“Fascism Anyone?” The 14 points
common to all fascist regimes. Regimes
like Hitler's, Mussolini's, Diam's,
Suharto's, Pinochet's, Franco's
and we must never forget Bush's.

1) Powerful and continuing nationalism
Fascist regimes tend to make use of patriotic
mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other
paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere as
are patriotic symbols on clothing, public displays,
and cars.

2) Disdain for the recognition of human
rights
Because of the fear of enemies and the need
for security, the people in fascist regimes are
persuaded that human rights and civil liberties
can be ignored in certain cases because of
“need”. The people tend to look the other
way or even approve of torture, summary
executions, long incarcerations of prisoners
without trial, 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
a common threat or foe: ethnic or religious
minorities, liberals, communists, 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.

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 as 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
sympathetic media spokespeople and executives.
Censorship, especially in war time, is common.

7) Obsession with national security
Fear is used as a motivational tool over the
masses.

8) Religion and government are intertwined
Governments in fascist regimes 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
and 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 for the 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 regimes tend to promote and tolerate
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 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 regimes are a
complete sham. Other times elections are
manipulated by smear campaigns or even assassination
of opposition candidates, use of
legislation to control voting numbers or political
district boundaries, and the manipulation
of the media. Fascist nations also tend to
use their judiciaries to manipulate or control
elections.