The Fight Against Fascists (I Can't Believe This Exists)

[Dill]

(06-08-2021, 12:37 AM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: By this definition https://www.dictionary.com/browse/fascism

noun
(sometimes initial capital letter) a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

Every box but one is checked. He has claimed total authority in the past and throwing out democratic election results and taking power would put him in the dictator category. He has forcibly suppressed opposition and his followers help him suppress criticism. His entire shtick is aggressive nationalism and he dabbles with the racism. He cares about money more than anything but himself so if given more time I'm sure he would be interested in exerting more control over certain areas of the economy to enrich himself, especially something like social media so he could force feed you with his propaganda.

But you are right though. I guess I will just have to call him a half-ass fascist. Like almost everything else he does other than being a conman, he was a failure.

Nati, that's not really a complete definition. There are some more "boxes." 

E.g., Most scholars/historians of fascism would agree that strong anti-feminism and hyper-masculinity are essential to fascist ideolology. (well, ok, Trump definitely checks that one.) 

There is hostility to a free press. (Trump check there too.)

Also, fascism is a "spiritual" ideology which eschews commercialism and material reward, emphasizing sacrifice and willingness to accept pain and deprivation, as well as willingness to dish it out. That's why fascist ideology emphasizes "spiritual" and "national renewal" over personal pursuit of wealth. Trump may be willing to sacrifice others, for sure ("Tell us about it" our Kurdish allies might reply, along with Jeff Sessions), but he is not preaching sacrifice to his followers. Fascism makes a fetish of sacrificial death in service to the state/nation. 

Fascism is anti-bourgeois, especially when that comes in liberal democratic form, where the business of the state is "merely" to protect property and individual rights. "The fascist state is totalitarian" Mussolini wrote, meaning it is the national expression of a people's "spirit" and "destiny." In practice this meant erasing the liberal/bourgeois distinction between state and civil society. 

Even if Trump became a dictator, I don't see much "ideology" in him beyond narcissistically spreading the Trump brand, wanting people to envy his gold toilets and trophy wife and "genius."  He does not see himself embodying the "destiny of his people" or some such. 

Finally, his "aggressive nationalism" is not really the required type, as his conception of the state isn't really fascist. E.g., it is not expansionist, not an end itself, not spiritual, not militarized (despite his selective support for law and order).