Aelle: I think you are making some great points here. Life, for most of us, will not go down the tubes under a fascist regime.

I stayed in Czechoslovakia shortly after the fall in communism. As an English teacher in a country that wanted to learn English, I certainly met a lot of different kinds of people.

Materialistically, the average Czech or Slovak was probably in a similar position to the average American in the 1950s. They had TVs, wash machines, nice furniture. Many families had one car, but public transit was pretty good to get around.

The communists provided all sorts of social relief valves. Contrary to the mindset of the McCarthyites, Czechs and Slovaks had a lot of freedom in their own country. They could travel anywhere within the country without permission (except military bases). They could marry or have affairs with anyone of their choice. They could change jobs. If they were good at sports, there was lots of opportunity to participate in many sports. And they could watch a lot of sports on TV.

The communists may have put a little fear into people, and a small percentage of citizens fell to their oppression. But if one understood the formal and informal rules, one would not get into trouble — yet still have a reasonable life.

It very well may be that USA is heading to some kind of oligarchy. But the government sure can’t oppress everyone. Such a society really hasn’t existed.

I think you need to expand on this topic with your own Medium article.