Printable View
According to most scholars of fascism, there are both left and right influences on fascism as a social movement, and fascism, especially once in power, has historically attacked communism, conservatism and parliamentary liberalism, attracting support primarily from the "far right" or "extreme right."
I'm no political expert but from I remember fascism is the believe in a small centralized gov't that controls everything. This definition fits both dems and repubs.
Really it seems to me that the polar opposite of a fascist would be a libertarian. :cool:
I strongly disagree with this!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Islandborn
Check out the signs and decide for yourself!!
Full Article
Definition of Fascism
The 14 Defining
Characteristics Of Fascism
by Dr. Lawrence Britt
Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14-defining characteristics common to each:
1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism -
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights -
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause -
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
4. Supremacy of the Military -
Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
5. Rampant Sexism -
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.
6. Controlled Mass Media -
Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
7. Obsession with National Security -
Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined -
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
9. Corporate Power is Protected -
The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
10. Labor Power is Suppressed -
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts -
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment -
Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption -
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
14. Fraudulent Elections -
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
________________________________
Commentary:
An interesting note to end this article: As of January 2004, the United States fulfills all fourteen points of fascism and all seven warning signs are present. But we're not alone. Israel also fulfills all fourteen points and all seven warning signs as well. Welcome to the new republic, redefined, revised and spun. It is not too late to reverse this in either country, but it will be soon. The first step is realizing it. The second step is getting involved. As the propaganda slogan disguising our current war goes, "Freedom isn't free." But our war for freedom isn't abroad; it's here at home.
:twocents:
[email protected] Mon May 12 13:00:44 2003
Date: Sun, 11 May 2003 13:10:33 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Chip Berlet" <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Fascism Anyone? 14 Characteristics of Fascist Regimes
Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- Connect with EarthLink, the award-winning Internet service provider (ISP) you can trust!
Article: 157767
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
This is a highly flawed article. It is not a very accurate picture of fascism and frankly was a ripoff from a much better article by Umberto Eco:
Eternal Fascism: Fourteen Ways of Looking at a Blackshirt Eco - "Eternal Fascism: 14 Ways of Looking at a Blackshirt"
The Britt article started with what is happening in the U.S. and then crafted a description of fascism that only highlights those points that will support the thesis. This is a logical fallacy (the false notion that things that are similar in some aspects are identical in all aspects).
See also these definitions/descriptions:
PublicEye.org - Website of Political Research Associates
PublicEye.org - Website of Political Research Associates
Fascism is an especially virulent form of extreme right populism. Fascism glorifies national, racial, or cultural unity and collective rebirth while seeking to purge imagined enemies. It attacks both revolutionary movements and liberal pluralism in favor of militarized, totalitarian mass politics. Fascism first crystallized in Europe in response to the Bolshevik Revolution and the devastation of World War I, and then spread to other parts of the world. Between the two world wars, there were three forms of fascism: Italian economic corporatism; German racial nationalist Nazism; and clerical fascist movements such as the Romanian Iron Guard and the Croatian Ustashi. Since WWII, neofascists have reinterpreted fascist ideology and strategy in various ways to fit new circumstances.
Roger Griffin, an influential scholar of generic fascism, argues that cism is best defined as a revolutionary form of nationalism, one that sets out to be a political, social and ethical revolution, welding the â??peopleâ?? into a dynamic national community under new elites infused with heroic values. The core myth that inspires this project is that only a populist, trans-class movement of purifying, cathartic national rebirth (palingenesis) can stem the tide of decadence.
There are other common components of fascism, including an exclusionary form of ethnonationalism that narrowly defines who the real people or Volk are; the idea of the primary importance of the homogenous whole (Integralism); and the diminution of the importance of the individual in a society ruled by leaders who metaphysically represent the will of the people (Organicism). These factors create a drive for totalitarian control in fascist movements and states. Totalitarian movements and governments insist on intruding into and controlling every aspect of a person's life-public or private-political, social, or cultural. Totalitarianism is a term that still has analytical value despite its frequent misuse to bash the Left. Most notorious was Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, 1981-1985, who promulgated a theory that communist governments were totalitarian and could never be reformed, but brutal right-wing dictatorships were merely authoritarian and thus could be reformed through alliances with the United States. While this misrepresented the work of Hannah Arendt in her definitive book The Origins of Totalitarianism, it also suffered from a certain lack of historical accuracy when communism collapsed in Europe.
Chip Berlet, Political Research Associates
Co-author, "Right-Wing Populism in America"
The 'only' word in only a problem of the left was incorrect....
The way the liberal Dems seek to control every aspect of our lives from the Laughable Cap and Trade to the socialist Healthcare plan that killing their re-election chances....it sure seems to me that its the American Democrat Party that the scary fascist/socialist welfare party. I hated Bush...hated him. I was even duped into voting for Obamao....but between the 2 of them.....Obama is a way greater threat than W ever was
I don't believe you will concede the point when even the material you provided clearly states the right wing appears fascist.. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Islandborn
I will concede Obama could be a greater threat to the country than George W., just on pure intelect.
This being said, he could also be a greater help to the country for the same reasons.
I thought I had in my last point.....There have been rightwing fascists...I spoke before thinking:stoned:. ....I just never gave feeble Bush the credit the socialist left did with being some fascist leader of a big right wing conspiracy...he wasnt smart enough for that.
Obama is a threat on intellect? Obama isnt super intelligent by any stretch of the imagination. He tries hard to make it appear as if he is though... an intelligent, cultured, person would have known not to bow lower than your host in Japan because it's a sign of weakness in Japanese culture...not that it mattered one way or another...im just saying. Obama was portrayed as many things during the campaign...none of which he has backed up or followed through on...hence his approval now below 50%.
I think my point is that if you look around the world right now and in America....the left currently represents a socialist...welfare & handout ideology. I also firmly believe there is a growing anti-jew ideology entrenched in the American and European leftists of 2009 which will be confronted sometime in the near future. The left also seeks to control and direct peoples individual lives in any way they can.....what we eat...how much I drive....what I set my air conditioner on.... what dr. i wanna use and for what...the list goes on and on and it's pathetic. Liberals would reach into your home and mine and tell us what to do if they could...
really? i would hope its more anti Israel than anti-semetic, but i really wouldn't know these days. not a whole lot of left wingers where i live now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Islandborn