Fourteen Defining Characteristics Of Fascism : NOLA Indymedia

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. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.

6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to 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 and letters is openly attacked.

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.

There are only two defining characteristics of fascism. These are private ownership and command pricing.

Public Ownership, Command Pricing = Communism
Private Ownership, Command Pricing = Fascism
Public Ownership, Market Pricing = Socialism
Private Ownership, Market Pricing = Capitalism

All the rest of your characteristics are bunk.

How many definitions of fascism? Let me count the ways ...

Good observations from Dr. Britt. You may want to check another great list from Naomi Wolf, at http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2064157,00.html. It is nice to be able to watch for *all* those signs as they (may) develop in your midst.

As for Rick and his "only 2 definitions of fascism and the rest is bunk", gee, OK OK man, easy!!! LOL ... You may want to explain a bit to us poor peons what you mean, too ... with concrete examples ... :)

How about pardoning criminals? Yetanother infringement on our rights by the gov't. Add it to the ever-growing list of violations:
They violate the 1st Amendment by opening mail, caging demonstrators and banning books like "America Deceived" from Amazon.
They violate the 2nd Amendment by confiscating guns during Katrina.
They violate the 4th Amendment by conducting warrant-less wiretaps.
They violate the 5th and 6th Amendment by suspending habeas corpus.
They violate the 8th Amendment by torturing.
They violate the entire Constitution by starting 2 illegal wars based on lies and on behalf of a foriegn gov't.
Support Dr. Ron Paul and end this madness.
Last link (unless Stark County District Library caves to the gov't and drops the title):
America Deceived (book)

Collection of Dictatorships

Eons of time ago, I came home from school with an assignment from my Civics teacher to write my own definition of "Democracy."

My father, being an Italian immigrant, surely would have a good definition of democracy. So I went straight up to dad and asked, "Hey pop what's you definition of democracy? I've got to come up with a definition for my Civics class."

His response (45 years ago), "That's easy son. A democracy is a collection of dictatorships."

My response was, "Whoa dad, I am talking deomcracy not dictatorships."

His response was, "I am talking about a democracy. America is a collection of dictatorships. If you don't like Ohio, try Indiana. If Indiana isn't free enough for you try Montana. If you don't like working for General Motors, try Ford or Chrysler. Get the point son? They all have the power of a dictatoship, you're looking the dictatorship the best fits your needs. My point being the decentralization of power is better. Corporate competition produces a better product and cheaper the same with competing state governments fending off the Federal government is good."

Dr Lawerance's 14 points are characteristics of any form of government which by the way there are only two types of government: Self Governed People or Feudalism. The point being a self governed people suffer the same evils that Dr Lawerance describes, but in a deluted manner whereas Federalism/Feudalism becomes totally corrupt and the more rights or power the states and/or people give the federal government the worse the conditions of the people becomes. No ifs, no ands, no buts; its a pure fact.

Conclusion no matter how some ass____ packages the promised form of government, remember do you want Der Furer or an elected ass____ you can kick out in 4 years? You call: Feudalism or Self Governed people which is going to be? Sincerely, JD

This is a joke right? Because if not WW2 which American's and America won its Victory by your standards was quite fascist indeed.

Hitler did not allow religion as well as the Soviet Union.

Go back to school you need it!

DEVIL'S ADVOCATE

Poets, anti-war bloggers, Democrats, Liberals, Libertarians, the Left-Wing, the Media, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama…they’re all aiding and abetting Al-Qaeda.

George W. Bush isn’t.

Our Long War President, the Decider, is trying to protect us from the poets, the anti-war bloggers, peace activists, Democrats, Liberals, the Left-Wing, the Media, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama...and

AL QAEDA!

There are more and more terrorists because there are more and more poets, more and more anti-war bloggers and peace activists, more and Democrats and Liberals, and more and more in the Left-Wing and the Media who are making it easier for us to die at the hands of our ENEMIES by asking the United States to cut and run from the enemies of Freedom and Democracy.

All of these kooks are encouraging the suicide bombers, killers and be-headers to do more bombing, killing and beheading.

The enemies of the Global War on Terrorism and Extremism are right in your own backyard.

You probably work with them.

They're on the highways, at the mall, at the grocery store, in churches, in schools...

These agitators, Neo Communists and Bush haters are allies with the Islamic fascists.

They will never stop their attacks, and neither will Al-Qaeda, the Terrorists, the Radicals and the Extremists.

