Some people are describing Donald Trump and his followers as fascists, but the word “fascism” gets bandied about almost any time someone proposes a policy that someone else opposes. Let’s define it so that we’re all using the same definition.
While his explanation requires a bit of expansion, David Landon Cole gives us an excellent introduction to the topic, and what follows is adapted from what he says.
To summarize (and slightly expand) what he said:
Fascism is not a single set of principles or any actual principles at all. The principles promoted within a particular fascist movement vary according to the goals and dictates of a particular leader. Fascism is, instead, an outlook, a world view, based on five key principles (Cole describes four, I’ve added one):
- It's a form of populist nationalism that asserts there is a crisis in society that can be solved only by a kind of nationalist re-birth based on a connection to a mythic golden age.
- Fascism is anti-liberal and also generally anti-conservative, with the caveat that fascists find more willing dupes within conservative movements, and it often arises from extreme conservatism.
- Fascism is anti-rational, appealing to adherents through emotion and action rather than through reason and consideration.
- Violence is promoted as necessary to achieve the goals of the movement. This allows the use of oppressive polices that protect the power of the movement’s leaders.
- Fascist groups are generally charismatic, corporatist, and totalitarian, and they are always racist.
The primary mechanisms for persuasion used in fascist propaganda are appeals to fear and anger, and the claim that adherents to “the movement” are patriots and are superior to others. The policies prescribed by fascists come as a later "bolt-on" to a particular movement, although violence and war are always among the policies advocated. However, fascism, itself, has no core principles.
Therefore, if you wish to know if fascism exists today, do as Mr. Cole suggests, and ask yourself this question:
“Are there any populist nationalist groups who say there is a crisis in society that can be solved only by a return to what they see as the true values of the nation?”