property is really just one specific group of people now contrary to what people might

assume the social group that was consistently least likely to vote for the Nazis were manual workers in large-scale Industry who overwhelmingly voted for the social Democrats and the Communists the Communist Party appealed in particular to unskilled workers whose position in the economy was especially precarious of course such workers feared economic instability just as much as the middle class did and often felt fear and anger at the existing state of affairs but it did not lead to the same kind of political paranoia because unlike most of the middle class Their Fear and anger were socialized day

today they shared their workplaces with the large and diverse Workforce with whom they were able to share their concerns Express solidarity and most importantly collectively organize and it's no accident that unionized industrial workers were even less likely to vote Nazi than unorganized ones this led to a sense of community which the atomized members of the middle class often lacked and relied on Extreme nationalist sentiments to make up for this lack workers in large scale industry were less swayed by anti-Semitism perhaps in part because they were likely to work with fellow Jewish workers in their day-to-day

lives and saw their similarities in common interests when unionizing making demands and going on strike the Nazis did attempt to appeal to workers as well after all that is why they call themselves a Socialist Workers Party but most of the working class were not swayed by these attempts while a section of manual workers did support the Nazis it's significant that these were primarily workers who were unorganized or who worked in smallscale manufacturer the importance of Labor organizing and combating racism was seen also in the United States and unionizing efforts that United white and black workers

a study from the American Journal of political science showed that unionized white workers were less likely to Harbor racist attitudes than non-unionized workers in similar Industries but this is a form of organizing unavailable to small business owners and the self-employed who are more socially atomized by virtue of their class position hence in the vimar Republic while the fears and worries of the industrial working class could be turned into solidarity the fears and worries of the middle class often turned into resentment another essential feature of the fascist mentality this is why trosky wrote and for the

purposes of this video I don't care what you think about trosky whether you admire him or hate him the fact is that he wrote one of the best early analyses of fascism and he is responsible for one of the most memorable quotes on the topic quote not every exasperated Petty Bourgeois could have become Hitler but a particle of Hitler is lodged in every exasperated Petty Bourgeois so I hope it's clear to everyone that I don't mean to say that every middle class person is Hitler what I'm pointing to is a latent tendency among sections of

the middle class which especially in times of economic crisis Isis can be very easily exploited by the far right and it's extremely important to be conscious of this tendency however it's also very important to point out that while the Nazi party's ideology and propaganda had a very much middle class character upon assuming power it immediately threw away its ambitious Promises to the middle class and prioritized the interests of German big business over everyone else in the end preserving the power of B capital was its historical role militant labor organizing was quite prominent at the time

and the wealthy feared that the economic crisis would turn more and more workers into anti- capitalist revolutionaries in the face of the instability and growing contradictions of capitalism the capitalists needed a tool with which to preserve capitalism by brute force and fascism served exactly as such a tool that is why the Nazis immediately set about ressing trade unionists socialists and Communists and received so much support from the wealthy for doing so while anti-Semitism provided a scapegoat to draw attention away from the underlying economic problems at play the Nazis a so-called socialist party after assuming power

immediately held a secret meeting with many of Germany's leading industrialists promised them government support and the elimination of Communists and trade unions in exchange for which the industrialists immediately began raising millions of Reich marks for the Nazis that's not to mention investments from American Capital as well as the Nazis collaborated with large American companies such as General Motors and cocacola while the lower middle class provided the mass base of support for the Nazi party its objective function was the strengthening of big Capital as it was big Capital which not only provided the Nazis with the

necessary funds but made possible the running of the Nazi war machine contrary to the hopes of middle class Nazi voters Nazi policy actually intensified the concentration of capital gave advantages to it widened the gap between small and big businesses and led many small businesses to close down as trosy wrote German fascism like Italian fascism raised itself to power on the backs of the petty Bourgeois which it turned into a battering ram against the organ iations of the working class and the institutions of democracy but fascism in power is least of all the rule of the

petty Bourgeois on the contrary it is the most ruthless dictatorship of Monopoly Capital fascism succeeded in putting them at the service of capital such slogans as State control of trusts and the elimination of unearned income were thrown overboard immediately upon the Assumption of power it is therefore important for opponents of fascism to address the middle classes as well by pointing out that despite its promises fascism in practice has historically done very little to help their interests during the late 19th and early 20th centuries many believe that the petty Bourgeois as a class were a kind

