http://www.major2nd.com/ae/fascists.html#fascism
THE IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS OF FASCISM

By Dr. Lawrence Britt
Free Inquiry Magazine  / Spring 2003

Dr. Lawrence Britt, a political scientist, studied the fascist regimes
of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto
(Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile). He found the regimes all had 14
things in common, and he calls these the identifying characteristics
of fascism. The article is titled 'Fascism Anyone?', and appears in
Free Inquiry's Spring 2003 issue on page 20.

The 14 characteristics are:

   1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism -- Fascist regimes tend to
      make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs,
      and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag
      symbols on clothing and in public displays.

   2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights -- Because of fear
      of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist
      regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in
      certain cases because of "need". The people tend to 'look the
      other way' or even approve of torture, summary executions,
      assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

   3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause -- The
      people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the
      need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial,
      ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists;
      socialists, terrorists, etc.

   4. Supremacy of the Military -- Even when there are widespread
      domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate
      amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is
      neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

   5. Rampant Sexism -- The governments of fascist nations tend to be
      almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes,
      traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to
      abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and
      national policy.

   6. Controlled Mass Media -- Sometimes the media is directly
      controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is
      indirectly controlled by government regulation, or through
      sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship,
      especially in wartime, is very common.

   7. Obsession with National Security -- Fear is used as a
      motivational tool by the government over the masses.

   8. Religion and Government are Intertwined -- Governments in
      fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the
      nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious
      rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even
      when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed
      to the government's policies or actions.

   9. Corporate Power is Protected -- The industrial and business
      aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the
      government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial
      business/government relationship and power elite.

  10. Labor Power is Suppressed -- Because the organizing power of
      labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor
      unions are either eliminated entirely or are severely
      suppressed.

  11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts -- Fascist nations tend
      to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and
      academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics
      to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is
      openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.

  12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment -- Under fascist regimes,
      the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The
      people are often willing to overlook police abuses, and even
      forego civil liberties, in the name of patriotism. There is
      often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in
      fascist nations.

  13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption -- Fascist regimes almost always
      are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint
      each other to government positions, and who use governmental
      power and authority to protect their friends from
      accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for
      national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even
      outright stolen by government leaders.

  14. Fraudulent Elections -- Sometimes elections in fascist nations
      are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by
      smear campaigns against (or even the assassination of)
      opposition candidates, the use of legislation to control voting
      numbers or political district boundaries, and the manipulation
      of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their
      judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.