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In the current political climate, both people on the right and people on the left are increasingly referring to each other as Fascists. Ironically, however, despite their well-meaning intentions, many people tend to use the term so loosely that it loses nearly all meaning.
Commenting in this tendency, which reaches all the way back to the 1940s and 1950s when people were attempting to analyze the events of WWII, George Orwell wrote that “the word ‘Fascism’ [as commonly used has become] almost entirely meaningless … almost any English person would accept ‘bully’ as a synonym for ‘Fascist.”
Commenting on the same tendency, which was still very much alive in 2015, Professor Richard Griffiths of the University of Wales wrote that “fascism” is the “most misused, and over-used word, of our times.”
Our contemporary concern about Fascism in 2021 is a valid one, however, for we are seeing a global rise of Fascist rhetoric and tendencies, which should concern us. Authentic Fascism is a threat on both the national and global stage and must be curtailed if rights and freedoms are to be preserved in uncertain times.
However, we cannot counter or oppose what we cannot define. Indeed, if we have no clear definition of what exactly Fascism is then it can be very difficult to properly identify. Without such a definition, we may also risk overusing or misusing the term. Therefore, to clarify public discourse and political analysis, it is worth clearly delineating the major elements of Fascism so that we can recognize them in particular cases.
In the course of my own research on definitions of Fascism in a survey of the political science literature, and drawing also on the framework used in the the RD Labs Fascist Elements Test (2020), I have arrived at the tentative list of 15 elements of Fascism below. Please see the detailed Bibliography below for the academic sources from which I developed this list, which I hope will prove as helpful to others as I have found it to be in my own research.
As a prefatory note, please note that it is the relationship of these elements when combined together that defines a Fascist leader, government, or individual and not any one of them alone, as Professor of Politics Andrew Vincent and the creators of the RD Labs Fascist Elements Test (2020) have noted.
For instance, conservatives tend to believe in traditional values, but this fact alone does not make them Fascist. Similarly, liberals tend to favour firms of corporatism, but this tendency alone does not constitute Fascism.
15 Elements of Fascism
1. Hypernationalism: Strong, patriotic emphasis on the importance of and supremacy of the Nation over other Nations and requiring strong control of the rights and freedoms of citizens in the name of the “order of the State.”
2. Religionization of the State: The tendency to glorify and publicly praise and adore the ruling leader, Party, and State with elaborate pageantry, propaganda, ritualistic, and displays of symbols. Personality cultism surrounding the leader is central to this religionization.
3. Corporatism: The belief that the state should step in to guide, coordinate, and control production, as well as coordinate negotiations between employers and labor unions.
4. Strongman Leader: The belief that society functions best when it is governed by a strong and inspiring leader in whom the people can put their trust completely. This leader should show dominance, assertiveness, and intimidation on the global stage.
5. Militarism: The belief that the military mode of organization should be extended into other areas of society, such as schools, politics, police, and the workplace.
6. Dissident Suppression: The belief that people who disagree with the reigning orthodoxy should be monitored, surveilled, and repressed by the state through deplatforming and censorship.
7. Natural Hierarchy: The belief that people of certain races, genders, political observations, and/or religious affiliations are naturally superior to others.
8. Press and Speech Control: The belief that certain ideas and standpoints are so odious that the state is justified in taking strict measures to hinder their propagation in thought and speech.
9. Rebirth of National Greatness Myth: The belief that the nation has digressed so far from the path of greatness, or from a hypothesized past Golden Age of the Nation, that only extraordinary political measures can restore it to its former glory.
10. Denunciation of Enemies: The belief that certain groups are the collective enemies of the people, and that these enemies are responsible for many of the nation’s troubles.
11. Political Tough-mindedness: A personality characteristic that predisposes one towards being cynical, confrontational, and uninterested in the well-being of out-groups.
12. State Enforcement of Traditional Values: The belief that traditional values and morality are worthy of preservation and that society works better when people conform to these values in a way that is enforced by the State. In other words, Fascist regimes tend to be marked by State-enforced social conservatism.
13. Regimentation: The rigidly state-controlled organization of all aspects of society based on the vision of the leader or ruling Party. Martial law may also be used to control all areas of society.
14. Totalitarianism: A conception of a form of government or political system that prohibits opposition parties, restricts individual opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high degree of control over public and private life. It is regarded by most political scientists as the most extreme and complete form of authoritarianism.
15. Dictatorship and Autocracy: A form of government characterized by a single leader or group of leaders and little or no toleration for political pluralism or independent programs or media.
To summarize, Fascist Totalitarianism is often characterized by “extensive political repression, a complete lack of democracy, widespread personality cultism, absolute control over the economy, massive censorship, mass surveillance, limited freedom of movement (most notably freedom to leave the country) and widespread use of state terrorism.
“Other aspects of a totalitarian regime include the use of concentration camps, repressive secret police, religious persecution or state atheism, the common practice of executions, fraudulent elections (if they take place), possible possession of weapons of mass destruction and potentially state-sponsored mass murder and genocides. Historian Robert Conquest (1999) describes a totalitarian state as one which recognizes no limit on its authority in any sphere of public or private life and it extends that authority to whatever length is feasible.”
In conclusion, Fascism is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that defies simple binary classification. A leader, regime, or individual can be more or less Fascist to the degree and intensity that they embody the above elements.
That is, contrary to popular parlance, Fascism is not black or white or all-or-nothing in definition. Rather, there is a spectrum from less Fascist to more Fascist and any given individual, leader, or regime will fall somewhere along it.
I hope that this article will prove helpful for clarifying future thinking, discussion, and self-reflection and for empowering ourselves against Fascist tendencies and movements.
