Dissecting Fascism: A Warning

“We are not required to believe that fascist movements can only come to power in an exact replay of the scenario of Mussolini and Hitler. All that is required to fit our model is polarization, deadlock, mass mobilization against internal and external enemies, and complicity by existing elites.” -Robert O. Paxton, The Anatomy of Fascism, page 116.

Given recent events and the shift in the political climate over the last few decades, we need to have a blunt, academic discussion about fascism. Is the US on the path to it? If so, how would we know? What are the warning signs of fascists?

To answer such questions, this discussion uses the work of two authors: Robert O. Paxton, a career academic and highly regarded expert on fascism and Umberto Eco, a professor, philosopher, and prolific novelist.

In the 1998 paper The Five Stages of Fascism and in the 2004 book The Anatomy of Fascism, Paxton does a deep dive into the rise of Hitler and Mussolini, from which he was able to develop a unique definition of fascism, as well as determine the conditions and mentality that make it possible. Eco, based on personal experience and decades of research, composed the 1995 essay Ur-Fascism, in which he details the 14 characteristics of a fascist movement.

Although both authors composed their work decades ago, they have an eerie relevance to recent events, such as the protests against police brutality–ironically resulting in police brutality–, an attorney general that acts like the president’s personal lawyer, legislative and judicial branches that no longer effectively check and balance the executive, the explosion of the executive branch’s power, the hyperpolarization of our two party system, the information feedback loop between the president and certain media outlets, the demonization of particular domestic and foreign groups, the attempt to limit voting rights during a pandemic, the rejection of intellectuals, the rise of nationalism, among many, many other examples.

Paxton’s Definition of Fascism

Paxton spent the majority of his academic career studying the rise and fall of fascism. Beginning with the publication of Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order, 1940-1944 in 1972 up to weighing in on the 2016 election of Donald Trump, he has offered unique and poignant opinions on both historical and aspiring fascists.

Much of his work centers on the many difficulties of reaching a concise, definitive definition of fascism, as the term is widely misused, only a few examples exist as it is an invention of the 20th century, and each fascist movement is unique. However, Paxton developed the following definition.

“Fascism may be defined as a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victim-hood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy, and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion.” -Robert O. Paxton, The Anatomy of Fascism, page 218.

Read that again. Can you identify groups that meet the entire definition, not merely selected pieces of it? Who recently stormed a governor’s office armed to the teeth, constantly complains their values are under attack, is concerned with not mixing with people from what they think are lesser countries, has turned a blind eye towards the trampling of the constitution, has partnered with figureheads who espouse traditionalism, and is obsessed with national superiority?

Yup, you guessed it. It’s far-right militants, who left reasonable conservatives in the dust years ago. If you need more proof, keep reading. We’re just getting started.

Paxton’s “Mobilizing Passions”

Below is a list of 7 qualities of a fascist movement, according to Paxton. He said these are the attitudes that motivate and shape their actions.

The Primacy of the Group. Your loyalty to the group supersedes anything else, including rights. 

Victimhood. The group is being persecuted and so any action to defend the group, no matter how horrible, can be justified. 

Dread of the Group’s Decadence (Decline). they have a fear of being morally corrupted by liberalism.  

Integration of the Community. This is the organizing of the group and the creating of alliances with similar groups. This can involve both internal and external violence to remove opposition. 

Enhanced Identity and Belonging. Being a member of the group becomes a source of pride and forms the core of members’ self-esteem. 

Authority of Natural Leaders. Natural leaders emerge from the group and their power is not questioned. These leaders, according to Paxton, are always male. 

The Beauty of Violence. Members are willing to sacrifice themselves and others for the success of the group, as they believe they are engaged in a Darwinian fight to survive.

Anyone following US news in the last few years should recognize at least one action or statement from far-right militants that matches one or more of the seven characteristics. For example, number 2 and 7 are exemplified by 20 year old James Alex Fields Jr. driving his car into protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Paxton’s Five Stages of Fascism

By analyzing the rise of fascist movements in the 20th century, Paxton discovered all of them evolved through the same five stages.

