What is fascism really?

[Worker Clam]

Okay, I'm new to this whole leftism thing. Now that I'm reading more progressive stuff, I find that leftist call Bush a "fascist," while Bush (and I guess the neo-cons?) were always batting about the phrase "Islamo-Fascism." Is there some definition of "fascism" would cover both, or is this just name-calling?

[RadioRaheem84]

Man, this is the most over discussed topic on the revleft learning forum.

Fascism is right wing. Don't listen to the revisionists.

Such talk otherwise is akin to saying that Neo-Conservatives are left wing because they employ liberal-ish and leftist rhetoric to their ideals.

[Rjevan]

People often apply the term fascism quite widely, but in fact it is a ideology with certain characteristics rather than a label for every dictatorship or militaristic state.
Generally fascism is: totalitarian and very hierarchical dictatorship + corporatist economy, promoting extreme nationalism, sexism, militarism, religion and more. Another characteristic is an almost all-powerful leader who stands above law and holds all state power, as he is seen as the personification of "the nation's united will".

We had some threads about the nature of fascism lately, maybe you will find them helpful:
http://www.revleft.com/vb/fascismi-and-matter-t129772/index.html?t
http://www.revleft.com/vb/israel-fascisti-t128949/index.html?t
http://www.revleft.com/vb/fascism-philosophy-t126503/index.html?t

[The Idler]

Power concentrated instead of power distributed.

[chegitz guevara]

Most of the comrades above are wrong. Ideologically, fascism is all over the place, and often contradictory. This is because ideology is merely a justification. For example, consider the American fascist movement, the Tea Party. Its overt politics are a melange of right-wing Christianity and libertarianism, as well as lots of other odd ball conspiracy theories (like the birthers).

Fascism is a mass movement (not a government) based primarily in the middle classes, but also including déclassé workers. lumpens, etc. The uniting feature of fascism is rage at what they see as their undeserved conditions.

Fascism is vomited up during periods of decaying capitalism, as businesses and the economy fails, fascists look around for someone to blame for their problems: Jews, Mexicans, Blacks, foreigners, bankers, etc. (They aren't wrong about bankers, though.)

The ruling layers of the capitalist class may find fascists useful, for example, to smash the organized worker, or, currently in America, to make sure health care reform doesn't include a public option. In such periods, the ruling layers of the capitalist class will provide resources and funds for fascist movements. This is dangerous, however, as fascists have their own agenda, and can easily hijack the state. For this reason, the capitalists are only use fascists when they are desperate.

edit: added missing parts of a sentence

[Delenda Carthago]

Who's bike is this?
Thats not a bike baby.That's a chopper.
Who's chopper is this?
Its Zed's baby...
Who's Zed?
Zed's dead baby....

[RadioRaheem84]

Most of the comrades above are wrong. Ideologically, fascism is all over the place, and often contradictory. This is because ideology is merely a justification. For example, the American fascist movement, the Tea Party,

Fascism is a mass movement (not a government) based primarily in the middle classes, but also including déclassé workers. lumpens, etc. The uniting feature of fascism is rage at what they see as their undeserved conditions.

Fascism is vomited up during periods of decaying capitalism, as businesses and the economy fails, fascists look around for someone to blame for their problems: Jews, Mexicans, Blacks, foreigners, bankers, etc. (They aren't wrong about bankers, though.)

The ruling layers of the capitalist class may find fascists useful, for example, to smash the organized worker, or, currently in America, to make sure health care reform doesn't include a public option. In such periods, the ruling layers of the capitalist class will provide resources and funds for fascist movements. This is dangerous, however, as fascists have their own agenda, and can easily hijack the state. For this reason, the capitalists are only use fascists when they are desperate.


Agreed. Sometimes the fascist aren't against ideas of republicanism and the like as the Republic of Salo had an authoritarian republican government.

It seems like the tea party people would be somewhat along the same lines as fascists.

[Durruti's Ghost]

There are a number of different analyses of the nature of fascism, none of which are fully in agreement about which movements qualify as "fascist". One of the most widely-used of these analyses, at least among members of the Left, is Trotsky's: http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/works/1944/1944-fas.htm

[punisa]

Would it be correct to state that in comparison to communist ideology, fascism goes much further into philosophy and human psychology (usually including unscientific evidences)?
Are we in a way... more "object-oriented" ideologists?

I suspect that majority of us are atheists or at least agnostics, does God play a significant role in separating these two contradictory ideologies?
As in a way - once you "outgrow" God, chances that you'll dwell into anything that is not a scientific facts are rather slim?

I mention this especially considering the Nazi ideology, they were very "intrigued" about pagan, supernatural, mystic etc. At least, so I heard.

[chegitz guevara]

Would it be correct to state that in comparison to communist ideology, fascism goes much further into philosophy and human psychology (usually including unscientific evidences)?
Are we in a way... more "object-oriented" ideologists?

No, it would not be correct to say that. See what I wrote above.

[Antifa94]

Few people understand the complexities of fascism, and how maliciously multifaceted it is. It can be Bourgeois( the Falangist Party, the Tea Party) or anti-bourgeois ( the Nazis) religious or areligious, capitalist or anti-capitalist.

Fascism is a fascinating thing, in a morbid way. It's horrifying and intriguing the number of ways fascism can rear its head.

Fascists are usely composed of Lumpenproletariats, confused/ unemployed young people, industrialists, Christian fundamentalists, conservatives, capitalists, anti-capitalists, anti-conservatives, eugenicists, anti-abortionists, anti-feminists, legalists, social democrats( the leaders, not the ill informed workers that support them) corporatists, pseudo anti-corporatists, racists, anti-semites, militarists..... the list goes on and on.

[Cowboy Killer]

Fascism is simply the forcing of a ideal onto other people and really not allowing any leeway,religion,and nationalism are examples of this.

[Red Commissar]

Fascism is a term that tends to be thrown around loosely and a lot. The specifics of it have been discussed already, but I would encourage people to think before they use it. I find it's like the right-wingers throwing around "communist" and "socialist" loosely.

[Bolshevism1917]

The important thing about fascism is that its class character depends on existing political and social conditions. During non-revolutionary periods fascism has its roots in the middle classes because these classes are subject to the insecurities of capitalism but do not have the same traditions of collective struggle and organization as the working class, the same being true of the lumpenproletariat, but when capitalist rule is faced with a threat from a militant and organized working class fascism gains the support of the bourgeoisie, due to the ruling class needing to utilize fascism as a way of destroying democratic institutions and working class organizations, and, in the ideological sphere, emphasizing class collaboration and radical nationalism - in terms of its understanding of nationalism the key ideological feature which has historically distinguished fascism from other forces on the radical right is the theme of national rebirth, which combines the continuation of perceived national traditions with a revolutionary aesthetic that other forms of nationalism lack. The response of different sections of the radical left to fascism has differed historically. Stalinist organizations have either adopted a sectarian attitude and refused to ally with other forces on the left including left-reformist parties to combat the threat of fascism on the grounds that social-democracy is just as bad as fascism (the theory of social-fascism, as it's called) and that a fascist victory would open the way for a socialist revolution - this was the position of the KPD in Germany, for example - or have openly called for popular fronts with the bourgeoisie at the expense of the interests of the working class. The position of Trotskyists has always been the united front, which is an alliance built as broadly as possible, including reformist organizations, but does not force revolutionaries to surrender their political independence.