What is Fascism...

[fastpat]

There seems to be a problem with the definition of this political philosophy, probably due to the German National Socialist co-opting the philosophy with their own special brand of it.

Fascism is a type socialism wherein the government works had in hand with the corporate world, to finance itself, and to control the population through taxation and regulation. Some forms of it have been dressed up in various uniforms, nationalistic ideas, or other unique types of window dressing to make it more palatable for the dominant culture in each country that has adopted it.

Twentieth century fascism was primarily put together by Benito Mussolini, who had been a high ranking official with the Italian Communist Party prior to World War One. During his participation in that war, he became disillustioned with communism, correctly deciding it unworkable because it eliminated the earning power of the corporation to fund social programs, which he thought desirable. In a narrow sense, fascism is a logical outgrowth of both merchantilism and the Fabian socialists of Britain.

The upshot of the above is why I state that Franklin Roosevelt was a fascist, and that America has a fascist government today. Militaristic neo-cons like Fintstone and M-dose are good examples of it.

[Jim Richards]

werd

[Mulhollanddose]

Originally posted by fastpat
Fascism is a type socialism wherein the government works had in hand with the corporate world, to finance itself, and to control the population through taxation and regulation.

Sounds like the philosophy of the Democrats you align yourself with, Patsy...In the case of Hitler's fascism, however, there was no "partnership" between business and state. They had no choice. The fascists also control the media, which is another common thread the Democrats (those whom you agree with so frequently) have with the fascists. They were also pro-abortion, pro-public education, pro-gun control, and anti-Christian and anti-Jew.

You more often than not sound just like a fascist, Patsy. At least you mouth the same rhetoric that comes out of their ministry of information.

[widebody911]

The 14 Defining
Characteristics Of Fascism
by Dr. Lawrence Britt

Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14-defining characteristics common to each:

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. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.

6. Controlled Mass Media -
Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, 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 and letters is openly attacked.

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 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 assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

[Mulhollanddose]

Originally posted by widebody911
[B]The 14 Defining
Characteristics Of Fascism
by Dr. Lawrence Britt

Lawrence Britt, other than being a nothing, is a disinformationalist. The differences between communism and fascism are negligible...This even Patsy understands.

[widebody911]

You should have picked the handle "Parsons"

Originally posted by Mulhollanddose
Lawrence Britt, other than being a nothing, is a disinformationalist. The differences between communism and fascism are negligible...This even Patsy understands.

[fastpat]

Originally posted by Mulhollanddose
Lawrence Britt, other than being a nothing, is a disinformationalist. The differences between communism and fascism are negligible...This even Patsy understands.

Er, no, that is not true. While both take on varying degrees of totalitarianism; they are and always have been radically different; they are on the same totalitarian end of the political spectrum.

Bush'ists are fascists, as are Republicans and Democrats; just at different levels. The Republicans were America's original fascists being mercantilists. They've simply returned to their roots.

I'd like to see Democrats forsake all aspects of fascism, but so far have been disapointed. Still, they have less of it today than as any time in the past 50 years.

[Jim Richards]

13 out of 14...not a good sign of the B2 reich.

[jorian]

"Lawrence Britt, other than being a nothing....."

"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 and letters is openly attacked."

Mull,

Your clearly a fan of irony.

[Moneyguy1]

wide

Thank you for the detailed definition.

Those who do not understand it or refuse to understand it are simply misleading themselves and anyone else they can sucker into their own narrow definitions.

Whereas both can be considered totalitarian, that is where the similarities end. Facisism is rooted in corporatism:

"Historically, corporatism is a political system in which legislative power is given to corporations that represent economic, industrial and professional groups. Unlike pluralism, in which many groups must compete for control of the state, in corporatism, certain unelected bodies take a critical role in the decision making process.

Ostensibly, the entire society is to be run by decisions made by these corporate groups. It is a form of class collaberation but forward as an alternative to class conflict and was first proposed in Pope Leo Xiii's 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, which influenced Catholic trade unions which were organized in the early twentiety century to counter the influence of trade unions founded on a socialist ideology.

