(ELI5) what actually is a facist
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Facism is an political ideology. Core beliefs of facism are nationalism and militarism. Facists glorify strength and violence. They believe in strict hierarchies. They think the strong have the right to subjugate the weak. This tends to lead to racist views.
Politically they are anti-democratic. On top of the facist hierarchy is a strong leader with dictatorial authority.
Fascism is an Ultra Right-wing political ideology usually associated with the World War 2 governments of Italy under Benito Mussolini, and the German Nazi party under Adolf Hitler.
The main tenants of Fascism are ultra-nationalism, militarism, strict social order, the believed superiority of one ethnic group or race, and ruled by a totalitarian government.
Fascists are bullies who believe in the axiom ‘might makes right’. Fascists make widespread use of propaganda, blame social problems on a specific group (often a specific ethnicity), build up military strength to enforce their values, and forcefully crush, kill, and imprison their opposition often through the use of a secret police.
Fascism is considered diametrically opposed to Democracy, Egalitarianism, and Liberalism.
While totalitarianism and dictatorships are part of Fascism, being a dictator does not automatically make you a fascist.
Dictators have existed in all forms of governments from fascism, communism, religious theocracies, monarchies, and even democracies like Russia (a sign that a it’s not actually a democracy)
Similarly Communism and Fascism are considered diametrically opposed ideologies with communism being extreme-left. Despite this they are often confused because they have similarities, namely oppressive governments, militarism, and being ruled by functional dictatorships.
I would generally caution against using modern party traits to define Fascism although this tends to happen. In my understanding fascism predominantly relies on two core belief systems:
* Some central claimed organizing identity, such as nation, race, religion, and the reliance on that identity being inherently better or superior in someway. This is different than patriotism as it crosses over into the thinking that everything associated with the identity is justified or correct. This comes naturally to religion and is also why fascism relies on authoritative documents or figures that draw heavy parallels with religious beliefs. This leaves no room for dissent and justifies all manners of exclusion and persecution.
* Defaulting to the collective. Individuals have no individual value other than their value as part of the collective. Meaning only exists at the collective level, and the only way that individuals can obtain meaning is by being a part of the collective. This is why people outside of the collective can be viewed as worthless, or even non-human.
These two core beliefs are all that’s really needed for fascism to develop and thrive. The rest are just symptoms of fascism:
* Using force or threat of force to suppress political opponents. This force can be the government (military, police, kangaroo courts, etc) or it can be organized civic violence.
* Autocratic and authoritarian form of government, usually led by a strongman in a single party political system. It can have the superficial structure of “democracy” as a veneer.
* Pervasive social and economic regulations, as well as celebration of thought leaders, providing the hierarchy for individuals to be submissive to the collective.
Contrary to use on the internet, it’s actually quite a specific thing born of the early 20th century and really only applicable there.
Fascism is very nationalistic. Everything is about the nation. It forgoes liberal ideals for the good of the nation. Distinct from earlier nationalism that was also liberal, like say the French revolution. It sees the nation, or race, as superior and of the upmost importance. Which leads into Naziism as an extreme, though not all fascist were to that extreme. But this does lead to internal hierarchy and discrimination. It is very militaristic, and sees conquest as justified. It also in no way conservative, but does lean heavily on the myth of a glorious past. Mussolini, for example, was basically claiming the glory of Rome. Fascism is actually radical and progressive, just not in the way we normally think of that going. It’s about rejuvenation, not the status quo.
Fascism is authoritarian and totalitarian. It is not democratic, but may take over via popularism within democracy. It will snuff out opposition, often violently. It seeks to control the population and most aspects of life, both economically and personally. Though it leads into working with corporations, rather than dismantling them. Fascism is actually really weak on any sort of economic policy or ideology. It has a central dictatorial figure, with a cult of personality.
Fascism is, pretty much by definition, opposed to communism. It’s a core pillar of it. Both communism as in socialist, and communism, as in the oddly similar in execution Bolsheviks and Stalinists. Both in totalitarianism, conquest, political violence, and collectivism over liberalism. Street fighting and all out war between communists and fascists occurs in Nazi Germany, but as well the Spanish civil war.
It’s all this taken together that makes fascism. A totalitarian monarchy centuries old is not fascism. Imperial Japan was not fascist and was its own thing born separately, but was similar in many ways. It was more of a military junta behind a religiously fueled God emperor. A bunch of oligarchs is not fascism. A police state is not fascism. A conquering nation is not fascism. A dictatorship is not fascism. Racism is not fascism. Throw the right mix together in the early to mid 20th century, and you have fascism.
To add on, fascism is based on the word ‘fasces’, which is a bundle of wooden sticks. One stick is brittle, but a bundle is strong.
Why is this tagged economic? Fascist historically don’t care about economic structures insofar as the in-group benefits.
Benito Mussolini, the OG founder of the fascist party, once said it should more properly be called corporatism because it is the perfect merger of State and Corporate power.
The easiest way I’ve found to define “fascism” is to take the namesake of the ideology: The fasces.
The fasces are in essence a bundle of sticks tied together. The symbolism of the fasces is that it represents strength in unity. One stick is easy to snap, but multible ones are neigh impossible.
Fascism is the belief that one’s own unit, nation or race’s superiority and that it must unite, often in the opposition of a hated enemy (Communism, Judaism, etc.). Fascism is inseperable from the pursuit of power, and hence is strictly hierarchical, militaristic and authoritarian by nature.
Fascists recognize no greater duty than the advancements of one’s units interests regardless of self-sacrifce or morality.
The nation exists to serve the state. The state exists to serve the nation. The boundaries of the nation solidify an “us” vs “them” hierarchy that may be characterized and distinguished by race, religion, ethnicity, culture, creed, sexuality, gender, or ability. Those outside the “us” of the nation have no rights and are often regarded as a social plight and vermin that wastes resources that could be better allocated in service of the nation. Even the rights of individuals within the “us” group are provisional only in so far as these rights serve the interests of the state and the nation (in other words if you are one of “us” then you have freedom until it can be said that you sympathize with “them,” at which point you are an enemy to the state).
In addition to the nationalistim other answers have brought up, fascism is closely tied to capitalism, sometimes also referred to as “capitalism in crisis”.
The opposition of fascism to communism, socialism etc is not arbitrary but stems from capitalists seeing organized workers as a threat to their power. Fascist powers will seek to fight and supress unions.
Famously the poem “First they came for” starts with communists.
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