What is Fascist?
1.
1. Someone who believes in a totalitarian state rule by a supreme leader (dictator) who controls everything possible and treats people harshly -- to gain the leader's own success,* to foment an aggressive military nationalism, and to promote a Social Darwinist belief that hard life strengthens the state by weeding out the weak.
2. A lesser authority (corporation, mayor, cop, boss, parent) who legally issues harsh, burdensome, micro-managing, insensitive, or uncaring orders -- especially when they know, or should know, that their goals can be accomplished with more autonomy and much less hardship or distress.
3. A harsh and probably murderous kind of dictator; a "fascist dictator" as opposed to a "benign dictator".
4. If applied unfairly, a parent authority who is doing their job within reason, but their teen either doesn't agree with their agenda (10 PM curfew to help perform well in morning school), or is insincerely asserting their parent to be a harsh disciplinarian, in order to bond socially with friends.
5. If capitalized, is the name of the historic Italian Fascist political party. Benito Mussolini (Il Duce - "The Leader") was the Fascist founder and Prime Minister from 1922 to 1943, who built a cult of personality around himself using false media propaganda that he was always right, killed those relatively few unbrainwashed who opposed him, and unified Italy for an incompetent war to retake much of the old Roman empire. Apologists encapsulated their approval of his social control-freakery in the saying, "Il Duce made the trains run on time".
Background:
"fascist" connotates an official form of antisocial behavior, if society is understood to have valid comfort needs not met by a harsh authoritarian work ethic or supervision style.
"fascist" has general application to the misuse of hierarchical power in government, business, and religion, as well as to all other levels of society. As the global population increases, it will continue as one of the future's most important social issues.
"fascist" behavior can be observed in some form in everyday life, but is especially obvious on TV when ordered by right-wing politicians, mean bosses, and greedy corporations. Parents can be both fairly or unfairly labeled, because some parents are minor fascists, yet teens can't always tell what is fascist over-control, from what is just good parenting.
Near-synonyms:
Many folks should have said "fascist", if they misused "nazi" in poor taste, since the latter is properly reserved for genocide and extermination concerns only.
"fascist" is different from "racist", though racists are often fascists as well. But there are several nation-state military examples where the races have worked together to control the population in arguably fascist or at least military styles.
Unwary citizens can be duped by two-faced "cryptofascist" policies. For example, people in a dangerous neighborhood might accept a policy of police searching all houses for weapons. But the real purpose of the searches might be to locate books supporting the political opposition, and to intimidate or arrest people found nearby. Mussolini was the original cryptofascist, because he started his political life as a Socialist, and then turned against his former political friends when he came into power as a Fascist.
"That's fascist!"
"A fascist cop demanded to know where I was going."
"My fascist boss likes to say, 'My way or the highway'."
"My fascist dad won't let me stay out after 10 pm."
"Don't buy stuff from that fascist corporation; they fired employees sickened by handling their toxic waste."
"Chile's Augusto Pinochet was a fascist dictator, who murdered tens of thousands of his own people."
"Fascist Party leader Mussolini became Prime Minister by threatening to make Italy ungovernable."
*Inspired and adapted from a good top level definition by Redeemer The Vengence Taker, Jan 5, 2005. (See
FAcist )
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2.
A person or political party with extreme rightwing views, often including racism, nationalism and complete obedience to authority.
Hitler was a fascist.
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3.
A supporter of the extreme right-wing political belief system and/or government.
" Watch what you say now, he's a Fascist "
" Spain was a Fascist nation from 1936 until 1975 "
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4.
A synonym for United States Republican Party, Grand Old Party (GOP), and Conservatives.
Refer to other definitions for a more specific definition of fascist.
Dude: u democrats are commmunists!
Dude (2): Well u republicans are fascists : )
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5.
Relating to the ancient Roman word "fasces", which is a word for a bundle of sticks and an axehead paraded by the Roman government, fascism is a word commonly annotated with evil.
Coined by Benito Mussolini after transferring from Socialism, the term "Fascist" refers to an extreme right-wing supporter who believes in either a Totalitarian or Authoritarian governmental structure.
The term was loosely stretched to cover Naziism, and since the end of WWII has come to be a derogatory insult flung between politicians and blue-collar worker's alike.
Mussolini invented the fascist government.
You, honorable gentleman, are nothing but a fascist parading in a Liberal's clothing!!
6.
Viz.
George Bush is a Fascist.
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7.
A totalitarian movement started and popularized by Benito Mussolini which, much like communism, stresses the state as the cure for societies problems.
What differentiates it from Communism is the focus on nationalism more than the workers.
Nazi Germany was inspired by fascist Italy, though there are some differences. Its Nationalism extends into racial superiority as a distinct tenant.
There is a misconception of Communism and Fascism being on different ends of the political spectrum, this is a myth created by the Soviets to brand enemies of the party (the fascists were competition).
Fascist and Communist states both supress the individual for the collective people, and in turn socialize health care, business (sometimes corporatism), and education.
Fascism is not inherently left or right wing but it shares its roots with modern liberal ideology, as well as in eastern spirituality (that's where Hitler got the swastika from) and marxism; not to mention a general disdain for all things Judeo-Christian (Il Duce, Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, Pol Pot and Mao all had an equal hate for Christianity).
That isn't to say that there isn't right wing fascism...its just harder to find. The most famous fascists, Hitler and Mussolini, were definitely on the left side of the spectrum.
These smoking bans are fascist.
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