I think Umberto Eco did a very good job describing how to spot fascism.
1. The cult of tradition.
2. Rejecting modernism.
3. Action for its own sake.
4. Equating dissent with treason.
5. Fostering xenophobia (both internal and external).
6. Playing on class frustration instead of addressing it.
7. Obsession with plots and conspiracies.
8. Portraying perceived enemies as strong so they can be feared, while portraying the same enemies as weak so they can be reviled.
9. Equating non-violent measures with sympathizing with a perceived enemy.
10. Contempt for the weak.
11. The cult of heroes.
12. The cult of machismo, primarily in the forms of contempt for women and homosexuals.
13. Selective populism, in the form of promulgating a movement’s insiders as the voice of the people.
14. Use of a limited vocabulary as a means to reduce complex issues to simplistic terms.
I’d say the Trumpites got a perfect score.
Boru
1. The cult of tradition.
2. Rejecting modernism.
3. Action for its own sake.
4. Equating dissent with treason.
5. Fostering xenophobia (both internal and external).
6. Playing on class frustration instead of addressing it.
7. Obsession with plots and conspiracies.
8. Portraying perceived enemies as strong so they can be feared, while portraying the same enemies as weak so they can be reviled.
9. Equating non-violent measures with sympathizing with a perceived enemy.
10. Contempt for the weak.
11. The cult of heroes.
12. The cult of machismo, primarily in the forms of contempt for women and homosexuals.
13. Selective populism, in the form of promulgating a movement’s insiders as the voice of the people.
14. Use of a limited vocabulary as a means to reduce complex issues to simplistic terms.
I’d say the Trumpites got a perfect score.
Boru
‘But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods or no gods. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.’ - Thomas Jefferson
