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Raven123
(7,893 posts)
peppertree
(23,449 posts)He only left out the fact that most fascist regimes have an incestuous relationship with big business.
Right up Cheeto's alley, of course.
malaise
(297,865 posts)Rec. Rec. Rec
Hekate
(100,133 posts)
Uncle Joe
(65,499 posts)Thanks for the thread pbmus
2naSalit
(103,805 posts)What is it and what is it about?
Biophilic
(6,661 posts)And no, not everybody already knows that.
2naSalit
(103,805 posts)Implying that everyone knows what fascism is.
Biophilic
(6,661 posts)I think I was more thinking out loud than responding to you.
Biophilic
(6,661 posts)
BaronChocula
(4,735 posts)Just to add, fascist movements align closely with big business and oligarchs.
Wiz Imp
(10,389 posts)Wiz Imp
(10,389 posts)I don't know how I've never heard this before:
questionseverything
(11,955 posts)Im going to have to familiarize myself with this group!
Thanks, Wiz Imp!!!
Martin Eden
(15,866 posts)That was certainly not the case with Trumpism.
It's the same old forces of oligarchy and rightwing extremism fomenting an astroturf (not genuine grassroots) "populism" around a cultish figure whose primary skill is pushing the buttons of grievance and fear, identifying "enemies within" who are different due to their race, religion, ideology, or cultural/sexual identity.
The rule of law (in countries with a tradition of constitutional protections) is steadily eroded by an increasingly authoritarian regime claiming emergency powers to justify suppressing dissent and political opposition.
The "fascist" label perhaps does not apply to authoritarian regimes like Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, because they lacked legitimate democracy and/or privately owned means of production.
The fascist regimes headed by Mussolini, Hitler, and Trump were elected with populist support but were already in league with or soon colluded with industrial and business interests for mutual benefit.
All authoritarian regimes have much in common: tyranny, repression, brutality. Fascism mostly has different roots and is found in the Western world. What you call it is less important than what it is.
proud patriot
(102,564 posts)and trump stoking the questioning the American Birth of the first black President .
Martin Eden
(15,866 posts)Powers That Be started it, fostering a "populist" movement feeding off racism and other grievances.
Roots of rightwing extremism are deep. In tje last 100 years the wealthy have wanted to destroy FDR's New Deal and LBJ's Great Society. John Birch Society and Barry Goldwater's extremism had their day, but anti-immigrant fervor goes back centuries and along with racism against blacks. The false morailty of "conservative" Christianity is a big hook tying much of that together.
But behind it all is the age-old insatiable greed for wealth and power, hiring unscrupulous operatives to manipulate useful idiots and ignorant masses into forfeiting what little they have.
rampartd
(5,012 posts)covers from the "know nothings" to the birchers. essential reading.
https://harpers.org/archive/1964/11/the-paranoid-style-in-american-politics/
brakester
(623 posts)I learn so much here! The fact that parallel philosophical and political movements of today stretch back to the beginning of our country and even back to Europe prior to the founding of our country is phenomenal!
It makes me wish I could devote another lifetime to studying history!
This ties today's situation to McCarthy, the KKK, the Masons, but not in a straightforward way and this fascinates me. And the part that immigration plays in this is startling. It fills in gaps in my knowledge of history.
Love DU!
The similarities are the paranoid nature of movements that spread throughout society and that spawned conspiracy theories.
The difference that makes this era more dangerous is the internet and vast quantities of acquired wealth.
proud patriot
(102,564 posts)
Timeflyer
(3,794 posts)Bluetus
(3,067 posts)It is much simpler to list the 14 characteristics that have been present in EVERY fascist regime worldwide since we came to use the word fascism. There are several variations of this list, but this is rather succinct:
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.
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, and long incarcerations of prisoners.
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…
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.
Rampant Sexism
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation.
Controlled Mass Media
Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation or by sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Government censorship and secrecy, especially in war time, are very common.
