FASCISM ANYONE? THE 14 DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS OF FASCISM BY LAURENCE W. BRITT Originally published in the Spring 2003 edition of Free Inquiry Magazine Laurence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. He found 14 defining characteristics common to each: 1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays. 2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc. 3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc. 4. Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized. 5. Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution. 6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common. 7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses. 8. Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions. 9. Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite. 10. Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed. 11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked. 12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations. 13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders. 14. Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections. Any questions, America? ### NO MORE LEFT. NO MORE RIGHT. TIME TO UNITE. STAND AND FIGHT! 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If anyone thinks those 14 things apply disproportionately (relative to other countries) to America, they are deluded, sheltered, or insane.
Which fascist governments over the past century or so have intertwined religion with government? Just about none. I love how the left likes to lie about that. One of the main pillars of fascism is no religion. Yeah... Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, and Mussolini were all deeply religious people.
Please explain why the asinine OPINIONS of some Leftninny numbskull poli-sci prof ( Lawrence Britt) , 20+ years ago at that,are to be taken as fact? Fascism is just another level of STATEISM, which includes socialism and communism as well...all place the Power of the State over the Rights of the Individual.
Let's be honest about the OP in this thread. It describes the Nazi's, and Hitlers regime....period. I mean, how many total truly "fascist" governments have there been in history? Not many. So when the descriptions above say things like "sometimes a fascist nation will present itself as x, y or z", there is no sometimes. Either the Nazi's did it, or they didn't. Guess what, a lot of the things listed in the OP aren't exclusive to Fascism and never will be. Just because you can draw very loose similarities across ideas the Nazi's used and other governments in history does not make them all fascist ideals. No ideology owns corruption, oppression and propoganda. Sorry.
I doubt every other country is as obsessed with the military, or silly things like yellow ribbons as we are. Why are you trying to deflect from the obvious truth that America is now very much a fascist nation? Hitler said he was doing god's work, and the whole aryan thing had religious overtones.
The liberal left seems to really like the word 'fascism'. Almost as much as they like the word 'racist'. Somewhere in their manual it must instruct them to use these words as often as possible..whether the words are apropos to the subject or not. They get to award themselves extra credit if they manage to use both words in the same paragraph (a gold star if used in the same sentence)
Consider Ayn Rand's most provocative speech called "The Fascist New Frontier" which characterized President Kennedy's policy as a creeping fascism similar to European fascist states.
I think Obama is the fascist and the OWS hippies are his Brown Shirts. While the clueless typical Obama voter is just looking a free ride without realizing how much it will cost them in the future. Because the true essence of fascism is a system where the best and brightest how all the real power through government which is Obama in a nutshell.
Franco's Spain is the most obvious, as was the French Falange and the Japanese Emperor-cult (particularily hypocritical since the Emperor had no real power). I would agree that fascists prefer their ideology and symbols to take center stage and for the dominant religion to play a subordinate and supportive role and any clerics who think otherwise are dealt with severely.