Thread by @paddydocherty

In these heightened times, many will be wondering whether it’s accurate/reasonable to call the appalling @Nigel_Farage a Fascist.... Is it reasonable to label him as such, or an unhelpful exaggeration...? #resist #fascism #brexit

To answer this important question, let’s consider how eminent scholar of the subject, Robert Paxton, defined fascism in his 2004 book, “Anatomy of Fascism”.... (@vintagebooks) #resist #fascism #brexit #farage

Paxton wrote: “"The moment has come to give fascism a usable short handle, even though we know that it encompasses its subject no better than a snapshot encompasses a person.... (1/4) #resist #fascism #brexit

Fascism may be defined as a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy, and purity.... (2/4) #resist #fascism #brexit #farage

...in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties.... (3/4) #resist #fascism #brexit #farage

...and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion.” (4/4) #resist #fascism #brexit #farage

Sound like anyone we know...? Possibly the appalling @Nigel_Farage and the grotesque liar @BorisJohnson...? Just because they’re still wearing suits not black shirts doesn’t mean they’re not in the same boat as Oswald Mosley... #resist #fascism #brexit