Fascism: Is It on the Way Back?

Dr. Lawrence W. Britt wrote an article on “Fascism Anyone?” some years back. He argued that there are common threads prevalent in some regimes than others. And what are the ten key ones?

(i) Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism – say, like in China, Russia, now in America (“America First”) or India. These are characterized by catchy slogans and military pride;

(ii) Lack of human rights – abuse, denial and disinformation and even demonizing targeted liberals;

(iii) Targeting scape-goats to unify a cause – diverting people’s attention from other problems;

(iv) Controlling mass-media, means strict direct control not to stray from party line;

(v) Obsession with national security – an instrument of oppression and questioning is deemed unpatriotic or treasonous;

(vi) Religion and ruling elite tied together – perception created that opposing the power elite is tantamount to attack on religion;

(vii) Organised labour suppressed – any labour action is seen as a challenge of the political hegemony of the ruling elite;

(viii) Obsession with crime and punishment – draconian systems of justice with select groups targeted for prison. And some for trumped-up (no pun intended) criminal charges;

(ix) Rampant cronyism and corruption – the power elite use their position to enrich themselves – including stealing national resources;

(x) Fraudulent elections – results are perverted to get the desired results.

Authoritarian, totalitarian, communist regimes also show similar traits as a fascist state like Nazi Germany. Trump’s “America First” is not on the way to fascism but sure sounds and looks like one. But it is those states like North Korea, Russia, China, Syria (that are communist or totalitarian) that exhibit traits of fascism.

We are thanktful for a change of government or we could have been headed, on a steep decline, to a totalitarian or even a fascist state!

Reference:

1.   Laurence W. Britt (2003), Facism Anyone? Free Inquiry Magazine, Vol 22 (2)

2. The Supposed "Early Warning Signs of Fascism" Debunked http://quite-frankly-hub.squarespace.com