Fascism

Fascism is the usurpation of the economic process by the elite and the related decimation of the working class and the poor. This process is represented by the shrinkage of fiat money backing the production of goods and services and its substitution by financial instruments. This domestic coup is accomplished by the spread of what is generally referred to as “false consciousness.” The tools of basic economics can be fashioned to introduce students to these concepts. Mainstream economists continue to demonstrate the different ways utility functions can be manipulated.

The phenomenal rise to power of Narendra Modi illustrates how his image—mediated by technology—was shaped and reshaped. Some facets of Modi’s fashioned persona are scrutinised in the article. The internet, particularly the social media, which was expected to revitalise the public sphere to bring about a new civic culture, has instead allowed for the selective return of the “written word” in support of fascist ideology. The cyberspace, along with the mass media, has enabled the coming together of many virtual “participants” to hurl masculinist abuse and silence their opponents.