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Useful Notes Fascism

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 Useful Notes: Fascism
Laconic: Palingenetic ultranationalistic populism
Fascism is a hard concept to pin down, in no small part due to the many and varied ways it has been used. This is an attempt to bring some light on the subject.
For purposes of these notes, fascism will be considered as a political movement that encompasses Italian fascism, German national socialism, Spanish falangism, and other political traditions.
Fascism as a slur
Fascist and fascism are often used as simple slurs. The most common target, besides real fascists, are probably police officers and other people who have been entrusted by the government to use and suppress violence at need. Generally, it means the target is perceived to be oppressive, authoritarian, totalitarian, intolerant, repressive, or something else that the speaker has negative feelings about.
Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_1'); })As a political or ideological term, this usage is not terribly enlightening; more often it simply serves to muddy the waters and make future discussion impossible.
Please do not use the word fascist, Nazi, or its variations in this way here on TV Tropes, unless a work itself uses the term this way. See also The other wiki.
The fascism of Italy
Italy was the first country where fascists managed to create some sort of ideological program and took power. As such, the fascist movement of Italy lent its name to many other similar political movements that appeared in the early 20th century.
See the useful notes on Fascist Italy for a good overview of fascism in Italy up until 1945.
Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_2'); })Fascism as a political movement
Now to the actual meat of these notes, and the fascist core:
Palingenetic ultranationalistic populism
Quite a mouthful, isn't it? Lets try to shed some light on it.
Palingenetic means rebirth or regeneration, more specifically a cleansing of such. Once the unwanted elements are washed away, eliminated, or destroyed the remaining old core will bring about a new dawn and reach their proper place.
Ultranationalistic means that the nation, its traditions, and the corresponding sense of unity is paramount. This means that it isn't really possible to import fascism to one country from another—each nation must have its own, and it will express itself in different ways.
Populism means appeal to the masses, usually by appeals to feelings, "common sense", revanchism, or disenfranchisement, and the assertion that the speaker is the true representative of the masses. Often the established elites are the target for this. However, populism in this regard carries a highly elitist core, since the masses are not expected to themselves influence the (self-appointed) leader; they are to follow.
Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_3'); })Or in the words of Roger Griffin, the academic who first managed to work out this definition:
Note here that these core traits can to some degree be found in many other political movements, it is the combination of all three that is unique to fascism.
This definition has now largely supplanted the older ones, that mostly focused on "mature" fascism (ie ones that had managed to establish themselves into the political mainstream and maybe even taken power) and on the characteristics of the various fascist movements. The two most well-known such were worked out by Umberto Eco and Stanley Payne. Umberto Eco's essay Eternal Fascism: Fourteen Ways of Looking at a Blackshirt can be recommended.
Payne, on his part, put up the following "typological definition" of fascism, which mainly is influenced by mature Italian fascism and German national socialism:
The Fascist Negations:
Antiliberalism
Anticommunism
Anticonservatism (though with the understanding that fascist groups were willing to undertake temporary alliances with groups from any other sector, most commonly with the right)
Ideology and Goals:
Creation of a new nationalist authoritarian state based not merely on traditional principles or models
Organization of some new kind of regulated, multiclass, integrated national economic structure, whether called national corporatist, national socialist, or national syndicalist
The goal of empire or a radical change in the nation's relationship with other powers
Specific espousal of an idealist, voluntarist creed, normally involving the attempt to realize a new form of modern, self-determined, secular culture.
Style and Organization:
Emphasis on esthetic structure of meetings, symbols, and political choreography, stressing romantic and mystical aspects
Attempted mass mobilization with militarization of political relationships and style and with the goal of a mass party militia
Positive evaluation and use of, or willingness to use, violence
Extreme stress on the masculine principle and male dominance, while espousing the organic view of society
Exaltation of youth above other phases of life, emphasizing the conflict of generations, at least in effecting the initial political transformation
Specific tendency toward an authoritarian, charismatic, personal style of command, whether or not the command is to some degree initially elective
Some notes on the national fascisms
Due to the different countries they developed in, the specific problems in those countries, and the personalities of the leaders, historical and contemporary fascisms are quite different from each other. Italian fascism and German national socialism has plenty of apparent and superficial similarities because they evolved at a similar time and had close relations with each other, but also large differences.
Once one leaves the interwar era of Europe, the differences become even more pronounced. Using Paxton's list above, lets take a look at some historical fascist movements
German national socialism
See Nazi Germany. This is probably the archetypal example of a fascist movement.
Italian fascism
Italian fascism developed into a much less racist ideology than national socialism. More accurately, instead of a biological view of race and national unity, they used one that was mainly based on culture. If someone spoke Italian, embraced the Italian culture and the Roman heritage, they were viewed as good Italians. The main exception was Croats (who, strangely enough, were firmly allied with German nazis) and Slovenes, which were placed in concentration camps. Jews, on the other hand, were comparatively well treated.
Another difference was that Italian fascism was strongly oriented towards the Catholic church.
Spanish falangism
The falangism of Spain was one of the political movements that took part of the Spanish Civil War, though they were later integrated into and suborned under The Franco Regime (a more classic conservative dictatorship).
Like the Italian fascism, they had a cultural view of race, and had strong ties to the Spanish Catholic church. Like the German national socialists, they were proponents of eugenics. It is quite possible that they were fiercely anti-semitic, but due to the Spanish history there were hardly any Jews present anymore, so that didn't develop.
The American Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan might have the distinction of being the first fascist movement. Born out of a reaction against the Reconstruction after The American Civil War, it aimed at recreating the old order of the South by putting the freed slaves and the carpetbaggers in their place (which should be understood as lynching and intimidation).
The importance of religion in shaping the American view of self also meant that Christianity (understood as Protestantism) played a much larger role within the Ku Klux Klan; they combine the religious views of falangism (but pro-Protestant instead of pro-Catholic) with the racial views of national socialism.
So, what about TV Tropes?
Basically, be careful when using the term fascist and its different variations. Do not use fascist when you mean totalitarian, authoritarian, militant, repressive, or some other thing.
Further reading:
Perhaps the most comprehensive and easily understood study of fascism on the Internet is written by journalist David Neiwert, as Rush, Newspeak and Fascism: An exegesis. Especially part III, The Core of Fascism, is very much recommended.
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