Fascist (epithet)
Encyclopedia
The word fascist is sometimes used to denigrate people, institutions, or groups that would not describe themselves as ideologically fascist
, and that may not fall within the formal definition of the word. The Fascist party that developed in Italy in the 1920s rigidly enforced conservative values and behavior norms during the Mussolini regime. As a political epithet, fascist was subsequently used in an anti-authoritarian sense to emphasize the common ideology of governmental suppression of individual freedom. It has also been applied to a broad range of people and groups, including people of many religious
faiths, particularly fundamentalist groups. The individual, institution, or group(s) called fascist often find the use of the term in this way to be highly offensive and inappropriate.
In this sense, the word fascist is intended to mean "oppressive
", "intolerant
", "chauvinist
", "genocidal
", "dictatorial
", "racist
", or "aggressive
" – all concepts that are allegedly inspired by the ideology of actual fascism, and pervasive through fascist states. One might accuse an inconveniently placed police roadblock
as being a "fascist tactic" for its perceived oppression or interloping, or an overly authoritarian
teacher as being "a total fascist". Terms like Nazi
and Hitlerite, are often used in similar contexts.
The phrase social fascists was used by communists
against social democrats
before 1933, and is still used in some communist circles to refer to modern social democracy movements. As early as 1944, the term had already become so widely and loosely employed that British essayist and novelist George Orwell
was moved to write:
This term is sometimes used to describe communist state
s because of their single-party
totalitarian
stance in politics. This reasoning may be due to the Stalinist
form of government, influencing said states.
During the late 1960s and 1970s, the term was often used to describe a wide range of individuals, governments, and public institutions. It was often paired with other insulting terms, the most common being pig, i.e., fascist pig. In this context, the term fascist generally referred to conservative positions which prioritized the maintenance of existing social relations over various personal rights upheld by protesters and dissidents. Essentially, it served as an emotive substitute for "authoritarian", though it also described specific analytical functions – such as emphasizing the privileging of order over freedom in an opponent's discourse, the perceived racism of "imperialist" practices, or even specific Marxist theories of the origins of fascism.
In the 1980s, the term was used by leftist critics to describe the Reagan administration
, and critics in the 2000s to describe the administrations of George Bush
and Barack Obama. In her 1970 book Beyond Mere Obedience, radical activist and theologian Dorothee Sölle
coined the term Christofascist to describe fundamentalist Christians.
By the 2000s, the term came to be used against Muslims as well.
Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, a number of commentators (most in the United States) began using the term Islamofascism
to describe Islamism
and militant Islam. On August 10, 2006, in the wake of an alleged terror plot foiled in London, President Bush described the war on terror
as a war against "Islamic fascists".
In 2004, Samantha Power
(lecturer at the John F. Kennedy School of Government
at Harvard University
) reflected Orwell's words from 60 years prior when she stated, "Fascism – unlike communism, socialism, capitalism, or conservatism – is a smear word more often used to brand one's foes than it is a descriptor used to shed light on them."
The term is also used as an insult to imply that the ruling party is too heavy-handed in certain actions. For instance, it was used to describe Margaret Thatcher
's use of police to quell public disruptions during the miners' strike
.
In 2006, the European Court of Human Rights
found contrary to the Article 10 (freedom of expression) of ECHR fining a journalist for calling a right-wing journalist "local neo-fascist", regarding the statement as a value-judgment acceptable in the circumstances
, which harbor an economic and materialist view of history, examined fascism strictly from an economic point of view. This bias led them to conclude that fascism was merely a form of extreme reactionary
state capitalism
, since fascist states adopted corporatism
, promoted class collaboration
, protected private property and wanted to eradicate all forms of socialism.
While attracting criticisms for imprecision and for downplaying the extremity of actual fascism, the use of fascist as an epithet for authoritarian and intolerant power-holders has a distinct analytical basis, suggesting that fascism is a continuum or a social relation, rather than simply a political system, and that acts of repression are in some way homologous with fascist ideology.
Theories such as Félix Guattari
's concept of microfascism and Wilhelm Reich
's theory of fascism as repressive-desire provide an analytical basis for interpreting intolerance, chauvinism
, and authoritarianism as "fascist". The idea of authoritarian personalities
prone to fascist attachments may be one reason why fascism is used as an epithet for the same kind of people who might be called "anal-retentive". On An(Archy) and Schizoanalysis by Rolando Perez uses the word fascist in an analytically informed way that is similar to the usage of epithet, showing that such usage is not necessarily ill-informed or unsystematic. One basic point of these perspectives is that a libertarian or emancipatory outlook requires openness of social space, tolerance or celebration of difference, and opposition to arbitrary authority; an absence of such an outlook contributes to social closure and exclusion, thus producing social effects similar to a fascist regime (e.g., oppression of minorities and lack of basic liberties).
