Member-only story
10 Features of Fascism
If you use the term, be sure to know how to recognize it.
Fascism is trending, and I don’t mean that in a positive way. But as the term itself spills through social media and political discourse, its improper use — particularly by those who most closely identify with its tenets — tends to neuter its ugly and dangerous truths.
With that in mind, and with guidance from the Holocaust Encyclopedia and related sources, I’ve distilled a list of fascism’s 10 most insidious characteristics and objectives.
They include:
A mass movement led by a dictator or would-be dictator with a contempt for electoral democracy and competitive elections.
A fervent personality cult loyal only to its leader.
A totalitarian ideology that fuses extreme nationalism with militarism.
The merging of religion and government.
The crushing of political opponents and the persecution of scapegoats.
The creation of race-based laws, coupled with the suppression of individual rights and the stifling of all dissent.
The national control of business and commerce, often in ways that benefit the monied elites.
