Trends: Fascism Anyone?

Contemplating a mixed bag of regimes from Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Franco’s Spain and Salazar’s Portugal to Papadopoulos’s Greece, Pinochet’s Chile and Suharto’s Indonesia, political scientist and novelist Lawrence W. Britt looks for characteristics shared to varying degrees by fascist regimes. These include:

1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism.
2. Disdain for the importance of human rights.
3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause.
4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism.
5. Rampant sexism.
6. A controlled mass media.
7. Obsession with national security.
8. Religion and ruling elite tied together.
9. Power of corporations protected. A
10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated.
11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts.
12. Obsession with crime and punishment.
13. Rampant cronyism and corruption.
14. Fraudulent elections.

"Does any of this ring alarm bells?" Britt asks. "Of course not. After all, this is America, officially a democracy with the rule of law, a constitution, a free press, honest elections, and a well-informed public constantly being put on guard against evils. Historical comparisons like these are just exercises in verbal gymnastics. Maybe, maybe not."

The rest of the story: Fascism Anyone? by Laurence W. Britt