Thank you Thom. I think most of us don't know what more we can actually do about it. I'm curious to know if you believe the public hearings will make any difference in staving off the coming deluge?
I don't see how we can possibly fix the nightmare that Reagan started. Then Rupert, and now Lachlan Murdoch, Bannon, et al ran with those fascist ideals, and successfully brain-washed millions of Americans.
When I say I don't know what we can do that will make a diff, I mean literally, I don't know what more I can do. I go into debt supporting good Dems around the nation, I march, I write emails, I talk to everyone... nothing seems to help. I feel like a tiny ant who doesn't have a thumb to stick in the dike.
I'm with you, DD, I don't see how we can possibly fix this country's increasingly fascist nightmare - unless enough of the electorate votes the Republicans out of power. Then can the filibuster and the electoral college be rescinded...and that's just for starters. The president can start by - if it's constitutional - rescinding or delaying, through executive order, the latest SCOTUS EPA blunder.
Make Donald Trump's crimes finally catch up with him. Even if Repubs manufacture a landslide this Nov. DOJ remains, NY DA remains, Georgia Grand Jury remains. Put up billboards every mile across the country: President Trump, why don't you want us to know what's in your tax returns? President Trump, where are your ties made? Ivanka Trump how many special patents did China give you? Jared, why did Saudi Arabia give you 3 billion$?
The enablers own the airwaves, but how 'bout them billboards? Isn't there a movie....?
Sobering message. Those with common sense are a dying breed. There's a generation coming to power that's been raised on video games, and who believe anything posted on social media. Nonsense like there's a basement below the pizza shop where they drink blood and sacrifice children, or that the Ukraine's Jewish leader is promoting Nazism, hence the nation and its people must be "purged" and brought back into the fold of the great Leader. With the way CO2 levels are rising, we may not need to concern ourselves much longer; politics will succumb to survival, as our planet begins to vomit us off its surface. Humanity is its own worst enemy.
Republicans (mostly, for the last forty years - since Reagan, basically) have seen to it that Americans are too comfortable and lazy ("dumbed down," if you prefer) to apply vigilance, either internal, and especially not eternal. Citizens have been taught (but not educated) to value money, but not democracy. Undemocratic as it may appear - and if it's not too late - we have to a better job of "indoctrinating" the meaning and value of democracy through teaching, and practicing a much more concentrated regimen of civic involvement.
Thomm, I love this article and have referenced as much as I can in Social Media and my own blog. This plot is getting molasses thick and well underway. The Fascist have already corrected for their clownish first attempt and have developed strategies to overcome the means provided under law.
Two things;
We must gain the majority (60+ in the Senate) and majority in the House and
The Jan 6th Committee must unload in a massive blast everything just before that election to sway decent Americans.
If we don’t stall them and gain public opinion Democracy is over
There are many factors which are pushing America in the direction of fascism, far more than I or anyone else could fully discuss without writing a book. But things like this don't happen in a vacuum. A country with weak democratic traditions like Hungary or Poland, or in social upheaval and economic chaos like Spain or Germany in the 1930s may be likely to turn to a strongman, but it is difficult to see how this could happen in a stable country with strong social institutions. From that perspective, the implication is that America's foundations are in serious trouble, which unfortunately is no surprise. And one or two elections may slow the rightward drift but are not going to fix it.
To my mind part of the problem is that people have become conditioned to being told what to do by the state and to the point where many feel helpless. And a population that gives up is ripe for a takeover. Each little step in control over them may have been taken for good reasons and without any long term plan, but the result is the same as though they were. Consider just the amount of paperwork typically involved in hiring a single person, or what it takes to file a tax return of any complexity. Carry the idea further, drug testing, body scanners at airports, the need to show identification to check into a hotel, metal detectors in absurd places like minor league baseball stadiums and now even some theaters...as people get conditioned to such abuses their sense of control will continually erode. (Seen in this way outlawing abortions is simply a logical part of the process.) Then too even the ability of a person to be an independent worker has declined. Truckers, pharmacists, physicians, farmers...the list goes on of occupations where one must join a corporation to survive.
