The Economics That Can Stop The Rise of Fascism

Key Argument

Isabella Weber argues that inflation is not simply a result of supply and demand. It can also reflect corporate power and the way shocks reshape prices and profits. In an era of recurring crises, including energy shocks, people who spend most of their income on essentials such as housing, food, and transport are hit hardest. Meanwhile, sharp increases in energy and food prices can generate windfall profits for energy firms and commodity traders, with gains disproportionately accruing to wealthy asset owners.

Weber says shocks can make it easier for companies across an industry to raise prices without losing customers. This allows costs to be passed on to workers and consumers while profits rise and workers’ share of the economy falls. She criticizes interest-rate hikes as a blunt response to this kind of “seller’s inflation”: by cooling demand and the labor market, they can worsen insecurity for people already squeezed by rising prices.

Economic Insecurity and the Rise of Fascism

Weber links economic insecurity and the concentration of private power to the conditions in which fascism can gain support. Drawing on Franklin D. Roosevelt, she argues that democracy is threatened both when corporate power overwhelms the state and when people are hungry, unemployed, or unable to afford a decent life.

Far-right movements can exploit hardship by promising a return to an idealized past while directing resentment toward marginalized groups. Weber rejects this response as a politics of hierarchy, racism, and dehumanization.

An “Anti-Fascist Economics”

Weber’s proposed alternative is an “anti-fascist economics” that protects livelihoods and limits extreme concentrations of wealth and power. This includes securing access to essentials such as housing, energy, food, transport, and care, and using public policy to stabilize prices and address the underlying causes of volatility.

She points to several examples and policy approaches:

• Spain’s energy-price stabilization measures and investment in renewable energy.
• Mexico’s agreements to keep a basket of basic food prices stable.
• Public buffer stocks to help steady supplies and prices.
• Investment in essential infrastructure to support dignified work and a right to a job.

Historical Examples and Recommendations

Weber presents the New Deal as evidence that democratic governments can act in the public interest. She contrasts it with German austerity in the 1930s, which she says helped pave the way for Hitler’s rise. She also cites postwar Britain’s nationalization of key industries and creation of the National Health Service.

Her recommendations include taxing the rich and multinational corporations, renewing antitrust policy, and reclaiming essential services from profit-driven control. The goal is to restore people’s faith in democracy by making economic policy serve dignity and livelihoods rather than treating them as collateral damage.

Presenter

• Presenter: Isabella Weber
• Other identifiable presenters or contributors: None.