Well, the “F-word” of American politics is finally being brandished by both sides in a classic game of rubber v. glue. But there is danger in simply writing the battle off as a food fight, in objecting “BZL2 !” (as I might) or saying “a pox on both your houses” (as William Shakespeare might).
When we let the word “fascist” become just a name to call someone we don’t like, we lose sight of the fact that fascism is real. It is an approach to government that has been around for a long time, both in Europe and the US – an approach that a lot of people still find appealing. When we use “fascist” as a label for “the bad guys”, ignoring any real definition, we lose a tool to describe what is happening in the world. Better to take the radical approach of finding out what the word means, and using it that way.
The Encyclopedia Britannica and Wikipedia articles on fascism show that while there is a wide variety of opinions on what fascism is, there is general agreement that certain themes recur. These include: 1) extreme, sometimes militaristic, nationalism; 2) contempt for electoral democracy; 3) contempt for political and cultural liberalism; and 4) a belief in a natural social hierarchy, often coupled with hatred for immigrants and minorities. Fascists believe that violence is an acceptable tool in achieving control of the government. They want a strong authoritarian leader, who is often the hero of a cult of personality. Wikipedia’s lengthy and extensively footnoted article includes the following:
In his book How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, Professor Jason Stanley defined Fascism as “a cult of the leader who promises national restoration in the face of humiliation brought on by supposed communists, Marxists and minorities and immigrants who are supposedly posing a threat to the character and the history of a nation.” and that “The leader proposes that only he can solve it and all of his political opponents are enemies or traitors.”
Using the above items as a scorecard, I invite you to compare Donald Trump and Joe Biden and decide not whether either is a fascist, but which of the two relies more heavily on traditional fascist themes in his politics. Please let me know how you score it. And tell me if we should add other items to the checklist.
| Themes in fascism | Trump | Biden |
| Wants to restore the nation to its former glory | ||
| Promotes fear of outsiders as threatening to the nation | ||
| Encourages anger towards immigrants | ||
| Expresses contempt for racial and ethnic minorities | ||
| Resists the results of elections | ||
| Undermines the belief that elections can be trusted | ||
| Supports control of government by a minority of citizens | ||
| Shows contempt for political liberalism | ||
| Show contempt for cultural liberalism | ||
| Believes in violence as a tool to achieve political ends | ||
| Encourages supporters to physically attack opponents | ||
| Supports the efforts of paramilitary organizations | ||
| Supports government edicts that restrict personal liberty | ||
| States that he alone can solve nation’s problems | ||
| Requires loyalty and praise from subordinates in his government | ||
| Believes that the press is the enemy of the people | ||
| Believes that his political opponents are enemies of the state | ||
| Advocates throwing political opponents in jail | ||
| Believes that he can do no wrong, and encourages others to believe that | ||
| Expects the Justice Department to protect him and his supporters, while investigating and prosecuting his political enemies | ||
| Approves exercising thought control by controlling access to books and to what is taught in schools |