Obsession with National Security
Fear of hostile foreign powers is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
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.
Protection of Corporate Power
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.
Suppression of Labor Power
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 .
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 is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.
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.
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.
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.
EVERY presidency in the past 100 years has done some of this -- typically 3 or 4 of the 14 characteristics. But as of Today, the Trump administration is white-hot on 14 out of 14 characteristics of fascism.
LittleGirl
(8,999 posts)We’re well on our way to something terrible. This will end badly.
45 already has 400k covid deaths on his first watch.
I wonder what the totals will be when the dust settles.
I’m truly furious.
dwayneb
(1,107 posts)You can call it Fascism or authoritarianism or autocracy but they all boil down to the same thing. Their boot on your neck.
Bluetus
(3,067 posts)Trump (more accurately Stephen Miller) is marching through this playbook very deliberately.
We often say things like "the cruelty is the point". And that is true, but the reason they are doing these exact 14 things is because they have worked that way for every single fascist regime.
These people are sociopaths so you don't have to beg them to choose the cruelest option at every step. Nonetheless, the playbook is the playbook and they would follow it even if they didn't enjoy the cruelty so much.
Fascism, authoritarianism, and autocracy may just be different degrees of the same thing. For example, Victor Orban does all 14, but not nearly to the degree that Trump is raging. So I might call Orban an autocrat whereas the Trump regime is 100% fascist from top to bottom.
Another way of saying this is if you take each one of the 14 characteristics and rate the Trump regime on a scale of 1-10, he probably would have scored around 90-100 by the end of his first term. As of today, I would have to rate them as at least 125 out of 140. For reference, I probably would have rated the WBush/Cheney administration about 60-75, maybe not even that high.
brakester
(623 posts)What a detailed and astute description!
Spot on!
dweller
(28,662 posts)But if I went to the trouble of explaining something in a TikTok vid , I’d damn sure make the accompanying text is at least correct …
Yahtzee dog whistle ?
What’s that ?
4 of a kind !1!
✌🏻
JoseBalow
(9,721 posts)Certain words will get your video removed, so there are code words used. Like "un-alived" instead of "killed"
dweller
(28,662 posts)So if one were to say “ Adolph Hitler was leader of the Nazi party “ it would be taken down ?
✌🏻
JoseBalow
(9,721 posts)It's mostly AI that does it, absent an actual complaint. It happens often enough where using substitute words is commonplace.
dweller
(28,662 posts)A I
✌🏻
Excellent. Please keep this post alive!!!!
niyad
(133,985 posts)Timothy Snyder and others have long listed the operative conditions and signs of fascism.
valleyrogue
(2,787 posts)you have already lost the argument. You don't know what you are talking about when you use the word. I am talking about this guy in the video, who comes across arrogant but is ignorant. There is no "conservative" sector of the GOP anymore and hasn't been since at least the first time Trump got into office. Sorry, but when there is somebody on the video who clearly wasn't around back when there was a conservative branch of the GOP and recklessly uses that word, I completely disregard everything that person says.
The correct terminology is the "radical right" when talking about the United States far right. It is now the mainstream of the GOP. The saner voices have been all but drummed out of the party. The radical right once encompassed the John Birch Society, with even more radicals or outright terrorists like the KKK, Aryan Nations, skinheads, and the rest of them. Add to them are the religious nutjobs, who are not "Christian nationalists" but actually the Rushdoonyites of "Christian reconstructionism." It is a toxic brew of misfits and psychopaths who pose a very real threat to our country. They are not about "conserving" anything but are out to destroy it, with mass genocide of "undesirables" a key component.
You can call them "fascists" or not. I don't care to be lectured to be somebody who was never alive when the GOP got hijacked by the radical right.
pbmus
(13,141 posts)Racygrandma
(208 posts)So that the common man understands what you are saying. Too important to ignore. People need to understand what is going on.
NNadir
(38,529 posts)...their understanding of this happening here.