LogFAQs > #959557405

FatalAccident posted...

So what exactly is fascism? Im not after a dictionary definition but like what actually is it in practice?

What does a fascist government/country look like?

Authoritarian government based on hyper nationalism/masculinity/militarism. Those in charge are seen as superhuman embodiments of these ideals, those on the bottom believe that through following these ideals they too can become superhuman leaders of the nation. It is viewed as meritocratic despite obviously not being so.

It focuses on glorifying and mythologizing a perceived noble past (eg, the Roman Empire in Italy, the Holy Roman Empire in Germany, Napoleonic France for both of them) and seeking a return to "traditional" values focused on conquest and violence, while expelling "evil" from within the nation and its neighbours. It appeals to very simplistic perceptions of how the world works.

Those from outside the primary group are viewed as completely expendable. Fascism cannot tolerate perceived "weakness", as strength is seen as a zero sum game, and so anything that hurts those outside the primary group is seen as beneficial to the primary group.

In practice, this all means establishing a police state to crack down on those outside the primary group, seizing control of the economy and focusing it on military conquest, an insane enthusiasm for war among even the common people, and a cult like movement around the nation's leaders.

Obviously this has a lot of overlap with other political movements because fascism isn't really that unique. It evolved as an extreme view of views that were already fairly widely held at the time.

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https://imgur.com/1XbPahR