The 14 characteristics of fascism

[Proud2BAmurkin]

The 14 Defining Characteristics Of Fascism by Dr. Lawrence Britt

Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes.

Britt 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. TOP

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. TOP

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. TOP

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. TOP

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. TOP

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. TOP

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. TOP

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. TOP

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. TOP

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. TOP

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. TOP

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.

http://www.couplescompany.com/Features/Politics/Structure3.htm

[American Tragedy]

1. Reminds me of The Authoritarian Personality, famous post-war study

Unfortunately, I think that many Americans today are infected with the authoritarian personality, as exemplified in the points above. I've observed and documented this, but I still don't understand it.

[Oreo]

2. 1. Check... 2. check... 3.check....

Read through this and tell me we're not a fascist state

[TroubleMan]

3. Sounds like "The Ownership Society" to me.

nt.

[PleadTheFirst]

4. Excellent post. Terrifying stuff.

[banana republican]

5. time warp

It was a compendium from a seminar held at Reading University in 1967 during the height of the Viet Nam War. Some of the quotes are very telling:

Let us begin with a model that encompasses the major patterns that bring fascist systems into existence. Three patterns seem to characterize the period preceding the fascist power takeover:
1) Clearly detectable, long-range, rapid economic growth;
2) Large scale social mobilization with a heavy component of rural to city migration;
3) Vast and rapid political mobilization, particularly acute just before the fascist take power. This is understandable, because the fascist party is a form of mobilization in response to the mobilization of others, and fascist mobilization in turn triggers off a heightened mobilization of other political movements.

<snip>

The idea of class equilibrium within an imperialist economy sums up, in my opinion, the basic political conditions for the birth of fascism as a political system. This equilibrium is typified by a ruling class unable to settle the crisis by ordinary means and a working class unable to bring about a socialist revolution. That was the position of Italy at the beginning of 1920 and in Germany after the great crisis of 1929. the labor movement frightened the ruling class but was incapable of changing the existing order in any way. This situation drastically increased class conflicts, and particularly affected the middle classes and the petty bourgeoisie, crushed between monopolistic capitalism and the prospect of a socialist revolution which they found deeply repugnant.

<snip>

Fascism is therefore unstable and of brief duration. For the distribution of power that permits fascism to come to power is overturned as the modern sector is permitted to continue growing, and once it is no longer weaker it will no longer accept a secondary position in the society or constraints that prevent it from tapping the unused resources of the traditional sector. In view of the position of the society when fascism comes to power this period is relatively brief. It is unlikely that fascism will outlive its original leader.

<snip>

In conclusion fascism is part of the process of transition from a limited participation to a mass system, and, fascism is a last ditch stand by the elites, both modern and traditional, to prevent the expansion of a system over which they exercise hegemony. The attempt always fails and in some ways the fascist system merely postpones some of the effects it seeks to prevent.

The Nature of Fascism
Edited by S.J Woolf
Random House, New York, NY
1968

[jbm]

6. thank you for this post!

This makes sense to me, and makes things look a little brighter in a 'this too shall pass' sort of way.

[TroubleMan]

7. Kick for morning crowd

nt.

[greenohio]

8. You forgot their symbol is an elephant.

[datasuspect]

9. video

here is a good encylopaedia britannica film from 1946 describing Facism.

prescient.

http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=despotism%20AND%20mediatype%3Amovies