It's become quite a social fact that after a war society tends to move towards the political left. We beleive we're fighting for something good and just and we want that to be reflected in the way we live our lives.
Equally during times of economic hardship we tend to move to the political right. We feel insecure and defensive. We tend to revert to tribalism, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribalism) strengthening our bonds and social identity with specific groups of individuals we can relate to. This can take many differant paths but in recent history the most notable is the national darwinistic approach (or fascism).
Technically speaking this is Neo-Tribalism "as the culture and institutions of modernism declined, societies would look to the organizational principles of the distant past for guidance"
And of course you also get an increase in religious tribalism
It's happened before
1920's Cabaret
Yes, you're probably wondering what on earth this has to do with anything. Well, you're probably familiar with the first and second world wars and you've probably seen loads of films about them. But have you ever really looked into what happened inbetween them in Germany? How did they really go from a defeated and financially ruined country to the biggest threat in Europe in a relatively short period of time? It certainly wasn't a straight line and like much of the world the 1920's was a golden era of liberalism and technological advancement. The cabaret became the blogosphere of it's time with a politics, satire and social debate at the heart of many events (and of course sex at the others, just like the blogosphere :-) ).
Social acceptance of homosexuality
I think this message really captulates just how quickly a society can move to the right and truely catch people out with devistating consequences.
Key factors
More than ever in my life time society as a whole seems to be reaching out for something. We seem confused about where we go from here. What will global warming mean? what does globalisation mean? What's happening with the economy? Who am I? Where do I fit into society. So more people than ever feel lonely. There are few families with a stable social status and people are much more likely to move to new areas for work. So social bonds aren't that strong right now. Combined with economic hardship and a lack of credible role models it's possible for a strong leader to come to power that will provide a structure and hope that we so desperately need.
Are there signs already?
You may have heard on the new 'British jobs for British workers' not to mention calls for a more'values' driven society over the 13 year old father controversy.
It couldn't happen now
Yes, standard response, but I can't help thinking if you'd of asked all the financial experts in the world just 3-5 years ago whether we could see another depression I bet they would have said something along the lines of "No, it's not possible, lessons were learn't from the great depression, society and financial models have moved on." Ask them now and they'll tell you there were lots of warning signs that were ignored. The news makes it sound like we were 'obviously' heading for trouble, why did no one realise?
So my question to you is really, what happens after a financial collapse? What is stopping a repeat of history?
Is Obama the one to unite a strong left and provide the security and answers we need without is reverting to the hard line traditional instincts on the right?
(Plan to post again with what I think the 'New Fascism' might look like. But feel free to comment on your views. Am I mad?)
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