As a final point there is a contradictory process which works in favor of totalitarian rule. On the one hand citizens may feel less and less in control of the levers of power. In post-Citizens United America people know that they have virtually no influence beyond the immediate level. In fact, what is a citizen's sense of being "an American"? Using the money of the state, maybe having a passport, saluting a flag and singing about being free, perhaps half recalling some school lessons, paying taxes...all together this is not an investment in maintaining the country and leaves the doors open to those who do have an agenda.
On the other hand, I suspect many Americans sense their nation is declining. No public figures are admitting this, and those citizens who notice enough to be uneasy will often not know what questions to ask to dig deeper. That leaves the path open for a demagogue who will promise to turn things around, as we saw all too well in 2016. A genuine plan is not needed, just the promise of one, perhaps wrapped in a mindless slogan. History is littered with tyrants who came to power on such a basis, because scared people don't think clearly.
I wish that I had an easy answer, but real change is a project of generations. Putin hijacked Russia's move into being a decent modern country and Trump and those around him certainly would drag us in the same way. Schools should do a much better job of teaching civics and history, but these often were not well done and in these areas their classes are increasing being muzzled. But then teaching people to think is a threat to every system of power. Perhaps we can turn this trend around and perhaps not. No tyranny lasts forever, but that certainly does not help the people who are caught in one.
First of all, the clay feet of the putative "Leader" can be fire=hosed out from under him, if the DOJ and the Congressional Cmte. can blast thru the media firewalls to reach enough of the partisan-mesmerised citizenry. "Accountability" is the absolute last hope, end of the rope....
Second, if the Constitution offers us any lifeline, it is the forlorn hope against "establishment of religion." Thom references "hereditary kingdoms," the sterling example being the Saudis and their "deal with the devil" with the Wahhabs. Here, we have this weird cult of corrupt, venal sex-predator Trump being "God's imperfect vessel." Thom lately referenced Feudalism. The feudal lord had first dibs on any serf's daughter, including before her husband if she was set to marry. You want God's (imperfect) anointed boss of you? Wait for that call from the White House, the President noticed you have a pretty daughter....
For the purpose of this perspective, [the author considers] the following regimes:
Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Franco's Spain, Salazar's Portugal, Papadopoulos's Greece, Pinochet's Chile, and Suharto's Indonesia. To be sure, they constitute a mixed bag of national identities, cultures, developmental levels, and history. But they all followed the fascist or protofascist model in obtaining, expanding, and maintaining power. Further, all these regimes have been overthrown, so a more or less complete picture of their basic characteristics and abuses is possible.
Analysis of these seven regimes reveals fourteen common threads that link them in recognizable patterns of national behavior and abuse of power. These basic characteristics are more prevalent and intense in some regimes than in others, but they all share at least some level of similarity.
1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism. From the prominent displays of flags and bunting to the ubiquitous lapel pins, the fervor to show patriotic nationalism, both on the part of the regime itself and of citizens caught up in its frenzy, was always obvious. Catchy slogans, pride in the military, and demands for unity were common themes in expressing this nationalism. It was usually coupled with a suspicion of things foreign that often bordered on xenophobia.
2. Disdain for the importance of human rights. The regimes themselves viewed human rights as of little value and a hindrance to realizing the objectives of the ruling elite. Through clever use of propaganda, the population was brought to accept these human rights abuses by marginalizing, even demonizing, those being targeted. When abuse was egregious, the tactic was to use secrecy, denial, and disinformation.
3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause. The most significant common thread among these regimes was the use of scapegoating as a means to divert the people's attention from other problems, to shift blame for failures, and to channel frustration in controlled directions. The methods of choice - relentless propaganda and disinformation - were usually effective. Often the regimes would incite "spontaneous" acts against the target scapegoats, usually communists, socialists, liberals, Jews, ethnic and racial minorities, traditional national enemies, members of other religions, secularists, homosexuals, and "terrorists." Active opponents of these regimes were inevitably labeled as terrorists and dealt with accordingly.
4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism. Ruling elites always identified closely with the military and the industrial infrastructure that supported it. A disproportionate share of national resources was allocated to the military, even when domestic needs were acute. The military was seen as an expression of nationalism, and was used whenever possible to assert national goals, intimidate other nations, and increase the power and prestige of the ruling elite.
