Fascism doesn’t just drop from the sky. Again and again, it emerges in the wreckage of economic collapse, when unfettered capitalism leaves people desperate and elites terrified of losing power.

Why link economics to authoritarianism?

It’s tempting to think fascist regimes rise purely from ideology or charismatic leaders. But look closer: the conditions that make people vulnerable to authoritarian appeals are almost always economic. When capitalism runs hot—unchecked inequality, instability, and elite capture—the ground becomes fertile for strongmen promising order, stability, and national renewal. For more on how capitalism operates as a structural force, see Capitalism as Emergent Math.

Germany: Weimar’s collapse to Hitler’s rise

In the 1920s and early 1930s, Germany’s economy was in freefall: hyperinflation, mass unemployment, and debt from WWI reparations. For ordinary people, savings vanished overnight; for elites, fear of socialist revolution loomed large. Into that chaos stepped Hitler, offering both a scapegoat and a promise: restore pride, crush Marxism, and protect capital. The Nazis were backed not just by angry workers but by industrialists and bankers who saw him as a shield against redistribution.

Italy: Mussolini and elite fear

After WWI, Italy faced strikes, inflation, and class conflict. Landowners and industrialists feared socialist reforms and bankrolled Mussolini’s Fascist Party as the “lesser evil.” The result? Authoritarianism dressed as national rebirth, fueled by elites protecting their economic privileges when capitalism alone could not stabilize society.

Spain: Franco’s dictatorship

Spain in the 1930s was deeply unequal: rural peasants demanded land reform, while business elites and the Church fought to preserve wealth and hierarchy. Franco’s authoritarian movement gained traction as the “defense” of tradition and property against redistribution, showing again how capitalism’s winners will back repression rather than risk losing dominance.

Echoes in Latin America

Decades later, similar dynamics replayed in Chile and Argentina. Business elites, fearing socialist governments that might redistribute wealth, supported military dictatorships. These regimes used violence to secure markets and suppress opposition, often with international backing. Once again, capitalism’s failures to deliver broad prosperity opened the door to authoritarian “solutions.”

The recurring pattern

• Economic collapse or inequality leaves ordinary people desperate.
• Elites fear redistribution and seek protection for their wealth.
• Authoritarians promise order and gain legitimacy by aligning both anger from below and fear from above.

Fascism, then, isn’t just ideology. It’s a political form that thrives when unfettered capitalism destabilizes society and no safety nets exist to catch people. Compare this dynamic to today’s struggles over regulation and free speech in Nexstar, the FCC, and Jimmy Kimmel.

Why this history still matters

The lesson isn’t about comparing today’s leaders to Hitler or Mussolini. It’s about recognizing the conditions: widening inequality, economic instability, elites using populist anger as a tool. Can you think of another hypercapitalist society showing the same warning signs?

Conclusion

If history teaches us anything, it’s that ignoring these conditions is dangerous. When desperation meets concentrated wealth, authoritarians find their opening. The question isn’t just “could it happen here?” — it’s “what moral responsibility do we, as citizens, have if we recognize the parallels?”