Fascism has many definitions bit.ly/2xclaCp. FA Hayek said when socialism goes from international and pacifist to nationalist and militaristic, that's fascism. China has done that. But @johndlukacs has said German and Italian fascism were too different compare, 1/
generic fascism doesn't exist and fascism and socialism are just types of extremist populism. Still, I think we can answer the question by reaching for more granular definitions. In "Eternal Fascism," Umberto Eco lists 14 properties. By my count, China meets all but five. 2/
Namely, appeal to a frustrated middle class, obsession with a plot, anti-pacifism, the educated hero and machismo. Some of these don't mean what you may think, so it's worth reading his essay (or browsing the wiki link above). But also, take note that the Trump administration 3/
meets all but one: the educated hero (again, not what it seems). So if you don't consider Trump fascist, you'll have a hard time using Eco's metric to argue China is. Personally, I favor the Encyclopedia of Marxism's definition, which lists nine properties. 4/
To wit: a right-wing, nationalist, capitalist, religious, anti-modern system with a righteous leader that loathes economic equality or equality between immigrant/citizen, wages war to rebuild as compensation for fading imperial power and turns lies into truths by sheer will. 5/
Most of these properties fit China, except it isn't right-wing or religious, it doesn't loathe equality and it doesn't wage war for profit. Those are huge omissions, so I don't think China qualifies. Besides, before we lay that accusation on China's doorstep, it helps to 6/
maintain perspective by comparing to a country we may know better: the US. The Trump administration fits all those properties, excessively in fact, except it's not particularly religious. Consider its hatred of socialism or the progressive left (right-wing). Consider its 7/
views on @Kaepernick7 or Mexicans (nationalist, anti-equality). Consider how Trump supporters look upon him as a righteous leader, no matter WHAT he does or says. Consider the attack on modern art or non-normative sexual practices as deviant (anti-modern). And, 8/
of course, how can we forget the habit of trying to make blindingly false things true by sheer force of will. As for whether the US wages war for profit, that demands more nuance than I'm willing to provide here. But you get the idea. 9/
I mention it not because I think the US is a fascist nation (I do not), but to illustrate that by the same logic, neither is China. There are fascist tendencies to Trump's presidency. There were to Mao's. There are today under Xi. But China is a one-party socialist republic. 10/
Even to the degree that it is fascist, that word carries such problematic connotations, and is usually just a lazy insult anyway. So unless one means it in the technical sense only hinted at above, it's probably just saying China does immoral authoritarian things. Hope I helped.
