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A cornerstone of American 21st century fascism - intentionally or not
Culture, economics, engineering, politics, and law
Attack on American Free Enterprise System
In 1971, future United States Supreme Court justice Lewis F Powell Jr writes a memorandum about threats to the 'American Free Enterprise System', at the behest of the US Chamber of Commerce.
This memo becomes the foundational document for a 50 year process that initially sought to re-balance American culture from what Powell perceived as heading in an extreme left direction, to a culture that at the very least brought respect back to what he calls American free enterprise - what today we would call American business and corporate life.
The memo itself is old fashioned and strongly worded but it's not Hitlerian, and in fact explicitly warns against totalitarian outcomes, communism and fascism, and ignoring the rule of law.
So what happened? As often happens, shit just got out of hand, and now in March 2025, the USA has a regime that is rapidly working towards establishing a fascist state, including the notion that the law doesn't need to be followed if it goes against what the 'dear leader' wants.
Therefore it is clear that the socio-economic and political situation we're in today is not a coincidence, but the technically impressive result of a long and well-designed series of legal and cultural milestones funded by people who had a certain view of how the country should be run. The evolution of that view is now on full display.
The process: imagine a typical large and complex machine with levers, knobs, buttons and dials that when put in certain settings have specific outcomes. Now overlay that image with society in general, where voting, making laws, developing culture, running local-state-federal government agencies are the levers, knobs, buttons and dials.
It seems impossible to harness the complexity of society as a single engineered-type machine, but on second thought you can see how with enough time, resources, and crucially, computing + communications technology advancements, it *could* be done.
And it has.
~~~
~~~
Original memo (same as document presented here):
http://www.metabronx.com/documents/reference/memorandum_lewis-f-powell-jr_1971_typed.pdf
Published in article form:
http://www.metabronx.com/documents/reference/memorandum_lewis-f-powell-jr_1971_published.pdf
Text:
http://www.metabronx.com/documents/reference/memorandum_lewis-f-powell-jr_1971.txt
~~~
~~~
Selected excerpts (line numbers refer to the text file linked to above):
line 109
But independent and uncoordinated activity by individual corporations, as important as this is, will not be sufficient. Strength lies in organization, in careful long-range planning and implementation, in consistency of action over an indefinite period of years, in the scale of financing available only through joint effort, and in the political power available only through united action and national organizations.
line 123
The assault on the enterprise system was not mounted in a few months. It has gradually evolved over the past two decades, barely perceptible in its origins and benefiting (sic) from a gradualism that provoked little awareness much less any real reaction.
line 185
The objective always must be to inform and enlighten, and not merely to propagandize.
line 277
But one should not postpone more direct political action, while awaiting the gradual change in public opinion to be effected through education and information. Business must learn the lesson, long ago learned by labor and other self-interest groups. This is the lesson that political power is necessary; that such power must be assidously (sic) cultivated; and that when necessary, it must be used aggressively and with determination — without embarrassment and without the reluctance which has been so characteristic of American business.
line 329
It is time for American business — which has demonstrated the greatest capacity in all history to produce and to influence consumer decisions — to apply their great talents vigorously to the preservation of the system itself.
line 349
Essential ingredients of the entire program must be responsibility and "quality control." The publications, the articles, the speeches, the media programs, the advertising, the briefs filed in courts, and the appearances before legislative committees — all must meet the most exacting standards of accuracy and professional excellence. They must merit respect for their level of public responsibility and scholarship, whether one agrees with the viewpoints expressed or not.
line 357
The threat to the enterprise system is not merely a matter of economics. It also is a threat to individual freedom.
line 361
There seems to be little awareness that the only alternatives to free enterprise are varying degrees of bureaucratic regulation of individual freedom — ranging from that under moderate socialism to the iron heel of the leftist or rightist dictatorship.
line 365
As the experience of the socialist and totalitarian states demonstrates, the contraction and denial of economic freedom is followed inevitably by governmental restrictions on other cherished rights.
line 373 - conclusion
It hardly need be said that the views expressed above are tentative and suggestive. The first step should be a thorough study. But this would be an exercise in futility unless the Board of Directors of the Chamber accepts the fundamental premise of this paper, namely, that business and the enterprise system are in deep trouble, and the hour is late.