AND remember this:
Total fascism (the ultimate pro-war perspective) and total pacificism (the ultimate anti-war perspective) are equally untenable extremes. There are some cases in which war is necessary. The Nazi regime offers us an ideal case, for it was founded on an imperial complex, a need for constant warfare, and a disregard and indeed hatred for the lives of millions of people. Would the right thing to do have been to remain peaceful with the Nazis? To do so would be to perpetuate their extermination of millions and to ally us with their crimes. There was no way to talk them out of these crimes nor any other way but through force to curtail their campaigns against other European nations. Therefore, the best course of action was to counter their force with an equal cancelling force in order to be able to make peace possible.
In this case, war itself was a necessary condition for peace. From the existence of cases like this, as well as the overall desirability of peace whenever it can be attained, we should reject both extreme pacificism and extreme fascism and seek a Middle Way between the two which says that, on the whole, peace is desirable, but war is sometimes necessary if only to make a more lasting peace possible and save the lives of thousands or millions.
Adam J. Pearson – https://philosophadam.wordpress.com/2021/01/16/what-is-fascism-a-research-grounded-definition-of-15-elements-of-fascism/
Bibliography
Conquest, R. (1999). Reflections on a Ravaged Century. p. 74.
Eysenck, H. J., & Coulter, T. T. (1972). The Personality and Attitudes of Working-Class British Communists and Fascists. The Journal of Social Psychology, 87(1), 59–73.
Eysenck, H. J. (1956). The psychology of politics and the personality: Similarities between fascists and communists. Psychological Bulletin, 53(6), 431–438.
Forscher, P. S., & Kteily, N. (2019, June 7). A Psychological Profile of the Alt-Right. Retrieved from osf.io/xge8q. Preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/c9uvw
Gentile, G. (2002): Origins and Doctrine of Fascism. Transaction Publishers.
Griffin et al. (2004): Fascism: Post-war fascisms. Rutledge.
Griffiths, R. (2005). “About the Author: Richard Griffiths”. University of Wales Press. Archived from the original on 12 November 2016.
Hetherington, M., & Weiler, J. D. (2009). Authoritarianism and polarization in American politics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Orwell, G. (1944). ‘What is Fascism?’”. Orwell.ru. 8 January 2008. Archived from the original on 23 June 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2006.
Paxton, R.O. (2011): The Anatomy of Fascism. Penguin Books.
Rejai, M. (1994). Political Ideologies: A Comparative Approach. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe.
RD Labs (2020). Elements of Fascism Test. https://www.idrlabs.com/fascist-elements/test.php
Schäfer, M. (2004). Totalitarianism and Political Religions. Oxford: Psychology Press.
Vincent, A. (2010): Modern Political Ideologies. Wiley-Blackwell.
Democracy Is
Utterly worthless on all acounts but for one, that being the ability of the individual to vote, which was never considered a right by anyone anywhere before the Republic of the USA came into existence. It is the furthest thing from a Democracy, despite the purposeful redefining of the term since the early 20th century, which has now made the word Democray as uselsss and ill definbed as Fascism ever was.
The Nazis weren’t Fascists. The Italians under Moussolini were. To lump them together as Fascists may be convenient, but it is still in error nonetheless.
Democray on the other hand, has always ended up as none other than a dictatorship, that being the only end it can ever achieve. Of course that term’s definitions can be wide open too as the dictator is never necessarily one person despite what many others consider that to be, because the majority can just as easily become a dictator that ignores the rights of the individual, and they most often do exactly that in the name of the majority.
The law is the one thing that separates a Republic from every other form of government. And the respect held for it. Of course that is easily broken apart by numerous agencies potentially, thus the high regard we hold for the Constituion that while imperfect at the very least offers a separation of and balance of power between the three branches of government.
Nothing else keeps this nation from descending however slowly or quickly, into any other form of tyranny. Well, on second thought, the 2nd Amendment goes quite far to help ensure these rights, because without it we’d already be far worse than any mere Democracy. It is notable that the word Democracy, nor any of its forms exists in the Constitution, and this is no accident.
I see your point
However the author did not label the Nazis as facsists he was referring to the nature of war and when it might be necessary… a strictly philosophical view. And yes, Democracy is useless imo. Thank you for your comment. You are quite the scholar.
I spoke
In what has become the normal context in recent years, in which the Nazis are always included as Fascists, despite that they were quite different from the Italians and the vision of Mussolini. The 2 systems/government/political perspectives DO have numerous similarities, granted, but they are hardly copies of one another, although BOTH are definitely rooted in Socialism, despite being labelled as “right wing.” I personally consider them both extreme left wing and have a hard time discerning any difference between either and Communism, they’re ALL Oligarchies.
This is the new face of Fascism-NWO
A growing movement that is mean to unite corporations, governments, and global institutions. They call it ESG, meaning Environmental, Social, Governmental. It appears that this way is to be used to literally make this system a moral, economic, governmental police under this rephrased, redefined New World Order, only it is the same exact thing it has always been.
Many corporations have already signed declarations of abiding by this “agreement.” It appears to ultimately be a more wholistic movement back to the original definition of Fascism by controlling all aspects of life. No mention is made of rights as they do not exist at all in the name of doing the greatest “good” for the most number of world population, which is merely a distraction from the true purpose, complete centralized global control of every individual life on the planet.
The Epoch Times has made a documentary about this which is how I found out. It is both alarming and dangerously disturbing IMO.
It is available to premium subscribers, but I have stolen the file as I always do and can offer it as a download to any who have an account (even just a free one) of MEGA Cloud storage and file hosting service . The free accounts come with 15GB’s of free storage and one only need sign in once each month to keep it from being deleted as abandoned, so making this effort is the easiest way to freely view this file.
The Shadow State – Epoch Times Documentary