Thursday, January 26, 2006

The 14 Points of Fascism


The truth hurts, huh? Hat tip to Helen at Just Ain't Right for rattling my memory on Laurence Britt's original article, "Fascism Anyone?". I have twice posted the buzzflash clip called 14 Characteristics of Fascism (see here) courtesy of BushFlash, but I have never posted the actual Britt article. Laurence Britt compared the regimes of Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Suharto, and Pinochet and identified 14 characteristics common to those fascist regimes. This page relates pts of the Bush presidency to each of the 14 pts of fascism.
1.) Powerful & 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 govt funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized. 5.) Rampant Sexism: The govts 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 and national policy. 6.) Controlled Mass Media: Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the govt, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by govt regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common. 7.) Obsession w/Natl Security: Fear is used as a motivational tool by the govt over the masses. 8.) Religion & Govt are Intertwined: Govts 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 govt leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the govt'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 govt leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/govt relationship and power elite. 10.) Labor Power is Suppressed: Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist govt, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed. 11.) Disdain for Intellectuals & 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 govts often refuse to fund the arts. 12.) Obsession w/ Crime & 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 natl police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations. 13.) Rampant Cronyism & Corruption: Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to govt 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 govt 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.
Posted by Tina :: 12:15 AM :: 13 Comments:

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