"There is a single, all-powerful executive branch of government, in service of a capitalist ruling class that controls, for the most part, the functions of production, distribution, finance, and exchange. There is no separation of the principal governmental powers: executive, legislative, and judicial. There are no independent media. There is a single national ideology, based on some combination of racism, misogyny, religious bigotry and authoritarianism, homophobia, and xenophobia. There is a political party supporting the movement. There is a state propaganda machine using the big and little lie techniques. There may be a full-blown dictatorship, a charismatic leader, engagement in foreign wars, and the use of the mob/private armies to enforce governmental control."
Thank you-- I read this again. We need to not read and push this away. Fascism is this constellation very much present with Trump and where the GOP is leading us. What a shame!!!
Trump is depending on ignorance. Ignorance will destroy us.
tRump has created the MAGA party of grievance by hijacking the party of greed. He uses the idea of Christ's teachings ; Christ, the Savior, "Who died for your/our sins". He poses as a protector of freedoms for his followers. The reality is that he would oppress his subjects as any fascist would, and he uses a rise to power to escape justice for the wrongs he has committed against the Common Good.
He copies the idea of Christ the Savior as you say.. the martyr. But he adds victimhood and retribution which is not Christ-like. Christ, my understanding, is one who absorbs and forgives. (Am I wrong? I am not a Christian) Trump cries that HIS personal freedom is being taken away.. and tries to say that it's yours(followers) too. He couples that with hate of those that are doing this not only to him, but to them, his followers.
Trump, it seems is making himself into a false Christ, and anti-Christ.. the Devil, Mephistopheles. Eh??
Hmmm, Are you suggesting the Biden team did not co-opt social & media platforms to control a narrative which is emerging as extremely damaging, illegal and harmful for many?
The clinical definition of a fascist may be a useful too for a historian, and it may yield useful checkboxes in ascertaining if a particular individual has completed his transformation into one — but it isn’t necessarily the language that unlearned folk take to heart.
As several famous people have noted, “A skunk has no interest in its DNA, taxonomy, or precise genus: its stink is all the advertisement it requires.”
While I agree with your logical breakdown, I will note that Mr. Trump was not always a strongly avowed fascist — in the early stages of his political evolution he was a vanilla authoritarian.
I’m not certain he understood the distinction; he was not much of an acclaimed academician.
It might become necessary to “dumb down” your elegant (and perfectly correct) definition of fascism so that the likes of “Joe-SixPack” can grasp the essence at first exposure.
My take on fascism might therefore be rendered as
fascism ( noun ) a way of organizing a society in which a government ruled by a dictator controls the lives of the people and in which they are not allowed to disagree with the government
In turn, a dictator is simply one who wishes to dispense with any representational government altogether in favor of one in which his personal will is law.
The rest are merely symptomatology and evolutionary stages.
David Lovering ; "It might become necessary to “dumb down” your elegant (and perfectly correct) definition of fascism so that the likes of “Joe-SixPack” can grasp the essence at first exposure" Whatever you may call it ; It's a power/money grab that tfg is doing. Low rating voters is an elitist turn off. It may be helpful to avoid scorn and belittling : humans are smarter today and most can read and understand when they are being played. Not everyone goes to college, but they do vote, and are not deaf dumb and blind.
We must keep up the fight against Trump’s Fascism to save our Democracy.
I am happy to see that black women are involved with his criminal indictments and his future prosecutions. He will get a fair trial for his crimes, but it will be sweet irony to watch him be locked up in a jail cell. They will “grab him by his balls” and lock the Fascist up.
pat schicchi ; While it is sweet to see 'those who were last' in positions to be the judges and prosecutors, I think even 'Divine Justice' would not involve "grabbing a man by his balls" ; Two wrongs would not make a right. Justice would be sweet , not 'retribution' , revenge, or 'getting even'. It would be elevating ; not 'evening the 'score'.
I do like the idea of black women grabbing him by his balls, but Laurie is right. She is a good person that will bring out the Best in all of us: Justice, not Revenge. We must maintain our Dignity and our Compassion and not be Mean Girls. Or just not be mean.
It is Authoritarianism flavored with Fascism. And, it goes a step further to include "Christian" Fascism, so, it is Authoritarianism&Religionism. And, then, throw in tax cuts for the extremely rich, and avoiding paying taxes, well, now it is the unholy triad, back to the 1500s, pre-enlightenment, as in Authoritarianism&Oligarchism&Religionism, all with a Fascist Flavor. Ouch.
A very well-reasoned discussion but I would suggest that authoritarianism is but one step next to Fascism and certainly repugnant to a strong democracy.
Hi. I think it might be more useful to have a chart with 3 columns comparing authoritarianism and fascism and contrasting them both with democracy. I can imagine someone reading this and thinking, "Well, if I have to pick one (authoritarianism or fascism), I'll pick...." The idea, I think, is to highlight how they are both antithetical to democracy. Maybe a 6th element: control of the narrative/media vs. free press.
Huge and Useful to identify and label fascism. Thank you, Robert.
