Since '16 I struggled to define "fascism"... now I think I have it, in one sentence.

[paulkienitz]

8. I went into that question in the blog post

Yes, in economic terms fascism means that kind of corporate oligarchy — as I worded it, a partnership between crony capitalism and a single-party state. But I had a very good reason for not using that as a general definition of fascism, which is that it is of no value in helping you identify a nascent fascist movement before it is in power. Mass groups of reactionary assholes don't riot in the streets to increase the level of corporate plutocracy, they do it to protect traditional lifestyles and traditional privileges. The economic system arises only after they have power, and other kinds of ideologies can end up creating the same kind of economy, as in China.