http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edict_of_Expulsion Jewish banking and getting blamed is not exactly a "new phenomenon." The Nazi targeting of Jews had more to do with eugenics, I think... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenics Today we know through genetic science that there is no such thing as "race" when it comes to genes - however, there are regional and heritable differences. Germany was in a state of turmoil, where a strong emotionally appealing ideology (through nationalism and symbolism) took the lead and formed public opinion. Just like in the US with the 2001-09-11 attacks, it resulted in a strongly fascist government, and there is no doubt Bush has played the persona of Hitler - appealing to emotional persuasion and social control all over again, playing the nationalism/exceptionalism and symbolism over again. This time it was neo-conservative ideology taking the lead, and not eugenics. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_exceptionalism Other fascist governments were the military dictatorships in South America supported and sometimes created by the US. Both neo-cons and eugenics claim "supremacy" - ability to lead and rule. See the writings of Joshua Muravchik, Norman Podhoretz, Charles Murray, Albert Wohlstetter, Richard Perle, Irving Kristol, James Burnham, Charles Krauthammer, Matt Labash etc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Weekly_Standard http://www.aei.org/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_superiority http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Managerial_state (James Burnham, "old-money" and neo-cons) PBS Think Tank -- Richard Perle: The making of a neo-conservative (in his own words) http://www.pbs.org/thinktank/transcript1017.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Muravchik http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Podhoretz http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Murray_(author) (he is not "libertarian" by any standard) Charles Murray promotes an elite theory with "the cognitive elite" and is a neo-con -- see http://www.pbs.org/thinktank/transcript130.html (Race, I.Q., American Society and Charles Murray) http://www.pbs.org/thinktank/transcript129.html (A Conversation with Charles Murray) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Wohlstetter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Perle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Kristol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Burnham http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Krauthammer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Labash
Other neo-con pundits are http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Brooks_(journalist) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonah_Goldberg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Goldberg They are a diverse group and mostly denounce the Reagan politics of containment, and like David Brooks want larger government to handle "security" etc. See http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_/ai_n18782931 Normal, non-ideological people are less concerned about the threat to their freedom from an overweening state than from the threats posed by these amorphous yet pervasive phenomena. The "liberty vs. power" paradigm is less germane. It's been replaced in the public consciousness with a "security leads to freedom" paradigm. They are all easily recognizable fascists. Some mainstream conservatives understand this - but many are blissfully ignorant... see their comments to David Brooks: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1810319/posts David Brooks in interview with Jeffrey Goldberg: Sarah Palin "Represents A Fatal Cancer To The Republican Party" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/08/david-brooks-sarah-palin_n_133001.html Jeffrey Godlberg: In five years, however, I believe that the coming invasion of Iraq will be remembered as an act of profound morality. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_superiority Morality are world views and religious beliefs projected onto others and the surroundings. The "global war" has just been fought - and it was a "global war of ideas" in the information age. See Donald Rumsfeld's call to war on ideas and the Internet -- a war on freedom of information, freedom of thought and speech. http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2006/tr20060327-12710.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disciplinary_institutions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingsoc http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_101 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoconservatism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_state http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persuasion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_symbolism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_fear http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_war http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects-Based_Operations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_transparency http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_thought http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech Luckily, it seems the neo-conservatives are losing -- but it is not over yet by any means.