The 14 Characteristics of Fascism
Lawrence Britt
Lawrence
studied the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy),
Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile). He
found the regimes all had 14 things in common, which he calls
the identifying characteristics of fascism. This piece has made
its way all over the internet. It is from a longer piece called Fascism
Anyone?
From: http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm
The 14 characteristics are:
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.
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 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 is openly attacked,
and governments often refuse to fund the arts.
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.
Lawrence
is a political scientist. Fascism Anyone? appeared in the
Spring 2003 issue of Free Inquiry, a journal of humanist thought.
For more information on the journal, contact FreeInquiry@SecularHumanism.org .
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