5. Rampant sexism. Beyond the simple fact that the political elite and the national culture were male-dominated, these regimes inevitably viewed women as second-class citizens. They were adamantly anti-abortion and also homophobic. These attitudes were usually codified in Draconian laws that enjoyed strong support by the orthodox religion of the country, thus lending the regime cover for its abuses.
6. A controlled mass media. Under some of the regimes, the mass media were under strict direct control and could be relied upon never to stray from the party line. Other regimes exercised more subtle power to ensure media orthodoxy. Methods included the control of licensing and access to resources, economic pressure, appeals to patriotism, and implied threats. The leaders of the mass media were often politically compatible with the power elite. The result was usually success in keeping the general public unaware of the regimes' excesses.
7. Obsession with national security. Inevitably, a national security apparatus was under direct control of the ruling elite. It was usually an instrument of oppression, operating in secret and beyond any constraints. Its actions were justified under the rubric of protecting "national security," and questioning its activities was portrayed as unpatriotic or even treasonous.
8. Religion and ruling elite tied together. Unlike communist regimes, the fascist and protofascist regimes were never proclaimed as godless by their opponents. In fact, most of the regimes attached themselves to the predominant religion of the country and chose to portray themselves as militant defenders of that religion. The fact that the ruling elite's behavior was incompatible with the precepts of the religion was generally swept under the rug. Propaganda kept up the illusion that the ruling elites were defenders of the faith and opponents of the "godless." A perception was manufactured that opposing the power elite was tantamount to an attack on religion.
9. Power of corporations protected. Although the personal life of ordinary citizens was under strict control, the ability of large corporations to operate in relative freedom was not compromised. The ruling elite saw the corporate structure as a way to not only ensure military production (in developed states), but also as an additional means of social control. Members of the economic elite were often pampered by the political elite to ensure a continued mutuality of interests, especially in the repression of "have-not" citizens.
10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated. Since organized labor was seen as the one power center that could challenge the political hegemony of the ruling elite and its corporate allies, it was inevitably crushed or made powerless. The poor formed an underclass, viewed with suspicion or outright contempt. Under some regimes, being poor was considered akin to a vice.
11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts. Intellectuals and the inherent freedom of ideas and expression associated with them were anathema to these regimes. Intellectual and academic freedom were considered subversive to national security and the patriotic ideal. Universities were tightly controlled; politically unreliable faculty harassed or eliminated. Unorthodox ideas or expressions of dissent were strongly attacked, silenced, or crushed. To these regimes, art and literature should serve the national interest or they had no right to exist.
12. Obsession with crime and punishment. Most of these regimes maintained Draconian systems of criminal justice with huge prison populations. The police were often glorified and had almost unchecked power, leading to rampant abuse. "Normal" and political crime were often merged into trumped-up criminal charges and sometimes used against political opponents of the regime. Fear, and hatred, of criminals or "traitors" was often promoted among the population as an excuse for more police power.
13. Rampant cronyism and corruption. Those in business circles and close to the power elite often used their position to enrich themselves. This corruption worked both ways; the power elite would receive financial gifts and property from the economic elite, who in turn would gain the benefit of government favoritism. Members of the power elite were in a position to obtain vast wealth from other sources as well: for example, by stealing national resources. With the national security apparatus under control and the media muzzled, this corruption was largely unconstrained and not well understood by the general population.
14. Fraudulent elections. Elections in the form of plebiscites or public opinion polls were usually bogus. When actual elections with candidates were held, they would usually be perverted by the power elite to get the desired result. Common methods included maintaining control of the election machinery, intimidating and disenfranchising opposition voters, destroying or disallowing legal votes, and, as a last resort, turning to a judiciary beholden to the power elite.
Does any of this ring alarm bells? Of course not. After all, this is America, officially a democracy with the rule of law, a constitution, a free press, honest elections, and a well-informed public constantly being put on guard against evils. Historical comparisons like these are just exercises in verbal gymnastics. Maybe, maybe not.
Note
1. Defined as a "political movement or regime tending toward or imitating Fascism" - Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. "A political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition."
References
Andrews, Kevin. Greece in the Dark . Amsterdam: Hacker, 1980.
Chabod, Frederico. A History of Italian Fascism . London: Weidenfeld, 1963.
Cooper, Marc. Pinochet and Me . New York: Verso, 2001.