This memo becomes the foundational document for a 50 year process that initially sought to re-balance American culture from what Powell perceived as heading in an extreme left direction, to a culture that at the very least brought respect back to what he calls American free enterprise - what today we would call American business and corporate life.
The memo itself is old fashioned and strongly worded but it's not Hitlerian, and in fact explicitly warns against totalitarian outcomes, communism and fascism, and ignoring the rule of law.
So what happened? As often happens, shit just got out of hand, and now in March 2025, the USA has a regime that is rapidly working towards establishing a fascist state, including the notion that the law doesn't need to be followed if it goes against what the 'dear leader' wants.
Therefore it is clear that the socio-economic and political situation we're in today is not a coincidence, but the technically impressive result of a long and well-designed series of legal and cultural milestones funded by people who had a certain view of how the country should be run. The evolution of that view is now on full display.
The process: imagine a typical large and complex machine with levers, knobs, buttons and dials that when put in certain settings have specific outcomes. Now overlay that image with society in general, where voting, making laws, developing culture, running local-state-federal government agencies are the levers, knobs, buttons and dials.
It seems impossible to harness the complexity of society as a single engineered-type machine, but on second thought you can see how with enough time, resources, and crucially, computing + communications technology advancements, it *could* be done.
And it has.
~~~
~~~
Original memo (same as document presented here):
http://www.metabronx.com/documents/reference/memorandum_lewis-f-powell-jr_1971_typed.pdf
Published in article form:
http://www.metabronx.com/documents/reference/memorandum_lewis-f-powell-jr_1971_published.pdf
Text:
http://www.metabronx.com/documents/reference/memorandum_lewis-f-powell-jr_1971.txt
~~~
~~~
Selected excerpts (line numbers refer to the text file linked to above):
line 109
But independent and uncoordinated activity by individual corporations, as important as this is, will not be sufficient. Strength lies in organization, in careful long-range planning and implementation, in consistency of action over an indefinite period of years, in the scale of financing available only through joint effort, and in the political power available only through united action and national organizations.
line 123
The assault on the enterprise system was not mounted in a few months. It has gradually evolved over the past two decades, barely perceptible in its origins and benefiting (sic) from a gradualism that provoked little awareness much less any real reaction.
line 185
The objective always must be to inform and enlighten, and not merely to propagandize.
line 277
But one should not postpone more direct political action, while awaiting the gradual change in public opinion to be effected through education and information. Business must learn the lesson, long ago learned by labor and other self-interest groups. This is the lesson that political power is necessary; that such power must be assidously (sic) cultivated; and that when necessary, it must be used aggressively and with determination — without embarrassment and without the reluctance which has been so characteristic of American business.
line 329
It is time for American business — which has demonstrated the greatest capacity in all history to produce and to influence consumer decisions — to apply their great talents vigorously to the preservation of the system itself.
line 349
Essential ingredients of the entire program must be responsibility and "quality control." The publications, the articles, the speeches, the media programs, the advertising, the briefs filed in courts, and the appearances before legislative committees — all must meet the most exacting standards of accuracy and professional excellence. They must merit respect for their level of public responsibility and scholarship, whether one agrees with the viewpoints expressed or not.
line 357
The threat to the enterprise system is not merely a matter of economics. It also is a threat to individual freedom.
line 361
There seems to be little awareness that the only alternatives to free enterprise are varying degrees of bureaucratic regulation of individual freedom — ranging from that under moderate socialism to the iron heel of the leftist or rightist dictatorship.
line 365
As the experience of the socialist and totalitarian states demonstrates, the contraction and denial of economic freedom is followed inevitably by governmental restrictions on other cherished rights.
line 373 - conclusion
It hardly need be said that the views expressed above are tentative and suggestive. The first step should be a thorough study. But this would be an exercise in futility unless the Board of Directors of the Chamber accepts the fundamental premise of this paper, namely, that business and the enterprise system are in deep trouble, and the hour is late.
Virginia, USA
1971-08-23
Lewis F Powell Jr
https://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/powellmemo/ -- https://pressbooks.pub/phronesis/chapter/the-1971-powell-memo/
This item is shared by Philip M Shearer
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the Community and the World.