The Global War on Terrorism is also a war on all of these poets, anti-war bloggers, peace activists, Democrats, Liberals, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, the Left-Wing and the Media.

It is going to get worse before it gets better.

THE ENEMY IS YOU IF YOU DON’T SUPPORT ME

Now you can have some pretzels and a cold beer.

The article didn't mention america, perhaps those reading "united states" all over that article are subconsciously aware of what they're too afraid to admit.

Bennito Musilini clear defined Fascism as a society where citizens owned their own homes and businesses but where every aspect of commerce, industry, and the private lives of the people would be regualted for the good of the the state. All the added stuff in the article is what makes a Fascist a NAZI

Example 1:

Your government decides you make too much money and they bring in cheap foreign labor to compete for wages with you.

Example 2:

Every single public-private program in existence.

HA HA how funny you are! Fisrt off AMERICA was NEVER a FASCIST counrty especially during WWII! Second Hitler was a CATHOLIC!

Go back to school? Your tool!

Mr. Info is the one that needs to go back to school or at the very least learn how to run spell check. Anyone that doesn't realize that money (corporations) governs this country is either totally illiterate or a brainwashed idiot. Which one are you?

PS. You click on the tool bar to run spell check or the new fangled right click over the word method....LMGDAO

The above defining characteristics are useful as signs and symptoms for the diagnosis of the disease called fascism. They are not the cause however.
Leonard Peikoff identified the cause, in 1982, in his book The Ominous Parallels. German anti-Enlightenment and anti-Aristotelian philosophy of the past 200 years is responsible for Nazism, fascism, and communism. The specific concepts of evil that are responsible for these evil ideologies are anti-reality, anti-reason, anti-independent judgement, altruism, collectivism, statism, and anti-capitalism.
Liberals, you need to drop your smug attitude. These evil concepts infect your thinking too.

"THE ENEMY IS YOU IF YOU DON’T SUPPORT ME."

Oh, I like that one. Well said.. I should tell some of my new co-workers that, or just pass some sort of executive legislation in the office. If they don't like it, I'll just pass some more. lol..

ha, serves you right. good luck!

Fodder for the slaughter.

I'd like to reply to the comment that Hitler was a Catholic. He may have been baptized as one, but he really viewed the religion as a ridiculous superstition, and used Christian jargon as a way to appeal to his people, for example, "As Christ proclaimed 'love one another'" In reality, Hitler wanted a more Paganistic society, one similar to the one we have today. He sought to essentially destroy our belief that we are superior beings and replace it with a sense that we are in no way any different than an animal in nature. With this new "religion," it is much easier to relate to genocidal beliefs. For example, when Americans viewed the Natives as savages (I.E. not human), it was easier for them to 'disconnect' and murder and rape them. We have also saw it in slavery. These were the same people who considered themselves Christians, much like Hitler, and much like Bush.

The Nazi of the 30' and 40' are the world best examples of fascism, however there are many countries that have these characteristics and at this moment two countries in the UN that come to mind, in Europe and in the Middle east.

sounds like the good ol' US of A

america was heading down a steep path of fascism, but our forefathers have given us the ability to overturn regimes. it worked, thankfully.

happily said

"The above defining characteristics are useful as signs and symptoms for the diagnosis of the disease called fascism. They are not the cause however.
Leonard Peikoff identified the cause, in 1982, in his book The Ominous Parallels. German anti-Enlightenment and anti-Aristotelian philosophy of the past 200 years is responsible for Nazism, fascism, and communism. The specific concepts of evil that are responsible for these evil ideologies are anti-reality, anti-reason, anti-independent judgement, altruism, collectivism, statism, and anti-capitalism.
Liberals, you need to drop your smug attitude. These evil concepts infect your thinking too."

Ok. Liberals are not anti-reality, anti-reason, anti-independent judgement, altruistic, collectivist, or statist. If anything, these things describe conservatives!

You need to get your parties straight.

From Nixon to Bush these articles correctly address the points of the republican government as witnessed over the last 50 years. One need not be a member of Mensa to draw the ire of the extremist right as it slowly strangles democracy.

Number 15) Fascist regimes rewrite history, especially to support their nationalism.

Everything in this blog is a relative thing. This is the definition of a nation at war. Fascism is a movement for the renewal of a nation through the vision of a supreme leader. It really has nothing to do with religion although some of the beliefs might appear to take a religious quality. But no this is a ridiculous attempt to project the United States government as a fascist regime hahahahaha