What does fascism

Almost every manifestation of fascism mirrors this general narrative. Why is the destruction of truth, as a shared ideal, so critical to the fascist project? The two ideals of liberal democracy are liberty and equality. Nobody thinks of the citizens of North Korea as free, because their actions are controlled by lies.

Truth is required to act freely. So freedom requires truth, and so to smash freedom you must smash truth. And if you get people to do that, you can convince them to do anything. Part of what fascist politics does is get people to disassociate from reality.

This is partly why I think of fascism as a kind of anti-politics. I remember reading a quote from Joseph Goebbels , who was the chief propagandist for the Nazis, and he said that what he was doing was more like art than politics. The thing is, people willingly adopt the mythical past. This is probably a good time to pivot to the glittering elephant in the room: Donald Trump. Is he a fascist? I make the case in my book that he practices fascist politics.

But the blame there is as much on the Republican Party as it is on Trump, because none of this would matter if they were willing to check Trump. Can you elaborate on that? He explicitly praised the Immigration Act , which severely limited the number of immigrants allowed to enter the US, as a useful model. The s and the s was a very fascist time in the United States. It was April , and Tesla founder Elon Musk was angry. The target of his ire: social distancing measures imposed by California state officials amid the coronavirus pandemic.

But to say that they cannot leave their house and they will be arrested if they do, this is fascist. But is it? Before , the word "fascism" popped up mostly in history lessons or political analysis of autocratic states or the occasional terror group. But President Donald Trump's years in office have seen a surge in "fascism" talk from both supporters and opponents using the word to describe their political adversaries.

Can all of them be right? Of course not. Before you think about using the term yourself, here's what you should know about what "fascism" really means… and what it doesn't. Fascism is generally defined as a political movement that embraces far-right nationalism and the forceful suppression of any opposition, all overseen by an authoritarian government. Fascists strongly oppose Marxism, liberalism and democracy, and believe the state takes precedence over individual interests.

They favor centralized rule, often a single party or leader, and embrace the idea of a national rebirth, a new greatness for their country. Economic self-sufficiency is prized, often through state-controlled companies. Landowners and businessmen in particular supported the suppression of socialism, and their support allowed Mussolini to come to power.

But while Mussolini died in , the ideas he put a name on did not. Though there was a taboo against the idea, at least in theory, after World War II, she has seen its return since the s as a new wave of strongmen have come to power.

With the help of coded language, the old ideas are returning. Fascism is becoming rehabbed for a new generation. Mussolini and Hitler are being idealized again.

There have been spikes in hate crimes in many places; the President of the E. Parliament was forced this month to explain why he had hailed Mussolini; and the man charged with the massacre at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, appears to have declared himself a fascist, according to a manifesto attributed to him. So, Ben-Ghiat says, asking how fascism has changed during its century of existence is perhaps the wrong question.

Write to Olivia B. First and foremost, fascists want to revolt against socialism. Not only does socialism aim for equal prosperity no matter the race, but many socialists tend to envision the eventual extinction of separate nations, which offends the strong fascist belief in nation states.

Along with getting rid of aristocrats or other elites, fascists are prepared to displace the church or seek a mutually beneficial truce with it. Fascists also reject democracy, at least any democracy that could potentially result in socialism or too much liberalism. In a democracy, voters can choose social welfare policies.

They can level the playing field between classes and ethnicities, or seek gender equality.