jron:
Eco’s fourteen ways of looking at a fascist, summarized
Umberto Eco was ten years old in 1942, and has often described his life under that regime, the inspiring resistance soldiers, the African-American troops he met as a boy, and his growing understanding of Italy’s place in Europe and the world.
Here is a summary of Eco’s 14 ways of looking at a fascist. His list describes features, not a system, but each allows fascism to form around it.
Read his original essay here: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/1995/06/22/ur-fascism/
1. Cult of tradition. Truth has already been defined and therefore cannot advance.
2. Rejection of modernism, which is seen as the beginning of depravity.
3. Action for action’s sake, based on instinct, with a distrust of thinkers, intellectuals and experts.
4. Disagreement is treason.
5. Fear of difference, and thus racist by default.
6. Social frustration of middle class followers due to political humiliation or pressure from lower social groups.
7. Followers feel deprived of a clear social identity, become obsessed with a broad plot against them, and typically turn to xenophobia.
8. Followers feel humiliated by wealth or secret networks of their enemies.
9. Belief that life is permanent warfare, and pacifism is treason.
10. Contempt for the weak and belief that others need a strong leader.
11. Craving for a heroic death.
12. Machismo, disdain for women and “nonstandard” sexuality, with phallic exercises often transferred to gun obsessions.
13. Belief that government no longer represents the people, unless it is following a select point of view.
14. An impoverished vocabulary with key in-words common among followers.
Watch for these; some are always present, but they’re growing again. I’ve summarized them because everyone should know them, but Eco’s essay is much more interesting to read.
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