Fourteen Characteristics of Fascism
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Fourteen Characteristics of Fascism
Fourteen Characteristics of Fascism
Dr. Lawrence Britt, a political scientist, wrote an article about fascism which appeared in Free Inquiry magazine -- a journal of humanist thought. Dr. Britt
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, and he calls these the identifying characteristics of fascism. The article is titled 'Fascism Anyone?', by Lawrence Britt, and appears in Free
Inquiry's Spring 2003 issue on page 20.
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 through sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in wartime, 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 who 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 the assassination of) opposition candidates, the use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and the manipulation of the
media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
13 out of 14 not bad!!!!
Dr. Lawrence Britt, a political scientist, wrote an article about fascism which appeared in Free Inquiry magazine -- a journal of humanist thought. Dr. Britt
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, and he calls these the identifying characteristics of fascism. The article is titled 'Fascism Anyone?', by Lawrence Britt, and appears in Free
Inquiry's Spring 2003 issue on page 20.
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 through sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in wartime, 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 who 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 the assassination of) opposition candidates, the use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and the manipulation of the
media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
13 out of 14 not bad!!!!
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Dr. Britt 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, and he calls
these the identifying characteristics of fascism.
he carrys a bit more weight then you do
Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet
(Chile). He found the regimes all had 14 things in common, and he calls
these the identifying characteristics of fascism.
he carrys a bit more weight then you do
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Originally Posted by netzr0
Perhaps this will open some perpective for those who claim not to see any of this.
thanks Dre
thanks Dre
alright you anti-american tards...
haha j/k not gonna start flaming. However I did get the chance to speak to a communist. My mentor in my lab is from China. He is a pretty avid communist (the kind who was indoctrinated
) so I had a pretty cool lunchtime discussion with him.Basically he told me that the old communism was flawed because it presumed "equality of material", which was not true equality, because humans are born with various states physical and mental giftedness. Instead, TRUE communism relied on 'overall equality', which meant that everyone had their place in society, and the legal system did not see one class of citizen in a better light than another. Now in a sense, I thought, America is pretty much like this. We are not perfect and Martha Stewart won't be going to jail with a bunch of inner-city black women, but for the most part Enron-esque people NEVER get away with corruption, and big business can be brought down (albiet at a higher cost) quite frequently.
So America is still the best place to live, yada yada.
What I don't agree with is people apathetic b/c they don't think their voice makes a difference. Sufferage, civil rights, these were all brought about by millions of individual voices which just happened to fuse together from separate entities.
Originally Posted by dr3d1zzl3
Dr. Britt 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, and he calls
these the identifying characteristics of fascism.
he carrys a bit more weight then you do
Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet
(Chile). He found the regimes all had 14 things in common, and he calls
these the identifying characteristics of fascism.
he carrys a bit more weight then you do
What's your point, that America is leaning towards facism? Import sportscars have turbos. Dodge just turbo'd it's neon. OH NOES!!! Dodge is becoming an import!
Point is this: some people have SO little faith in the fundamental construction of our American society. They see things like the Patriot Act and complain that our way of life is dying and all is going to hell. 95 percent of the people who complain this are avid readers of politics but have NEVER actually studied politial science in. It's like people who claim to be "green" and use solar panels, not realizing that solar panels are unbelievably energy inefficient to manufacture in addition to all the material wastage in producing them. Not to mention the bunch of ignoramus who complained against the electorial college in the 2000 election.
If you people think politics is going awry, don't go around preaching, all you are doing is provaking anarchy. If you are a real American, take it to the courts, write to your congressmen, do stuff that MATTERS instead of inciting the populace.
Also, social scientists are often inadequatly prepared to study the reality of their own fields of expertise.
Last edited by verc; Jul 11, 2004 at 02:18 PM.
And how can you claim America fits 13 of ther 14?
Dude, that describes the Christian religion almost EXACTLY. WOW I think I'll resign my christianity right now because Christianity is SO FACSIST!!!
What is defined as widespread domestic problems? Notice WIDESPREAD. America has domestic problems fo sho, but they are not WIDESPREAD. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to afford your WRX, or your SRT4, or whatever you have.
they TEND to. So you are basically saying that every powerful political entity in history was facsist? According to this definition, Texas is the most facist nation on earth
Of course there's the uneducated mass mob. However in America only the 10 percent or so who actually care about politics vote anyways and make a difference, so whatever.
What, Guadacanal? All governments do this. In addition, he said "need" as in "false need". So is it ok to torture people for real need?
Ok someone explain to me why we are still hearing about marines being killed in action and americans beheaded? There are TONS of anti-government media. They flourish, they have high circulations, and you are wrong if you think America exhibits media-control
Fear was used by jo mama to make you look both ways before crossing the street. Yeah you heard me jo mama facist.
uh.... last I heard the major tenets of the most common religion in America was fascist
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.
made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.
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.
and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
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.
Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
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.
common threat or foe: racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
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.
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.
Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by
government regulation, or through sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in wartime, is very common.
government regulation, or through sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in wartime, is very common.
Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
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.
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.
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.
creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
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.
entirely or are severely suppressed.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to
government positions, and who 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.
government positions, and who 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.
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against (or
even the assassination of) opposition candidates, the use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and the manipulation of the
media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
even the assassination of) opposition candidates, the use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and the manipulation of the
media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
In otherwords, you are not wrong, but you are not right either Dre. America certainly exhibits fascist tendancies, but that does not make America Fascist.
Last edited by verc; Jul 11, 2004 at 02:51 PM.
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Been gone for awhile and admittedly miss these posts... where is Salty? Whats up dog??
Number one scares the crap out of me. After 9/11, it was great to see people rally together. But when this huge splurge of nationalism swept the scene it became too much.
America is not fascist. I dont think that it will become a fascist country but anything is possible.
Thanks for the post Dre. I wil forward to me fellow commie, err liberal, friends
Number one scares the crap out of me. After 9/11, it was great to see people rally together. But when this huge splurge of nationalism swept the scene it became too much.
America is not fascist. I dont think that it will become a fascist country but anything is possible.
Thanks for the post Dre. I wil forward to me fellow commie, err liberal, friends