What exactly is Fascism?

[The Idler]

A ideology that the far left play up to shut down debate and indulge hotheads.

[the Left™]

Fascism is a cultural and societal ideology that promotes nationalist mythology and lore to incite mass reactionary sentiment

[Luisrah]

Thank you, but what does it want? What are the 'rules'? And why does it have to be constantly at war? The Spanish and Portuguese fascist countries were not end they were able to maintain themselves for quite a while. But I guess they got some foreign help with this.

Actually Portugal engaged in warfare to protect it's colonies in Africa. It was actually one of the things that lead to the revolution.

[The Cheshire Cat]

Thanks everyone for answering, i am now on vacation and do not have a pc, only my ipod which types shit. I will reapond at the end of the week when i have my pc again. Just so you know I am not ignoring your help!

[Workers-Control-Over-Prod]

I just read the first fifty pages of "Fascism and Big Business" by Daniel Guerin and "Blackshirts and Reds" by Michael Parenti. Guerin's book is the most complete analysis of Fascism in my opinion.

[Камо́ Зэд]

Fascism, like Marxism-Leninism, doesn't exist in an ideological vacuum. That is to say, one cannot merely have a collection of traits that of their own accord come together and form what may be called fascism. That being said, where Marxism-Leninism is a self-consistent theoretical framework resulting from the accumulated historical and scientific knowledge of humankind, fascism is more of a vague collection of reactionary attitudes that developed, for the most part, out of Sorelianism. Sorel had been a Marxist, but came to "revise" Marx's conception of human history with his own mystical and idealistic notions, eventually coming to the conclusion that a revolution or some violent conflict featuring the proletariat and bourgeoisie would indeed occur, but that this revolution would "regenerate" or "purify" these classes on a moral level, ridding them of corruption and laziness or some such nonsense. Fascism would be developed out of this notion of moral rejuvenation through violence and the notion of the two major classes working together to achieve this end. Class collaboration is at the core of fascism, alongside anti-Marxist and anti-materialist attitudes. Fascist theoreticians, if they can be called that, historically claimed to be eliminating capitalism or otherwise improving upon it with a new, nationalistic system. In this way fascism gave rise to the notion of a "national socialism," the moral rejuvenation of private enterprise geared towards the good of the national tribe. Mussolini himself identified as a socialist at one point, but abandoned the label when he came to embrace fascistic attitudes. While not all fascism heavily emphasized race, the ideology of Hitler and the N.S.D.A.P. would make the issue of racial identity and the national tribe a central issue, essentially moving the spotlight away from class altogether. Instead of class rejuvenation, something that would still likely have the national bourgeoisie of these countries on edge, Hitler and others like him would emphasize a racial rejuvenation, a purification of blood, and the ascendancy of a master race that could use "lesser" races as slave labor all over the globe. The early N.S.D.A.P. was still very much interested in a petty-bourgeois pseudo-socialist revolution, but as Hitler gained corporate sponsorship and cleaned up his image that he might be taken seriously as a more traditional politician, the more "socialistic" views of the party were played down and eventually eliminated altogether (along with the individuals who held onto these views). Despite the role that leader-worship played in fascistic ideologies, the "leaders" were still very much slaves to the whims of their national bourgeoisie. Mussolini's Italy was in fact controlled by Ras, bosses not dissimilar to mafiosi. Hitler seems to have had more power in his own country, as I couldn't really imagine industrialized genocide as being more conducive to profit than, say, brutal slave labor. Plans to take on the Soviet Union had been in the works since Hitler's days in prison, and, again, I can't really speak to why the German bourgeoisie felt staging such a brazen attack was a savvy business maneuver, although the purely ideological motivation is quite apparent. In any case, fascism can be more easily identified as a series of views owing their existence to a very specific history. Modern-day fascists and neo-Nazis typically trace their ideological lineage to Mussolini and Hitler. The various Klans that exist in the United States right now, while not being entirely distinct from these ideologies, are not typically considered to be "fascist" per se, instead tracing their ideological lineage to domestic racial supremacist attitudes. You don't typically see a Klansman speaking of any kind of class rejuvenation, but the fetishism of violence and an admiration for the racial policies of the N.S.D.A.P. are still there. One might notice, though, that the Cold War has had a very unique effect in making anti-socialist attitudes in this country so strong that the Far Right, including Nazi admirers, will typically reject the notion of holding private enterprise accountable for the good of the national tribe, instead focusing much of their intellectual energy (and there isn't much of it) on fantasies of genocide and other acts of "racial purification," including violence towards homosexuals, interracial couples, non-Christians and, in some cases, the disabled. The Nazis actually had what may be called progressive environmental policies relative to the time, and the same can be said for their attitudes regarding the humane treatment of animals. Since these involves state interference with the market, naturally, much of the Usonian Far Right would rather forget these policies and instead focus on the "national" in "national socialism" to embrace fascistic attitudes. While not all fascism heavily emphasized race, the ideology of Hitler and the N.S.D.A.P. would make the issue of racial identity and the national tribe a central issue, essentially moving the spotlight away from class altogether. Instead of class rejuvenation, something that would still likely have the national bourgeoisie of these countries on edge, Hitler and others like him would emphasize a racial rejuvenation, a purification of blood, and the ascendancy of a master race that could use "lesser&" races as slave labor all over the globe. The early N.S.D.A.P. was still very much interested in a petty-bourgeois pseudo-socialist revolution, but as Hitler gained corporate sponsorship and cleaned up his image that he might be taken seriously as a more traditional politician, the more "socialistic" views of the party were played down and eventually eliminated altogether (along with the individuals who held onto these views). Despite the role that leader-worship played in fascistic ideologies, the "leaders" were still very much slaves to the whims of their national bourgeoisie. Mussolini's Italy was in fact controlled by Ras, bosses not dissimilar to mafiosi. Hitler seems to have had more power in his own country, as I couldn't really imagine industrialized genocide as being more conducive to profit than, say, brutal slave labor. Plans to take on the Soviet Union had been in the works since Hitler's days in prison, and, again, I can't really speak to why the German bourgeoisie felt staging such a brazen attack was a savvy business maneuver, although the purely ideological motivation is quite apparent.

In any case, fascism can be more easily identified as a series of views owing their existence to a very specific history. Modern-day fascists and neo-Nazis typically trace their ideological lineage to Mussolini and Hitler. The various Klans that exist in the United States right now, while not being entirely distinct from these ideologies, is not typically considered to be "fascist" per se, instead tracing their ideological lineage to domestic racial supremacist attitudes. You don't typically see a Klansman speaking of any kind of class rejuvenation, but the fetishism of violence and an admiration for the racial policies of the N.S.D.A.P. are still there. One might notice, though, that the Cold War has had a very unique effect in making anti-socialist attitudes in this country so strong that the Far Right, including Nazi admirers, will typically reject the notion of holding private enterprise accountable for the good of the national tribe, instead focusing much of their intellectual energy (and there isn't much of it) on fantasies of genocide and other acts of "racial purification," including violence towards homosexuals, interracial couples, non-Christians and, in some cases, the disabled. The Nazis actually had what may be called progressive environmental policies relative to the time, and the same can be said for their attitudes regarding the humane treatment of animals. Since these involve state interference with the market, naturally, much of the Usonian Far Right would rather forget these policies and instead focus on the "national" in "national socialism."

[Cosmonaut]

Thank you for explaining that

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

If anyone hasn't checked this out, I reckon it's worth a read. It's a serious, relatively current (2000s) attempt to understand fascism and its role in the world right now.