First Stage: Intellectual Exploration. This stage involves the people becoming disillusioned with democracy and basic liberties. Pundits, intellectuals, and other leaders begin to speak of returning to a better time with better values, which have slowly been eroded away. Paxton says that there is no clear plan to return but that the rhetoric often involves taking control of society. He uses the example of the Ku Klux Klan after the Civil War. In this case, former Confederate officers lamented social changes caused by freeing the slaves and so began to speak of ways to return order.

Second Stage: Rooting. Once the idea of returning to a better time becomes widespread, it can begin to play a political role. To aid the adoption of these ideas, leaders often point to the political deadlock in the government, as this offers more proof that the current system based on liberal ideas is ineffective. This allows for the creation of an organized political party, which looks to gain support through alliances, false promises, subterfuge, intimidation, and violence.

Third Stage: Arrival to Power. Once a fascist movement becomes a legitimate political force, they look to seize power and defend it. To do so, they must appeal to powerful representatives of those looking to return to a better time. Paxton claims “The only root to power available to fascists passes through cooperation with conservative elites.” This also involves developing a well-funded and coordinated attack on liberals.

Fourth Stage: Exercise of Power. This stage is about managing the delicate balance of power between powerful institutions, such as the Church, the press, the military, political parties, business leaders, etc.

Fifth Stage: Radicalization or Entropy. Once power is secure and is properly balanced, the fascist regime has two possible paths. On one hand, like fascist Germany, the party will continue to radicalize, as the ideology that got them into power becomes institutionalized and is carried out, such as the pogrom across Europe. On the other hand, a fascist regime can become closer to a typical authoritarian regime, which imposes homogeny. Paxton here uses entropy to not mean chaos, as is commonly misunderstood, but to mean a loss of information that can be collected from a given system. In this case, authoritarianism means increasing entropy by imposing rules and standards, creating homogeneity, such as what happened under Mussolini.  

Regarding the first stage, certain far-right groups in the US are continually pushing the narrative that family values, Christian values, Western values, etc. are being trampled on. They lament the changes in society brought about by liberals, and in fact the president’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again,” is an appeal to their sense of having something taken from them.

Furthermore, the second stage has already been achieved, beginning with the Tea Party, although not all members are part of the militant far-right. This group and whatever it has evolved into today talk about the ineffectiveness of government because of liberals, made unreasonable promises they would fulfill once elected such as a better healthcare system and more coal jobs, used blatant lies such as James O’Keefe’s edited footage of ACORN employees, intimidation such as storming a government office with assault rifles, etc.

The third stage was achieved with the election of Trump. Like Paxton says, this can only be done by making alliances with conservative elites. Has Trump done this? Of course he has. Look at his relationships with Hannity, Paula White, Jerry Falwell, etc.

The forth stage has yet to be achieved, at least as far as can be reasonably discerned.

Umberto Eco’s Eternal Fascism

“I spent two of my early years among the SS, Fascists, Republicans, and partisans shooting at one another, and I learned how to dodge bullets. It was good exercise.”  -Umberto Eco, Ur-Fascism

‘Ur’ can be defined as the earliest form of something, although Eco is using it here in regards to fascism to mean eternal, as he believes humans have a primal and persistent tendency towards it. His list of fourteen characteristics below are meant to be used as a checklist of symptoms, like a psychologist using the DSM to diagnose a patient.

Cult of Traditionalism. Fascist dogma is a mix of traditional beliefs and their newly created, agenda driven beliefs. For example, the Italian fascists based their movement on the ideas of Julius Evola, who combined myths of the Holy Grail and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Eco claims this is “alchemy with the Holy Roman and Germanic Empire.” Nazis sprinkled various aspects of mysticism into their beliefs.

Rejection of Modernism. Here, Eco is saying that fascists reject the major ideas created in the last few centuries, namely the products of The Age of Reason and Enlightenment. Rather, their movements are based on a return to a primal and more visceral mentality, which the Germans called Blut und Boden, or Blood and Earth.

Demonizing Intellectualism. Eco claims that fascist movements prize actions over thought. Group members are expected to act for the benefit of the party without discussing, thinking, debating, etc. Therefore, they have an inherent disdain for intellectuals, academia, artists, etc. because they have veered away from traditional values, leading to common phrases like “degenerate intellectuals” or “universities are a nest of reds.” Herman Goering is thought to have said “When I hear talk of culture I reach for my gun.” 