There will always be 3 major mysteries to me 1 what lies beyond the universe 2 what lies beyond death 3 why anyone can support Trump
Prof. Reich's def., quite correct, emphasizes the cultural/personal-belief aspects of fascism. Mine (just below) focuses on the poltical/economic features of the system (and does overlap with authoritarianism). Here 'tis (https://www.opednews.com/articles/The-U-S-Ruling-Class-and-Class_Class-Politics_Class-War_Party-Machine-Republican-221101-39.html ):
"There is a single, all-powerful executive branch of government, in service of a capitalist ruling class that controls, for the most part, the functions of production, distribution, finance, and exchange. There is no separation of the principal governmental powers: executive, legislative, and judicial. There are no independent media. There is a single national ideology, based on some combination of racism, misogyny, religious bigotry and authoritarianism, homophobia, and xenophobia. There is a political party supporting the movement. There is a state propaganda machine using the big and little lie techniques. There may be a full-blown dictatorship, a charismatic leader, engagement in foreign wars, and the use of the mob/private armies to enforce governmental control."
You poor dear. You drank the Kool-aid, didn't you?
Bot.
Thank you-- I read this again. We need to not read and push this away. Fascism is this constellation very much present with Trump and where the GOP is leading us. What a shame!!!
Trump is depending on ignorance. Ignorance will destroy us.
Amen!
Read "How America Got Mean" by David Brooks in the September issue of The Atlantic magazine
In a culture devoid of moral education, generations are growing up in a morally inarticulate, self-referential world.
When are the Psychologists going to come forward and discuss what is happening to this Nation?
tRump has created the MAGA party of grievance by hijacking the party of greed. He uses the idea of Christ's teachings ; Christ, the Savior, "Who died for your/our sins". He poses as a protector of freedoms for his followers. The reality is that he would oppress his subjects as any fascist would, and he uses a rise to power to escape justice for the wrongs he has committed against the Common Good.
He copies the idea of Christ the Savior as you say.. the martyr. But he adds victimhood and retribution which is not Christ-like. Christ, my understanding, is one who absorbs and forgives. (Am I wrong? I am not a Christian) Trump cries that HIS personal freedom is being taken away.. and tries to say that it's yours(followers) too. He couples that with hate of those that are doing this not only to him, but to them, his followers.
Trump, it seems is making himself into a false Christ, and anti-Christ.. the Devil, Mephistopheles. Eh??
Hmmm, Are you suggesting the Biden team did not co-opt social & media platforms to control a narrative which is emerging as extremely damaging, illegal and harmful for many?
No. But you are.
The clinical definition of a fascist may be a useful too for a historian, and it may yield useful checkboxes in ascertaining if a particular individual has completed his transformation into one — but it isn’t necessarily the language that unlearned folk take to heart.
As several famous people have noted, “A skunk has no interest in its DNA, taxonomy, or precise genus: its stink is all the advertisement it requires.”
While I agree with your logical breakdown, I will note that Mr. Trump was not always a strongly avowed fascist — in the early stages of his political evolution he was a vanilla authoritarian.
I’m not certain he understood the distinction; he was not much of an acclaimed academician.
It might become necessary to “dumb down” your elegant (and perfectly correct) definition of fascism so that the likes of “Joe-SixPack” can grasp the essence at first exposure.
My take on fascism might therefore be rendered as
fascism ( noun ) a way of organizing a society in which a government ruled by a dictator controls the lives of the people and in which they are not allowed to disagree with the government
In turn, a dictator is simply one who wishes to dispense with any representational government altogether in favor of one in which his personal will is law.
The rest are merely symptomatology and evolutionary stages.
David Lovering ; "It might become necessary to “dumb down” your elegant (and perfectly correct) definition of fascism so that the likes of “Joe-SixPack” can grasp the essence at first exposure" Whatever you may call it ; It's a power/money grab that tfg is doing. Low rating voters is an elitist turn off. It may be helpful to avoid scorn and belittling : humans are smarter today and most can read and understand when they are being played. Not everyone goes to college, but they do vote, and are not deaf dumb and blind.
Thank you! It is gratifying to hear the comments of those who share my viewpoint(s), but express them with much greater clarity.
We must keep up the fight against Trump’s Fascism to save our Democracy.
I am happy to see that black women are involved with his criminal indictments and his future prosecutions. He will get a fair trial for his crimes, but it will be sweet irony to watch him be locked up in a jail cell. They will “grab him by his balls” and lock the Fascist up.
pat schicchi ; While it is sweet to see 'those who were last' in positions to be the judges and prosecutors, I think even 'Divine Justice' would not involve "grabbing a man by his balls" ; Two wrongs would not make a right. Justice would be sweet , not 'retribution' , revenge, or 'getting even'. It would be elevating ; not 'evening the 'score'.
I do like the idea of black women grabbing him by his balls, but Laurie is right. She is a good person that will bring out the Best in all of us: Justice, not Revenge. We must maintain our Dignity and our Compassion and not be Mean Girls. Or just not be mean.
It is Authoritarianism flavored with Fascism. And, it goes a step further to include "Christian" Fascism, so, it is Authoritarianism&Religionism. And, then, throw in tax cuts for the extremely rich, and avoiding paying taxes, well, now it is the unholy triad, back to the 1500s, pre-enlightenment, as in Authoritarianism&Oligarchism&Religionism, all with a Fascist Flavor. Ouch.
Tfg does not believe in any thing, except his own interests ; power and wealth. For himself.
A very well-reasoned discussion but I would suggest that authoritarianism is but one step next to Fascism and certainly repugnant to a strong democracy.
I believe you make a very strong, well-reasoned case.
Hi. I think it might be more useful to have a chart with 3 columns comparing authoritarianism and fascism and contrasting them both with democracy. I can imagine someone reading this and thinking, "Well, if I have to pick one (authoritarianism or fascism), I'll pick...." The idea, I think, is to highlight how they are both antithetical to democracy. Maybe a 6th element: control of the narrative/media vs. free press.