Cornwell, John. Hitler as Pope . New York: Viking, 1999.
de Figuerio, Antonio. Portugal - Fifty Years of Dictatorship . New York: Holmes & Meier, 1976.
Eatwell, Roger. Fascism, A History . New York: Penguin, 1995.
Fest, Joachim C. The Face of the Third Reich . New York: Pantheon, 1970.
Gallo, Max. Mussolini's Italy . New York: MacMillan, 1973.
Kershaw, Ian. Hitler (two volumes). New York: Norton, 1999.
Laqueur, Walter. Fascism, Past, Present, and Future . New York: Oxford, 1996.
Papandreau, Andreas. Democracy at Gunpoint . New York: Penguin Books, 1971.
Phillips, Peter. Censored 2001: 25 Years of Censored News . New York: Seven Stories. 2001.
Sharp, M.E. Indonesia Beyond Suharto . Armonk, 1999.
Verdugo, Patricia. Chile, Pinochet, and the Caravan of Death . Coral Gables, Florida: North-South Center Press, 2001.
Yglesias, Jose. The Franco Years . Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1977.
Germans were groomed in the Hitler Youth movement. Many loved belonging and were taught to be proud. Belonging is the operative word. The right-wingers want to groom our young people and teach them who "belongs". Sickening.
Of course they have learned to project their grooming idea onto us while hiding behind the flag and their religion.
Other than the usual participation in politics and educating those we can, I don't see anything reaching the ones that disappeared down the Trump-hole. What encourages me is Congressional members tell their right-wing peers they are liars and thieves to their faces. It's not proper protocol, but the stakes are just too high and what they do is outrageous.
Reality is our best weapon; it has and will eventually smack them in the face. Climate crisis events, covid, George Floyd, Putin's war, and now Uvalde have done so. We struggle, fight, and endure while they learn the hard way. Reality bites.
Given the historic description of the idea, why wouldn’t an American Fascist Government, instead take on the historic characteristics such as the following?
First, and essential to an new kind of American fascism, would include attempts to impose comprehensive regulations to further the interests of the state or centralized government. A single demanding statists initiative to enact further control of the healthcare system, the energy sector, and law enforcement.
This kind of government would demand a media uniformity and enforce a singular message against all free flows of contrary ideas. This would force the entire media establishment to be on the “same page.”
Third, an Americanized fascism would limit and condition the flow of information disseminated from all corporate powers, powers that include big tech, big pharma and big finance. The leaders of these corporate powers would fall in line with the statist agenda. This would manifest in a political party of ruling elites (both elected leaders and industry/corporate leaders) to maintain controlling power of all socio-economic agendas and disallow all dissent of the ruling party’s agenda.
Fourth, this kind of fascism would derive more and more controls to establish an ever-growing centralized power. This kind government must retain a power to limit all kinds of federalism or individual state representation. This centralized governmental will control and direct political, social, and economic agendas. It would fight to rid the system of traditional sources of democratic representation such as the electoral college, filibustering, and the number of jurists on the supreme court.
Fifth, this kind of fascism would fight for the adjudicating control of the state. Powerful statist agendas would fight to limit gun ownership, federalize the country’s voting laws, liberalize immigration policies, limit the reach of local law enforcement, transition from the traditional understandings of family, sexuality, etc.
Sixth, an American fascism would include the aggressive build-up of a military power, needed to maintain the demands for political and cultural liberalism. This kind of liberalism mut fortify a populist form of statism in which individual interests would be subordinated to the good of the nation. This kind of populism supports legalizing more drugs, an unregulated abortion agenda, etc.
Lastly, all vestiges an American individualism would necessarily be subordinated to identarian agendas. This kind of subordination would include the power to aggressively encourages people to retain identities within manufactured social constructs including such things as gender and race.
Again, the traditional understanding of fascism has always included abject contempt for electoral democracy, a demand for political and cultural liberalism, the belief in the rule of elites, and the desire to create a kind of people’s community, or a culture in which individual interests would be subordinated to the good of the nation.
We can’t pretend that this kind of agenda isn’t being imposed on the country now. The question is, are these descriptions more in league with traditional forms of fascism?
Thank you Thom. I think most of us don't know what more we can actually do about it. I'm curious to know if you believe the public hearings will make any difference in staving off the coming deluge?