Suppressing Disagreement. Dissent, debate, alternative ideas are not allowed, as this is a sign of modernism. Instead, any veering from official thought is considered high treason. 

Fearing Outsiders. If disagreement is not allowed, then other groups of people are a natural threat, as they inevitably bring in other ideas. Eco claims “The first appeal of a fascist or prematurely fascist movement is an appeal against the intruders.” By this, he means that fascist movements blame other groups for the country veering from traditional values. He also believes leaders exploit their members’ natural fear of difference. 

Appealing to a Frustrated Middle Class. Fascist movements won’t work unless they can appeal to the average person’s economic troubles. In times of economic turmoil, like post WWI Europe, the bulk of the country was struggling. Fascist movements also promise to protect the middle class from the rise of lower classes. 

Obsession with a Plot. A nascent fascist movement is appealing because it gives people a strong identity, which is rooted in being from the same country and the same race, otherwise known as nationalism and nativism. This identity only exists because of an effort to separate, differentiate, and demonize those that are different. To make this sense of identity stronger, the group needs to be under attack, either from the inside or the outside. The attackers are often identified by race, as in the well-known case of the Germans vilifying the Jews. 

Humiliating the Followers. The followers need to feel that those plotting against them have more than they do, are taking advantage of them, are manipulating them, etc. In general, the enemy laughs at those in the fascist movement, inciting rage against them. 

Permanent Warfare. If traditional values are under attack and if the fascist movement is the sole defender of them, then the members of the movement must do all they can to win. If they don’t, then they are abandoning an eternal struggle against good and evil. Eco claims that “brings about an Armageddon complex,” in which they believe there will be a final battle between good and evil and a golden age will eventually be ushered in, with them in charge, of course.  

Popular Elitism. This characteristic can also be labeled “contempt for the weak.” This implies that the world is naturally organized into hierarchies. The strong are at the top and the weak are at the bottom, again a call back to social Darwinism. At top of the hierarchy is the leader, followed by the officers, their subordinates, members of the groups, non-members, and those deemed enemies. Eco claims that the system is built on despising those lower than you. 

Cult of Heroism and Death. Everyone is taught to be a hero and heroism becomes the norm. This is coupled with the expectation of sacrificing your life for the cause, so much so that death is glorified. The Spanish fascists under Franco adopted the slogan “Viva la Muerte.”

Machismo. Because of being in a constant state of war and pushed towards being a hero, fascist members develop an exaggerated sense of masculinity. This involves a disdain for weak men, women, homosexuals, etc. This manifests itself with the obsession with violence and weapons. Eco claims “the UrFascist hero tends to play with weapons – doing so becomes an ersatz phallic exercise.”

Selective Populism. This means that people, having lost their individualism, become a vague entity with a homogenous will, which can only be expressed by the leader. The leader pretends to be the voice of the people, who can no longer safely voice their opinion. 

Orwellian Newspeak. From Orwell’s 1984, newspeak is the official language of the totalitarian state, Oceania. It is designed to convey the party message, control how events are interpreted, prevent dissident thoughts, and limit free expression. It’s no coincidence that Orwell wrote this book in the direct aftermath of WW2, as he modeled his fictional fascist regime after the real ones that were recently defeated.   

Eco wrote all of the above in 1995, well before the militant far-right took hold, although it seems as if he is standing here today describing what he sees on the news. For example, obsession with a plot is exemplified by Trump’s demonizing of immigrants. Appealing to a frustrated middle class is exemplified by Trump’s promise to bring back manufacturing. Cult of traditionalism is exemplified by using the Bible to justify modern political motives. The list goes on and on.

Discussion

Let’s be clear: this is not an attack on conservatives or Republicans. This is a warning against the militant far-right and those that support or try to placate them. They have fascist tendencies and are dangerous to not just those around them but to our democracy.

The above is meant to provide an academic definition of fascism so readers know it when they see it. Hopefully, this will prevent aspiring fascists from gaining anymore power.

“Life is not that simple. Ur-Fascism can come back under the most innocent of disguises. Our duty is to uncover it and to point our finger at any of its new instances – every day, in every part of the world.” -Umberto Eco, Ur-Fascism

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