In the comments after Michael Alton Gottleib's diary
Something Wicked This Way Comes yesterday, there was some discussion of the word
fascist, and whether or not our current Administration qualifies, or aspires to qualify, for such a label. It would be helpful to be as clear as possible about what the words
fascism and
totalitarianism mean. I add the second word because . . . well, you'll see.
::flip::
First,
Fascism.
From The American Heritage Dictionary:
fascism (fash ' iz'em) n. 1. often Fascism a. A system of government marked by authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a beligerant nationalism and racism. b. A political philosophy or movement based on advocating such a system of government. 2. Oppressive, dictatorial control.
. . . from A Companion to Political Philosophy (Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers, 1993):
Fascism is the youngest of the ideologies, and of ideologies that have had large political consequences it is the most intellectually inarticulate. It has nothing to offer on the scale of Bossuet's or Hobbes' political writings. It combines an intense nationalism which both militarily aggressive and and resolved to subdue all aspects of public and private life, to the pursuit of national greatness. It asserts that a supreme leader is indespensible, a heroic figure in whom the national spirit is incarnated. It seeks to organize society along military lines, conceiving war as the fullest expression of the national will as brought to consciousness in the leader.
Next, Totalitarianism (of which Fascism is a subgroup).
From the American Heritage Dictionary:
totalitarian (to-tal'tar ' e-en) adj. Of, relating to, being, or imposing a form of government in which the political authority exercises absolute and centralized control over all aspects of life, the individual is subordinated to the state, and opposing politcial and cultural expression is suppressed.
. . . and as summerized by Carl J. Friedrich, cited in the Companion:
- An official ideology focused on a perfect final state of humankind, to which everyone is supposed to adhere.
- A single mass party usually symbolized by or subordinate to one person; it is hierarchically organized and superior to or intertwined with the state bureacracy.
- A technologically advanced, near complete monopoly of the weapons of armed combat by that party and the bureaucracy subordinated to it.
- A similar nearly complete monopoly of the means of mass communication.
- A system of physical or psychological control by terror.
The Companion also notes that totalitarian regimes appeal to "masses, not classes" and operate through military "theatrics".
Further notes . . .
Umberto Eco reviewed the 20th century record and characterizes Fascism like this (quoting from the current Harper's" . . . I suspect Lewis Lapham is paraphrasing here):
The truth is revealed once and only once.
Parlimentary democracy is by definition rotten because it doesn't represent the voice of the people, which is that of the sublime leader.
Doctrine outpoints reason, and science is always suspect.
Critical thought is the provence of degenerate intellectuals, who betray the culture and subvert traditional values.
The national identity is provided by the nation's enemies.
Argument is tantamount to treason.
Perpetually at war, the state must govern with insturments of fear.
Citizens do not act; they play the supporting role of "the people" in the grand opera that is the state.
And one last one. I don't remember where I heard this, but I always liked it:
In a free society, the people make the government great. In an totalitarian society, the government makes the people great.
Also there is "neo-fascism" and neo-totalitarianism". In this context, the prefix "neo-" merely means "inspired by".
(As opposed to "neo-conservative," which is clearly not inspired by "conservatism". What, exactly, "neo-conservatism" is inspired by is part of the point of this diary. I'm not claiming to know the answer . . . I just wanted to be clearer about the question.)