I don't see how we can possibly fix the nightmare that Reagan started. Then Rupert, and now Lachlan Murdoch, Bannon, et al ran with those fascist ideals, and successfully brain-washed millions of Americans.
When I say I don't know what we can do that will make a diff, I mean literally, I don't know what more I can do. I go into debt supporting good Dems around the nation, I march, I write emails, I talk to everyone... nothing seems to help. I feel like a tiny ant who doesn't have a thumb to stick in the dike.
I'm with you, DD, I don't see how we can possibly fix this country's increasingly fascist nightmare - unless enough of the electorate votes the Republicans out of power. Then can the filibuster and the electoral college be rescinded...and that's just for starters. The president can start by - if it's constitutional - rescinding or delaying, through executive order, the latest SCOTUS EPA blunder.
Yes! The EPA idiocy is even worse than their vicious repeal of Roe. We are running out of time to work with our environment.
Without Roe many many women will die. Without a strong EPA we all will be dying horribly.
Its the stupidity and greedy shortsightedness thats so galling.
Thom asks "The question is what we will do about it."
What would you do?
Make Donald Trump's crimes finally catch up with him. Even if Repubs manufacture a landslide this Nov. DOJ remains, NY DA remains, Georgia Grand Jury remains. Put up billboards every mile across the country: President Trump, why don't you want us to know what's in your tax returns? President Trump, where are your ties made? Ivanka Trump how many special patents did China give you? Jared, why did Saudi Arabia give you 3 billion$?
The enablers own the airwaves, but how 'bout them billboards? Isn't there a movie....?
Sobering message. Those with common sense are a dying breed. There's a generation coming to power that's been raised on video games, and who believe anything posted on social media. Nonsense like there's a basement below the pizza shop where they drink blood and sacrifice children, or that the Ukraine's Jewish leader is promoting Nazism, hence the nation and its people must be "purged" and brought back into the fold of the great Leader. With the way CO2 levels are rising, we may not need to concern ourselves much longer; politics will succumb to survival, as our planet begins to vomit us off its surface. Humanity is its own worst enemy.
Republicans (mostly, for the last forty years - since Reagan, basically) have seen to it that Americans are too comfortable and lazy ("dumbed down," if you prefer) to apply vigilance, either internal, and especially not eternal. Citizens have been taught (but not educated) to value money, but not democracy. Undemocratic as it may appear - and if it's not too late - we have to a better job of "indoctrinating" the meaning and value of democracy through teaching, and practicing a much more concentrated regimen of civic involvement.
Thomm, I love this article and have referenced as much as I can in Social Media and my own blog. This plot is getting molasses thick and well underway. The Fascist have already corrected for their clownish first attempt and have developed strategies to overcome the means provided under law.
Two things;
We must gain the majority (60+ in the Senate) and majority in the House and
The Jan 6th Committee must unload in a massive blast everything just before that election to sway decent Americans.
If we don’t stall them and gain public opinion Democracy is over
There are many factors which are pushing America in the direction of fascism, far more than I or anyone else could fully discuss without writing a book. But things like this don't happen in a vacuum. A country with weak democratic traditions like Hungary or Poland, or in social upheaval and economic chaos like Spain or Germany in the 1930s may be likely to turn to a strongman, but it is difficult to see how this could happen in a stable country with strong social institutions. From that perspective, the implication is that America's foundations are in serious trouble, which unfortunately is no surprise. And one or two elections may slow the rightward drift but are not going to fix it.
To my mind part of the problem is that people have become conditioned to being told what to do by the state and to the point where many feel helpless. And a population that gives up is ripe for a takeover. Each little step in control over them may have been taken for good reasons and without any long term plan, but the result is the same as though they were. Consider just the amount of paperwork typically involved in hiring a single person, or what it takes to file a tax return of any complexity. Carry the idea further, drug testing, body scanners at airports, the need to show identification to check into a hotel, metal detectors in absurd places like minor league baseball stadiums and now even some theaters...as people get conditioned to such abuses their sense of control will continually erode. (Seen in this way outlawing abortions is simply a logical part of the process.) Then too even the ability of a person to be an independent worker has declined. Truckers, pharmacists, physicians, farmers...the list goes on of occupations where one must join a corporation to survive.
