The 14 Defining Characteristics Of Fascism

A CLASSIC ARTICLE, A REAL KEEPER! From Free Inquiry.com and Jeff Rense.com

Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. He found 14 defining characteristics common to each:

Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of “need.” The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized. Flags are hung everywhere symbolizing support for them.

Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.

Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses. Anthrax, bombings, airports, travel, borders all become dramatized as dangerous.

Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions

Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite. No matter what crimes they do, the real CEO’s will not pay, just a few lower down VP’s.

Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed. Marx warned that flight of manufacturing would be done if it suited transnationals. USA has that feature!

Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.

Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections. Diebold voting machines that PRECISION LIE…..installed everywhere.

POSTER’s NOTE #1- INSUFFICIENCY FEARS will be magnified, played upon, by the controlled PRESS. Variations of MALTHUSIAN THEORY are bandied about to keep the SHEEPLE patriotically behind the WAR MACHINE that promises to bring them MORE goods, money or ‘safety.’

POSTER NOTE #2: Lotuses will always bloom in the mud. Such an ugly fascist climate gives rise to a highly vocal, activist LEFT that will exert LIBERAL PRESSURE to do the typical LIBERAL AGENDA. For instance they want Unions, higher wages, health care, factories confined to the nation so that workers here can eat, not exporting factories to banana republics so Oligarchs can enslave peons; they want welfare for fatherless children, aid for intact families that can’t feed babies. They want educational aid so that children can lift themselves out of the lower class that parents were in and join middle class. There is a tidal wave of these liberal, humanistic laws and MOBILIZATION by citizenry, of great force upon the legislators, presidents, Kings and Military minds whom are all RUN by oligarchs these days. Read HISTORY OF LIBERALS. (just a few of the things they’ve given YOU in last century,) and remember, that only since Mahatma Gandhi’s time has an ACTIVIST force been EMERGING from people like YOU to defeat the very nasty features of Fascism given above.

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