Comments on: From Tumblr: on Mao and the Cultural Revolution http://www.kevinmarshallonline.com/blog/2012/07/31/fascinasians-cultural-revolution/ Musing & misadventures of a writer, comedian, and local treasure Thu, 31 Jan 2013 04:17:00 -0500 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.0.38 By: Chris H http://www.kevinmarshallonline.com/blog/2012/07/31/fascinasians-cultural-revolution/#comment-9592 Tue, 31 Jul 2012 17:02:00 +0000 http://www.kevinmarshallonline.com/blog/2012/07/31/fascinasians-cultural-revolution/#comment-9592 You should read Eric Fromm’s “Escape from Freedom.”  Really, really good.  It’s about the psychological factors that lead to the rise of fascism in Germany.  It was written in 1941 by an American academic who immigrated from Germany.  

Talks about how the rise of certain types of Protestantism, particularly Calvinism, with its focus on God to the exclusion of all other Biblical roles (e.g. saint, apostle, etc.) and the idea that God only wants total submission, nothing more (not necessarily prayer or personal service, etc.) prepared the psyche of the German public.

Thinking of the all the fascist dictatorships in Muslim countries, makes me wonder if certain types of Buddhism and other philosophical teachings in China help sustain Mao worship and Communist fascism there.

]]>