As a final point there is a contradictory process which works in favor of totalitarian rule. On the one hand citizens may feel less and less in control of the levers of power. In post-Citizens United America people know that they have virtually no influence beyond the immediate level. In fact, what is a citizen's sense of being "an American"? Using the money of the state, maybe having a passport, saluting a flag and singing about being free, perhaps half recalling some school lessons, paying taxes...all together this is not an investment in maintaining the country and leaves the doors open to those who do have an agenda.
On the other hand, I suspect many Americans sense their nation is declining. No public figures are admitting this, and those citizens who notice enough to be uneasy will often not know what questions to ask to dig deeper. That leaves the path open for a demagogue who will promise to turn things around, as we saw all too well in 2016. A genuine plan is not needed, just the promise of one, perhaps wrapped in a mindless slogan. History is littered with tyrants who came to power on such a basis, because scared people don't think clearly.
I wish that I had an easy answer, but real change is a project of generations. Putin hijacked Russia's move into being a decent modern country and Trump and those around him certainly would drag us in the same way. Schools should do a much better job of teaching civics and history, but these often were not well done and in these areas their classes are increasing being muzzled. But then teaching people to think is a threat to every system of power. Perhaps we can turn this trend around and perhaps not. No tyranny lasts forever, but that certainly does not help the people who are caught in one.
First of all, the clay feet of the putative "Leader" can be fire=hosed out from under him, if the DOJ and the Congressional Cmte. can blast thru the media firewalls to reach enough of the partisan-mesmerised citizenry. "Accountability" is the absolute last hope, end of the rope....
Second, if the Constitution offers us any lifeline, it is the forlorn hope against "establishment of religion." Thom references "hereditary kingdoms," the sterling example being the Saudis and their "deal with the devil" with the Wahhabs. Here, we have this weird cult of corrupt, venal sex-predator Trump being "God's imperfect vessel." Thom lately referenced Feudalism. The feudal lord had first dibs on any serf's daughter, including before her husband if she was set to marry. You want God's (imperfect) anointed boss of you? Wait for that call from the White House, the President noticed you have a pretty daughter....
Get congress some how to make voting compulsory - everything else democratic may fall into place.
Fourteen Characteristics of Fascism
For the purpose of this perspective, [the author considers] the following regimes:
Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Franco's Spain, Salazar's Portugal, Papadopoulos's Greece, Pinochet's Chile, and Suharto's Indonesia. To be sure, they constitute a mixed bag of national identities, cultures, developmental levels, and history. But they all followed the fascist or protofascist model in obtaining, expanding, and maintaining power. Further, all these regimes have been overthrown, so a more or less complete picture of their basic characteristics and abuses is possible.
Analysis of these seven regimes reveals fourteen common threads that link them in recognizable patterns of national behavior and abuse of power. These basic characteristics are more prevalent and intense in some regimes than in others, but they all share at least some level of similarity.
1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism. From the prominent displays of flags and bunting to the ubiquitous lapel pins, the fervor to show patriotic nationalism, both on the part of the regime itself and of citizens caught up in its frenzy, was always obvious. Catchy slogans, pride in the military, and demands for unity were common themes in expressing this nationalism. It was usually coupled with a suspicion of things foreign that often bordered on xenophobia.
2. Disdain for the importance of human rights. The regimes themselves viewed human rights as of little value and a hindrance to realizing the objectives of the ruling elite. Through clever use of propaganda, the population was brought to accept these human rights abuses by marginalizing, even demonizing, those being targeted. When abuse was egregious, the tactic was to use secrecy, denial, and disinformation.
3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause. The most significant common thread among these regimes was the use of scapegoating as a means to divert the people's attention from other problems, to shift blame for failures, and to channel frustration in controlled directions. The methods of choice - relentless propaganda and disinformation - were usually effective. Often the regimes would incite "spontaneous" acts against the target scapegoats, usually communists, socialists, liberals, Jews, ethnic and racial minorities, traditional national enemies, members of other religions, secularists, homosexuals, and "terrorists." Active opponents of these regimes were inevitably labeled as terrorists and dealt with accordingly.