of throwback that would gradually disappear from history due to the growth and concentration of capital and yet in recent decades the petty Bourgeois as a class have only grown it has therefore become even more important to win them away from fascist movements after all the role played by the middle classes has varied greatly throughout history depending upon the social and economic conditions prevailing at any given time much of the middle class was on the left wing of the French Revolution for instance as well as many other Democratic revolutions because of their class status which did

not benefit from feudalism they often led the fight against feudal Lords aristocrats and monarchs while in colonized countries the middle classes have often sided with the anti-colonial movements and even various labor movements developed only with the participation of sections of the middle class because of their in between position they can often be one over by either side there are those who identify more with the burgeois and resent workers for obstructing the profitability of their business but there are also those who due to their precarious position identify more with the workers and support the labor struggle

in the United States the middle class has played a central role since its very Inception America is often referred to as a nation of small businesses and small business is a big part of American ideology often standing in as a symbol of individual freedom and Independence Thomas Jefferson's ideal citizen was the self-sufficient and independent landowning farmer and ideal retained its appeal even as it soon became obsolete in the face of expanding markets and during the Cold War small business owners and their ideals in both urban and rural areas were used as a bullwark against the

spread of Communism to this day small businesses play a very significant role in America's self-standing and are generally viewed very positively one day I want to own my own business Be My Own Boss probably nothing embodies the essence of the American dream more than that thought there's a lot of idealization and Romanticism surrounding small business both on the right and the left small businesses are seen as personal relatable and admirable in a 2017 poll 70% of Americans said they have a great deal or a lot of confidence in small businesses and I get it in

our world small businesses bring a lot of local color to many places and allow for products and experiences that you couldn't get anywhere else but we shouldn't let such Romanticism blind us to the many problems that small businesses often come with because they are still businesses in the end and that means profit is their primary motive in the United States small businesses on average pay lower wages provide worse benefits are exempt from crucial labor protections and due to their small size tend to make unionization difficult which tends to leave small business employees with little to

no bargaining power in the US Federal Law requires businesses to provide medical coverage after discharge only if they have 20 or more employees and family and medical leave only if they have 50 or more employees thus exempting many small businesses and anti-discrimination laws whether against race or gender only apply if you employ 15 or more people all of which often allow small business owners to be Petty pant towards those they employ and they will sometimes use their status as small business owners to justify overworking and underpaying people whether small or big businesses compete in the

same Market in which success requires ruthlessness and to this day the American Petty Bourgeois have a significant effect on the divisions between the political left and the right if you want to make America a better place for everyone especially for minorities forget social activism instead start a business they not only provide opposition to labor oriented reforms they also have served as the mass base for today's right-wing populism which as we shall see reveal several of the same class patterns that we saw in German fascism consider the Trump campaign and the Maga movement for the purposes

of this video I'm not going to discuss whether it is fascist or not but it is today's leading form of right-wing populism in America the media often describes MAA as a movement of the white working class and while its ranks do include many white workers I think this label overlooks the movement's middle class character data from primaries in 2016 for instance show that much of Trump's support came from middle income voters whose average earnings were a lot higher than those of the average American and while income should not be equated with class it does serve

as some preliminary indication but as a way of zooming into the class Dynamics at play I'd like to focus on the January 6th Capital Riot as it's a particularly extreme expression of the Maga movement and just as we'd expect the petty Bourgeois namely small business owners and the self-employed were over represented among the capital riers there was a floral shop owner a CEO of a skydiving company owner of a chiropractor practice owner and president of a tax guidance company owners of real estate companies owner of a car dealership self-employed insurance agent CEO of a data

analytics marketing firm and I could go on and on this social group was much more likely to be found among the capital riers than among the general voting population and were even more over represented among those Capital riers who were violent trust me once you recognize this trend you never stop noticing it while blueco collar workers were present white collar workers were a lot more common and were also likely to be relatively high ranking managers who some categorize as Petty bis as well because of their increased status and the power they have over subordinate employees

so it's completely misleading to see this event as a representation of the white working class let alone the general working class after all the riers came from all over the United States which means that these were people who were well off enough and had enough economic power to take time off work pay for traveling expenses whether by bus or plane as well as a hotel to stay in just to attend a trump rally which is already some indication of its class character these were people who were drawn to the Maga movement because they identified their

individual Freedom with the freedom of business and saw all government efforts to help and assist the working class and the unemployed as obstructions to their personal success explaining their common resentment towards welfare recipients for instance because owning your own business represents freedom you are independent you are free and that's exactly the reason big government despises small business and yet at the same time as we saw with German fascism this also comes with attacks on big capitalists often represented by people like George Soros and Bill Gates which often come along with various conspiracy theories that Don't

