A Cautionary Tale From Spain
Vast wealth inequality spawned political extremism, civil war and authoritarianism
The Spanish Civil War, 1936-39, remains an unhealed wound in Spanish society and a cautionary tale for democracies around the world, including the U.S. With vast wealth inequality, Spain became a breeding ground for political extremism, which metastasized into authoritarianism and ultimately totalitarianism from both the right and left, leading not just to war in Europe but contributing to the Second World War. Indeed, it is widely seen as a prelude to WWII, the first confrontation between small d democrats and fascists.
“It was the first time I had seen a person whose profession was telling lies,” wrote journalist George Orwell in Homage to Catalonia. Ideological hacks and zealots preferred the confirmation of their preconceived biases to the actual truth of what was going on, Orwell later wrote. The country became a “lunatic asylum,” he observed. His experiences in Spain were an inspiration for both “Animal Farm” and “1984.”
Not coincidentally, I have friends in Turkey and other countries who say the same thing. Their countries have become authoritarian mental asylums. At certain moments in the US during the last few years, when citizens were unable to discuss current events calmly or rationally, when students refused to accept election results in the classroom, I felt my country was headed in the same direction.
Civility and trust were severed, with threats of authoritarian crackdowns. Mid-thirties Spain “was a place where paranoia, slander, and rumors created such a toxic
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