4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism. Ruling elites always identified closely with the military and the industrial infrastructure that supported it. A disproportionate share of national resources was allocated to the military, even when domestic needs were acute. The military was seen as an expression of nationalism, and was used whenever possible to assert national goals, intimidate other nations, and increase the power and prestige of the ruling elite.
5. Rampant sexism. Beyond the simple fact that the political elite and the national culture were male-dominated, these regimes inevitably viewed women as second-class citizens. They were adamantly anti-abortion and also homophobic. These attitudes were usually codified in Draconian laws that enjoyed strong support by the orthodox religion of the country, thus lending the regime cover for its abuses.
6. A controlled mass media. Under some of the regimes, the mass media were under strict direct control and could be relied upon never to stray from the party line. Other regimes exercised more subtle power to ensure media orthodoxy. Methods included the control of licensing and access to resources, economic pressure, appeals to patriotism, and implied threats. The leaders of the mass media were often politically compatible with the power elite. The result was usually success in keeping the general public unaware of the regimes' excesses.
7. Obsession with national security. Inevitably, a national security apparatus was under direct control of the ruling elite. It was usually an instrument of oppression, operating in secret and beyond any constraints. Its actions were justified under the rubric of protecting "national security," and questioning its activities was portrayed as unpatriotic or even treasonous.
8. Religion and ruling elite tied together. Unlike communist regimes, the fascist and protofascist regimes were never proclaimed as godless by their opponents. In fact, most of the regimes attached themselves to the predominant religion of the country and chose to portray themselves as militant defenders of that religion. The fact that the ruling elite's behavior was incompatible with the precepts of the religion was generally swept under the rug. Propaganda kept up the illusion that the ruling elites were defenders of the faith and opponents of the "godless." A perception was manufactured that opposing the power elite was tantamount to an attack on religion.
9. Power of corporations protected. Although the personal life of ordinary citizens was under strict control, the ability of large corporations to operate in relative freedom was not compromised. The ruling elite saw the corporate structure as a way to not only ensure military production (in developed states), but also as an additional means of social control. Members of the economic elite were often pampered by the political elite to ensure a continued mutuality of interests, especially in the repression of "have-not" citizens.
10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated. Since organized labor was seen as the one power center that could challenge the political hegemony of the ruling elite and its corporate allies, it was inevitably crushed or made powerless. The poor formed an underclass, viewed with suspicion or outright contempt. Under some regimes, being poor was considered akin to a vice.
11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts. Intellectuals and the inherent freedom of ideas and expression associated with them were anathema to these regimes. Intellectual and academic freedom were considered subversive to national security and the patriotic ideal. Universities were tightly controlled; politically unreliable faculty harassed or eliminated. Unorthodox ideas or expressions of dissent were strongly attacked, silenced, or crushed. To these regimes, art and literature should serve the national interest or they had no right to exist.
12. Obsession with crime and punishment. Most of these regimes maintained Draconian systems of criminal justice with huge prison populations. The police were often glorified and had almost unchecked power, leading to rampant abuse. "Normal" and political crime were often merged into trumped-up criminal charges and sometimes used against political opponents of the regime. Fear, and hatred, of criminals or "traitors" was often promoted among the population as an excuse for more police power.
13. Rampant cronyism and corruption. Those in business circles and close to the power elite often used their position to enrich themselves. This corruption worked both ways; the power elite would receive financial gifts and property from the economic elite, who in turn would gain the benefit of government favoritism. Members of the power elite were in a position to obtain vast wealth from other sources as well: for example, by stealing national resources. With the national security apparatus under control and the media muzzled, this corruption was largely unconstrained and not well understood by the general population.
14. Fraudulent elections. Elections in the form of plebiscites or public opinion polls were usually bogus. When actual elections with candidates were held, they would usually be perverted by the power elite to get the desired result. Common methods included maintaining control of the election machinery, intimidating and disenfranchising opposition voters, destroying or disallowing legal votes, and, as a last resort, turning to a judiciary beholden to the power elite.
Does any of this ring alarm bells? Of course not. After all, this is America, officially a democracy with the rule of law, a constitution, a free press, honest elections, and a well-informed public constantly being put on guard against evils. Historical comparisons like these are just exercises in verbal gymnastics. Maybe, maybe not.