Stray far from anti-Semitism conspiracy theories about the collusion of left-wing protesters and labor unions with powerful Elites like George Soros that very same flavor of middle class paranoia a phenomenon that is difficult to make sense of if we don't recognize its Petty Bourgeois character this also helps us understand America's right Libertarians who otherwise also seem hopelessly contradictory why is it that so many of them who are supposed to be anti-government end up moving towards fascism once again the right libertarian movement is populated with a lot of petty Bourgeois individuals who identify their freedom with unregulated

business activity and attack the government for its obstruction of this freedom and yet whenever their business begins being threatened either by the demands of organized labor or simply by the ruthless Tendencies of the market they end up wishing for a strong government which would wield its Iron Fist in protecting their business against these threats recognizing it also helps us immensely in making sense of different responses to the covid pandemic among the anti-lockdown protesters the kind who equated social distancing with Communism China you want communism the petty Bourgeois were you guessed it over represented in Minnesota

as one example those to reopen the state during the pandemic were overwhelmingly small business owners Proprietors of hair salons massage parlors a bowling alley vacation rental Etc who put up slogans such as small business is essential and this makes sense as the lockdown was impeding the profitability of their businesses in some cases to the point of bankruptcy also in some cases impeding their ability to spend their disposable income some protesters for instance Express their dissatisfaction with the lockdown on account of not being able to get a haircut or not being able to go to a

golf course which is not a particularly workingclass concern the fact that the lockdown was indeed threatening many small businesses incentivized the spread of various conspiracy theories again expressing that middle class paranoia claiming that the virus was man-made or that it did not exist at all and was simply a tactic to push America towards WS communism the working class also had a strong response to the pandemic which came with an increase in worker strikes and their demands could not be more different from those of the petty Bourgeois the Striking workers who were very well aware of

the dangers of the pandemic and were at high risk of infection demanded not only improved working conditions but improved safety measures improved access to safety equipment and increased precautions against the spread of covid nothing could show more clearly just how important it is to differentiate between the working class and the petty Bourgeois if we want to understand the nature of different political movements and actions this is not to say that some small business owners did not have legitimate concerns the US government definitely did not act quickly and sufficiently enough to help those whose livelihoods were

severely threatened by the lockdown one legitimate concern was the fact that given America's privatized Health Care System many small business owners depend on the profitability of their business in order to pay for health insurance for themselves and their family the fight for Universal healthc care is an example of an issue over which the workers and the lower middle class could potentially unite now while we do see these very clear patterns in the relationship between class and politics it is also true that today people vote according to their class A lot less than they did a

100 years ago and many of today's political divisions are drawn along lines of race gender and culture and that is something that was actively and purposefully achieved by the ruling class which has always tried to produce internal splits within the working class and to bring workers over to its side using cultural issues a tactic which in recent decades was especially pioneered by Republicans and this is a problem because it points to a lack of class Consciousness among workers which leads them to lash out against fellow workers rather than those who actually exploit them this is

not to say that the Democrat Party is free from blame either as it has been consistently disappointing the poor and working class for decades and has been thereby leaving people feeling like there is no worthwhile alternative the decline of class Consciousness has been further intensified by what I would call the petty bicationic than their own class this is seen when workingclass people see themselves as temporarily unsuccessful business people rather than workers entrepreneurs on the grind rather than sellers of Labor power and this is exploited by various companies consider for instance Uber which has utilized the

slogan Be Your Own Boss although Uber drivers are gig workers who are materially generating profit for Uber Uber tries to convince them that they are in fact self-employed bosses thus while offering them terrible working conditions they sell them the promise of being petty Bourgeois and all of these problems are further confounded by a lack of genuinely workingclass organizations ones that would build workingclass autonomy and history shows us that few things are as effective in combating fascism as organized labor and now I'd like to thank my patrons who fund my Petty Bourgeois existence 404 error justtin

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