Under facism in Italy, business owners, employees, tradespeople, professionals and other economic classes were organized into 232 guilds, or associations, known as "corporations" according to their industries, and these groups were given representation in a legislative body known as the Camera Fasci e delle Corporazioni.

Other countries were also interested in this concept; Austria and Portugal come to mind.

According to various theorists, corporatism was an attempt to create a "modern" version of feudalism by merging the "corporate" intere3sts with those of the state. Look up "neofeudalism".

THis concept is still in existence today such as the ILO Conference and in the Economic and Social Committee of the European Union, the collective agreement arrangements of the Scandinavian countries, and Ireland's system of Social Partnership.

Corporatism can be found in the UNited States, where corporation representing many sectors exist to influence legislation through lobbying. There are corporations representing organized labor, educators, gun-rights advocates, and business interests. While these groups have no official membership in any legislative body, they often wield power over lawmakers.

www.cyberessays.com/history/40.htm

www.reference.com/encyclopedia/facism.

[1967 R50/2]

Originally posted by fastpat

Bush'ists are fascists, as are Republicans and Democrats; just at different levels. The Republicans were America's original fascists being mercantilists. They've simply returned to their roots.

You misuse the term "mercantalism".

First off, it is an economic philosophy...not a political one. Fascism is a political ideology.

Secondly, besides being about 200 years out of date as a usable term, there is no party in the US to which "Mercantilism" would seem to apply to:

From Wiki:

Mercantilism is the economic theory holding that the prosperity of a nation depends upon its supply of capital, and that the global volume of trade is "unchangeable." The amount of capital, represented by bullion (amount of precious metal) held by the state, is best increased through a positive balance of trade with other nations, with large exports and low imports. Mercantilism suggests that the ruling government should advance these goals by playing a protectionist role in the economy, by encouraging exports and discouraging imports, especially through the use of tariffs.

1. Considering the number of free trade agreements put together by both the Democrats and the Republicans in the last 50 years, the tariff is dying as a punitive trade measure. So much for protectionism.

2. Our balance of trade is NOT positive, so much for that.

3. We haven't been on a gold standard in just about forever.

4. The global trade volume is HIGHLY changable.

The reality is since Adam Smith came on the scene NOBODY really believes in mercantalism.

[fastpat]

Originally posted by 1967 R50/2
You misuse the term "mercantalism".

First off, it is an economic philosophy...not a political one. Fascism is a political ideology.

Secondly, besides being about 200 years out of date as a usable term, there is no party in the US to which "Mercantilism" would seem to apply to:

From Wiki:

Mercantilism is the economic theory holding that the prosperity of a nation depends upon its supply of capital, and that the global volume of trade is "unchangeable." The amount of capital, represented by bullion (amount of precious metal) held by the state, is best increased through a positive balance of trade with other nations, with large exports and low imports. Mercantilism suggests that the ruling government should advance these goals by playing a protectionist role in the economy, by encouraging exports and discouraging imports, especially through the use of tariffs.

1. Considering the number of free trade agreements put together by both the Democrats and the Republicans in the last 50 years, the tariff is dying as a punitive trade measure. So much for protectionism.

2. Our balance of trade is NOT positive, so much for that.

3. We haven't been on a gold standard in just about forever.

4. The global trade volume is HIGHLY changable.

The reality is since Adam Smith came on the scene NOBODY really believes in mercantalism.

Interesting, but incorrect. The British were under a mercantilist system for nearly all of the 19th century, Henry Clay's "American System" of state subsidized internal improvements were mercantilist, and of course Lincoln was the first actual American mercantilist president, though many have followed.

Since merchantilism involves government directly on behalf of corporate interests, it is in fact both a political and economic system, as is fascism.

In fact, fascism could be called 20th century mercantilism, and is why I do call it that.

[Moneyguy1]

Ya need to do abit more research..Ain't convincin anyone...

[fastpat]

Originally posted by Moneyguy1
Ya need to do abit more research..Ain't convincin anyone...

Lincoln's Economic Legacy is but one. Lincoln was a protege' of Henry Clay, indeed, he gave the eulogy at Clay's funeral and touted Clay's economic/political system for his whole career.

For more information search http://www.mises.org/search.aspx using mercantilism as a key word.