Note
1. Defined as a "political movement or regime tending toward or imitating Fascism" - Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. "A political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition."
References
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Cornwell, John. Hitler as Pope . New York: Viking, 1999.
de Figuerio, Antonio. Portugal - Fifty Years of Dictatorship . New York: Holmes & Meier, 1976.
Eatwell, Roger. Fascism, A History . New York: Penguin, 1995.
Fest, Joachim C. The Face of the Third Reich . New York: Pantheon, 1970.
Gallo, Max. Mussolini's Italy . New York: MacMillan, 1973.
Kershaw, Ian. Hitler (two volumes). New York: Norton, 1999.
Laqueur, Walter. Fascism, Past, Present, and Future . New York: Oxford, 1996.
Papandreau, Andreas. Democracy at Gunpoint . New York: Penguin Books, 1971.
Phillips, Peter. Censored 2001: 25 Years of Censored News . New York: Seven Stories. 2001.
Sharp, M.E. Indonesia Beyond Suharto . Armonk, 1999.
Verdugo, Patricia. Chile, Pinochet, and the Caravan of Death . Coral Gables, Florida: North-South Center Press, 2001.
Yglesias, Jose. The Franco Years . Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1977.
Germans were groomed in the Hitler Youth movement. Many loved belonging and were taught to be proud. Belonging is the operative word. The right-wingers want to groom our young people and teach them who "belongs". Sickening.
Of course they have learned to project their grooming idea onto us while hiding behind the flag and their religion.
Other than the usual participation in politics and educating those we can, I don't see anything reaching the ones that disappeared down the Trump-hole. What encourages me is Congressional members tell their right-wing peers they are liars and thieves to their faces. It's not proper protocol, but the stakes are just too high and what they do is outrageous.
Reality is our best weapon; it has and will eventually smack them in the face. Climate crisis events, covid, George Floyd, Putin's war, and now Uvalde have done so. We struggle, fight, and endure while they learn the hard way. Reality bites.
Given the historic description of the idea, why wouldn’t an American Fascist Government, instead take on the historic characteristics such as the following?
First, and essential to an new kind of American fascism, would include attempts to impose comprehensive regulations to further the interests of the state or centralized government. A single demanding statists initiative to enact further control of the healthcare system, the energy sector, and law enforcement.
This kind of government would demand a media uniformity and enforce a singular message against all free flows of contrary ideas. This would force the entire media establishment to be on the “same page.”
Third, an Americanized fascism would limit and condition the flow of information disseminated from all corporate powers, powers that include big tech, big pharma and big finance. The leaders of these corporate powers would fall in line with the statist agenda. This would manifest in a political party of ruling elites (both elected leaders and industry/corporate leaders) to maintain controlling power of all socio-economic agendas and disallow all dissent of the ruling party’s agenda.
Fourth, this kind of fascism would derive more and more controls to establish an ever-growing centralized power. This kind government must retain a power to limit all kinds of federalism or individual state representation. This centralized governmental will control and direct political, social, and economic agendas. It would fight to rid the system of traditional sources of democratic representation such as the electoral college, filibustering, and the number of jurists on the supreme court.
Fifth, this kind of fascism would fight for the adjudicating control of the state. Powerful statist agendas would fight to limit gun ownership, federalize the country’s voting laws, liberalize immigration policies, limit the reach of local law enforcement, transition from the traditional understandings of family, sexuality, etc.
Sixth, an American fascism would include the aggressive build-up of a military power, needed to maintain the demands for political and cultural liberalism. This kind of liberalism mut fortify a populist form of statism in which individual interests would be subordinated to the good of the nation. This kind of populism supports legalizing more drugs, an unregulated abortion agenda, etc.
Lastly, all vestiges an American individualism would necessarily be subordinated to identarian agendas. This kind of subordination would include the power to aggressively encourages people to retain identities within manufactured social constructs including such things as gender and race.
Again, the traditional understanding of fascism has always included abject contempt for electoral democracy, a demand for political and cultural liberalism, the belief in the rule of elites, and the desire to create a kind of people’s community, or a culture in which individual interests would be subordinated to the good of the nation.
We can’t pretend that this kind of agenda isn’t being imposed on the country now. The question is, are these descriptions more in league with traditional forms of fascism?