do you know what fascism is?

Question

You hear people sling the word all over political websites now can you actually define it?

Answer 1

Sensitivity training.

Being told you must see a doctor, and then being assigned to a particular doctor.

Fairness Doctrine.

Being limited to a certain vehicle

But a few examples of it's (fascism) modern incarnation.

Answer 2

Most people don't really know, but Communism and Fascism are actually opposite sides of the political spectrum (and the Soviet Union was not communist--claiming it does not make it true).

Both sides started from the same starting point. Both believed Capitalism and democracy would be a failure. Communists believed that the business owners in a capitalist society would always try to cheat their workers. The communists believed that the business owners (the bourgoisie) would continually force the workers (the proletariat) to work harder and for longer hours, while at the same time refusing to pay them what they deserve.

Eventually the bourgoisie would do this so much that the workers would be unable to survive because their salaries would be so low they wouldn't be able to afford food, clothing, or shelter. This would cause the workers to rise up and overthrow the bourgoisie and establish a socialist society. In socialism the workers appoint a group of members of the proletariat to root out and destroy the last vestiges of the bourgoisie (those former business owners who saw the way the tide turned and tried to join the proletariat in their revolt). After the entire bourgoisie was destroyed and all that were left were the workers, everyone would work together (since all of them had seen what happens when there are high and low classes); and there would be equality among all humans.

With equality and everyone getting what they need, it was assumed there would be no more crime. Prostitution, Robbery, Murder, etc. were all supposed to be an extension of capitalism; since everyone who committed a crime was just a low class member trying to make it to the higher classes. Of course, the first major country to try it (the Soviet Union) showed that this wasn't so. The government stayed in the violent Socialist phase and just pretended they had attained Communism. Karl Marx knew there would be a violent phase in this (the Socialist part), but he didn't realize the government would become the new high class and that it would never truly attain Communism (which is a good thing and the world has not yet seen).

Facism also starts their ideas from Capitalism. They though in this case that the workers would just get lazy. They would use things like unions or just refusing to work to force the business owners to pay more and more in wages to keep the economy going. At some point the owners would either no longer be able to afford to pay the workers, or they would refuse to pay that much and the economy would collapse. The only way fascists saw past this event was to appoint a single strong leader to lead the armies (since groups similar to a Congress would be too mired in discussion and second-guessing each other to deal with the situation) to force the workers to work for a fair wage and re-establish the economy.

So Communists believed that the best way to reach a workable economy is for everyone to work together and take only what they need in equality. A great goal but rather naive.

The Fascists were less naive about the situation; they realized that everyone is selfish and that sometimes people must be forced to work. Unfortunately they believed the only way this could be accomplished was to force the workers to work (sometimes and usually only with violence).

Capitalism and Democracy is an attempt at a compromise. It takes a strong dictator position (the president), and a representative discussion group (Congress), and gives each power over the other to make sure neither side gains too much power and therefore too much influence. Throw in an oversight body to make sure everyone follows the law (the Judiciary with the Supreme Court as the highest oversight body), and you've got the best chance for everyone to be happy (or at least accepting of the current government).




I must say I'm impressed with myself, I'm rather inebriated right now. I hope I'm as understandable as I believe myself to be.

Answer 3

American Heritage dictionary says:

NOUN: 1. often Fascism a. A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism. b. A political philosophy or movement based on or advocating such a system of government. 2. Oppressive, dictatorial control.
ETYMOLOGY: Italian fascismo, from fascio, group, from Late Latin fascium, from Latin fascis, bundle.
OTHER FORMS: fas·cistic (f-shstk) —ADJECTIVE

WORD HISTORY: It is fitting that the name of an authoritarian political movement like Fascism, founded in 1919 by Benito Mussolini, should come from the name of a symbol of authority. The Italian name of the movement, fascismo, is derived from fascio, “bundle, (political) group,” but also refers to the movement's emblem, the fasces, a bundle of rods bound around a projecting axe-head that was carried before an ancient Roman magistrate by an attendant as a symbol of authority and power. The name of Mussolini's group of revolutionaries was soon used for similar nationalistic movements in other countries that sought to gain power through violence and ruthlessness, such as National Socialism.

Answer 4

For the liberals the definition is: George W. Bush.

Heres Websters definition:
1 often capitalized : a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition
2: a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control

Answer 5

there are a lot of ways to describe it, and yes, Bush and his grand daddy are fascist's!

Fascism, modern political ideology that seeks to regenerate the social, economic, and cultural life of a country by basing it on a heightened sense of national belonging or ethnic identity. Fascism rejects liberal ideas such as freedom and individual rights, and often presses for the destruction of elections, legislatures, and other elements of democracy. Despite the idealistic goals of fascism, attempts to build fascist societies have led to wars and persecutions that caused millions of deaths. As a result, fascism is strongly associated with right-wing fanaticism, racism, totalitarianism, and violence.
The term fascism was first used by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini in 1919. The term comes from the Italian word fascio, which means “union” or “league.” It also refers to the ancient Roman symbol of power, the fasces, a bundle of sticks bound to an ax, which represented civic unity and the authority of Roman officials to punish wrongdoers.

Fascist movements surfaced in most European countries and in some former European colonies in the early 20th century. Fascist political parties and movements capitalized on the intense patriotism that emerged as a response to widespread social and political uncertainty after World War I (1914-1918) and the Russian Revolution of 1917. With the important exceptions of Italy and Germany, however, fascist movements failed in their attempts to seize political power. In Italy and Germany after World War I, fascists managed to win control of the state and attempted to dominate all of Europe, resulting in millions of deaths in the Holocaust and World War II (1939-1945). Because fascism had a decisive impact on European history from the end of World War I until the end of the World War II, the period from 1918 to 1945 is sometimes called the fascist era. Fascism was widely discredited after Italy and Germany lost World War II, but persists today in new forms.

Some scholars view fascism in narrow terms, and some even insist that the ideology was limited to Italy under Mussolini. When the term is capitalized as Fascism, it refers to the Italian movement. But other writers define fascism more broadly to include many movements, from Italian Fascism to contemporary neo-Nazi movements in the United States. This article relies on a very broad definition of fascism, and includes most movements that aim for total social renewal based on the national community while also pushing for a rejection of liberal democratic institutions.

Answer 6

Fascism is a liberal's term for any idea that appears that it might be right of center.

Answer 7

"A system of government characterized by dictatorship, belligerent nationalism and racism, militarism, etc."