Thread by @TheAliceSmith

We need a conversation about what fascism truly is. Because everyone agrees that it’s wrong. But everyone applies the name to a wide and contradictory range of opponents.

Trump is a fascist. Farage is a fascist. The EU are fascists.

So who is?

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The best method for understanding fascism is to look at what self-conscious, overt & agreed fascists say about their own philosophy.

Mussolini is a prime example.

No one claims that he wasn’t a *real* fascist. He labelled himself one & wrote about it.

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“All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing agaisnt the state.”

Mussolini makes it clear that fascism in essence is the pervasiveness and supremacy of the State over every area of social life.

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Fascism isn’t about Right / Left.

Fascism isn’t about policies regarding race or any other topic.

Fascism isn’t about militarism or warmongering.

Fascism is the belief that the State is the supreme social institution, regulating all others.

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21st century fascists...

Make no distinction between state & society. The State = the group.

Make no distinction between law & morality. The unethical = the criminal.

Make no distinction between individuals & citizens. The personal = the political.

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A good rule of thumb for identifying fascists is this:

Do they believe that all human problems are reducible to political problems that we must look to the State to solve?

If the answer is yes, then they are a fascist.

Are you?

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