What is facism?

Politics: | Acolyte | Bill of Rights 2004 | COVID-19 | Elon Musk | Fascism | Media 2022 | MH370 | Parliament 2002-4 | Pauline Hanson cartoons | Raygun | Song of the South | Torture | Transgenderism | V for Vandetta | Wind farms | Woke | Women sports | Workplace relationships |

1. Introduction

The words fascist and fascism are bandied around by political figures, commentators, academics and the media, but in many instances the public, including the present writer, do not know exactly what they are talking about or specifically referring to (there is a difference). There is no precise definition for fascism, and when it is raised one can be confused or think of the German Adolph Hitler's Nazi regime or Benito Mussolini's Italian fascist government in order to make sense of the accusation. The following article seeks to provide an idiot's guide to the phenomenon, both from its historical origins in the 1920s through to the present day (2025).

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2. Elements of fascism

The following are examples of terms and actions which relate to fascism, along with examples.

  1. Aesthetic control - over art, design, speech, beliefs, built environment
  2. Anti-democratic (looks to a leader and elites rather than all members of society)
  3. Authoritarian (extreme)
  4. Autocratic (centralised)
  5. Censorial (re-frames the past, and influences the present though media and intellectual control)
  6. Class-based social system (socio-economic divisions apply and guide discrimination, with power in the hands of elites)
  7. Communistic (rejects rights of the individual over that of the common good or national objectives)
  8. Controlling (of society and economy)
  9. Darwinian - practices survival of the fittest, against compassion and humanitarianism and equity
  10. Economy controlled by government through protectionism and intervention, to achieve self-sufficiency, and can result in famine and economic collapse
  11. Education controlled by government and party, with resulting indoctrination and censorship
  12. Far-right (politically, though can appear across the political spectrum)
  13. Freedom of association denied and criminalized
  14. Freedom of speech denied and criminalized
  15. Genocidal (engages in, and supports, massacres, sterilization, eugenics, killings, forced deportations, imprisonment, torture, medical treatments and lack thereof)
  16. Hateful (espouses what it hates, lacks compassion)
  17. Human rights disregarded or abused
  18. Ideologically driven
  19. Imperialistic (empire building and expansion of borders)
  20. Leader-driven (strong, dictatorial, charismatic, narcissistic, anti-democratic, speaks for the whole nation, lacks compassion)
  21. Masculine, as opposed to feminine or equality of the sexes
  22. Mass mobilization
  23. Militaristic, including militarization of government institutions such as science, media, education and manufacturing, with allegiance to the leader / party
  24. Nationalistic (extreme)
  25. Negative (anti-everything e.g. liberalism, communism, conservatism, socialism)
  26. Racist and /or belief in racial purity
  27. Religious is negated, and replaced by the leader and /or nation
  28. Revolutionary (as in national rejuvenation in the image of the leader / party)
  29. Symbolistic (uses symbols to advance ideology and into idolatry and mystical / occult beliefs)
  30. Suppressive (of opposition and difference)
  31. Totalitarian (one party government)
  32. Violence (accepts the use of it to achieve goals, though individual attacks and war)
  33. Youth focused, resulting in the death of adult and loss of wisdom

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3. Definitions

* Far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement, characterised by a dictatorial leader, centralised autocracy (absolute power), militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interest for the good of the nation and race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy (Illustrate to Educate 2022).

* Fascism is a set of philosophies and methods (Horses 2023.

Antifa refers to anti-fascist groups, and are usually left-wing / liberal.

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4. Catch-22

There are problems with fascism, apart from the dark elements outlined above. Many governments, political parties and groups adopt tools used by fascists, but that does not necessarily make them fascist. For example, if a person of left persuasion who believes in democracy expresses nationalistic (?patriot) rhetoric, they can be labelled fascist; or, to support government control of institutions such as a health, education, banking and social services, in a socialist manner, can lead to accusations of being communist or fascist. The latter is very common in the United States, though Western countries such as Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Scandinavian countries historically pursue such agendas under the label of democratic and socialist without (until recently) any negative connotations.Over the past decade differentiation between the extreme left and the extreme right has metamorphosed into oroborous overlap, whereby both now pursue some of the policies of the other. Needless to say, the public is confused. United States president Donald Trump is a good example. Whereas during his first term he pursued an extreme-right agenda through the Republican party, his second term has revealed a similar path though with some prominent traditionally leftist initiatives, such as defence of the rights of women against elements of the radial transgender agenda, and exposure of corrupt practices associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, its origins and the manner in which it was dealt with through the use of untested, toxic vaccines. Like WOKE, what fascism started out as during the 1920s has, a century later, become misunderstood and transformed (diluted) into something that can vary to a wide degree from the actions of Hitler and Mussolini. However, it could be argued that each of the 30+ items listed above are fascistic and therefore the presence of any one, or more, is to be abhorred.

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5. References

Fascism explained - What is Fascism?, Illustrate to Education, 11 October 2022, YouTube, duration: 3.58 minutes.

Eco, Umberto, How to spot a fascist, Penguin, 1997 [2012].

Was Nazism Right Wing or Left Wing? An answer from history, Metatron, 9 September 2024, YouTube, duration: 19.06 minutes.

What is fascism?, Horses, 24 August 2023, YouTube, duration: 24.07 minutes.

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Politics: | Acolyte | Bill of Rights 2004 | COVID-19 | Elon Musk | Fascism | Media 2022 | MH370 | Parliament 2002-4 | Pauline Hanson cartoons | Raygun | Song of the South | Torture | Transgenderism | V for Vandetta | Wind farms | Woke | Women sports | Workplace relationships |

Last updated: 8 February 2025

Michael Organ, Australia

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