What is Fascism?

Recently General John Kelley, former Homeland Security Secretary and White House Chief of Staff under President Trump, said that Trump could be described as a “fascist.” But what does that mean? Is just an insult hurled at someone you dislike? Or is there a substantial similarity between Trump’s politics and historical fascism?

Here are some of the defining features of historical fascism that voters may wish to consider:

1.        Historical fascisms have been animated by ultra-nationalism. Fascist ideologies center on a narrative of lost national greatness, blaming scapegoats for the loss of a national birthright, and investing faith and power in an authoritarian leader.  The leader promises to restore the birthright of greatness by repressing, expelling, or eliminating members of scapegoated groups. 

2.        The true people of the nation, the source of its historical greatness, are identified with a racial or religious identity. Restoring national greatness is seen to require unifying the nation and purging alternative identities that threaten national unity and the birthright of greatness.

3.        The leader is elevated as the embodiment of the true people. The leader’s will is represented as the truest expression of the people’s interests and the destiny of the nation. Criticism of or opposition to the leader then becomes treason against the nation and its true people.

4.        The leader and his people are represented as under siege by sinister forces who engage in all sorts of conspiracies to undermine the leader and deny the nation its birthright. Since these forces are represented as an existential threat, any means are justified to defeat them.

5.        The leader is above the law, unbound and unaccountable so that he may take extreme measures in defense of the nation and its true people. In this way, the leader is the law.  

6.        Violence against “enemies of the people” is glorified and those who engage in it are held up are heroes. Manliness is equated with a capacity for intimidation and violence.

7.        Biological reproduction of the nation and its true people is seen as paramount, so traditional gender roles and patriarchal family structures are enforced by the state. Women are valued primarily as breeders and gender non-conformists are demonized and repressed.

8.        Education and learning are seen as subversive unless they slavishly promote the leader’s propaganda and the essential greatness of the nation and its history. Critical thinking becomes synonymous with treason.

All of this is inimical to a democratic republic. That is what’s at stake in the election.

Submitted on October 25, 2024 to Syracuse.com

Mark Rupert

Syracuse