Several Marxist theories back up particular uses of fascism beyond its usual remit. For instance, Poulantzas
's theory of state monopoly capitalism
could be associated with the idea of a military-industrial complex
to suggest that 1960s America had a fascist social structure; this kind of Maoist
or Guevarist
analysis often underpinned the rhetorical depiction of Cold War authoritarians as fascists.
Some Marxist groups – such as the Indian section of the USFI
and the Hekmatist groups in Iran and Iraq – have provided analytical accounts as to why the term fascist should be applied to groups such as the Hindutva
movement, the 1979 Islamic Iranian regime
, or the Islamist
sections of the Iraqi insurgency
. Other scholars contend that the traditional meaning of the term fascism does not apply to Hindutva
groups, and may hinder an analysis of their activities.
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
, and that may not fall within the formal definition of the word. The Fascist party that developed in Italy in the 1920s rigidly enforced conservative values and behavior norms during the Mussolini regime. As a political epithet, fascist was subsequently used in an anti-authoritarian sense to emphasize the common ideology of governmental suppression of individual freedom. It has also been applied to a broad range of people and groups, including people of many religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
faiths, particularly fundamentalist groups. The individual, institution, or group(s) called fascist often find the use of the term in this way to be highly offensive and inappropriate.
In this sense, the word fascist is intended to mean "oppressive
Oppression
Oppression is the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. It can also be defined as an act or instance of oppressing, the state of being oppressed, and the feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions, and...
", "intolerant
Toleration
Toleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...
", "chauvinist
Chauvinism
Chauvinism, in its original and primary meaning, is an exaggerated, bellicose patriotism and a belief in national superiority and glory. It is an eponym of a possibly fictional French soldier Nicolas Chauvin who was credited with many superhuman feats in the Napoleonic wars.By extension it has come...
", "genocidal
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
", "dictatorial
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
", "racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
", or "aggressive
Aggression
In psychology, as well as other social and behavioral sciences, aggression refers to behavior between members of the same species that is intended to cause humiliation, pain, or harm. Ferguson and Beaver defined aggressive behavior as "Behavior which is intended to increase the social dominance of...
" – all concepts that are allegedly inspired by the ideology of actual fascism, and pervasive through fascist states. One might accuse an inconveniently placed police roadblock
Roadblock
A roadblock is a temporary installation set up to control or block traffic along a road. The reasons for one could be:*Roadworks*Temporary road closure during special events*Police chase*Robbery*Sobriety checkpoint...
as being a "fascist tactic" for its perceived oppression or interloping, or an overly authoritarian
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and democracy...
teacher as being "a total fascist". Terms like Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
and Hitlerite, are often used in similar contexts.
The phrase social fascists was used by communists
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
against social democrats
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
before 1933, and is still used in some communist circles to refer to modern social democracy movements. As early as 1944, the term had already become so widely and loosely employed that British essayist and novelist George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
was moved to write:
This term is sometimes used to describe communist state
Communist state
A communist state is a state with a form of government characterized by single-party rule or dominant-party rule of a communist party and a professed allegiance to a Leninist or Marxist-Leninist communist ideology as the guiding principle of the state...
s because of their single-party
Single-party state
A single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system government in which a single political party forms the government and no other parties are permitted to run candidates for election...
totalitarian
Totalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a political system where the state recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible...
stance in politics. This reasoning may be due to the Stalinist
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
form of government, influencing said states.
During the late 1960s and 1970s, the term was often used to describe a wide range of individuals, governments, and public institutions. It was often paired with other insulting terms, the most common being pig, i.e., fascist pig. In this context, the term fascist generally referred to conservative positions which prioritized the maintenance of existing social relations over various personal rights upheld by protesters and dissidents. Essentially, it served as an emotive substitute for "authoritarian", though it also described specific analytical functions – such as emphasizing the privileging of order over freedom in an opponent's discourse, the perceived racism of "imperialist" practices, or even specific Marxist theories of the origins of fascism.
In the 1980s, the term was used by leftist critics to describe the Reagan administration
Reagan Administration
The United States presidency of Ronald Reagan, also known as the Reagan administration, was a Republican administration headed by Ronald Reagan from January 20, 1981, to January 20, 1989....
, and critics in the 2000s to describe the administrations of George Bush
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
and Barack Obama. In her 1970 book Beyond Mere Obedience, radical activist and theologian Dorothee Sölle
Dorothee Sölle
Dorothee Steffensky-Sölle was a German liberation theologian and writer who coined the term Christofascism...
coined the term Christofascist to describe fundamentalist Christians.
By the 2000s, the term came to be used against Muslims as well.
Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, a number of commentators (most in the United States) began using the term Islamofascism
Islamofascism
The term Islamofascism is a neologism which draws an analogy between the ideological characteristics of specific Islamist movements from the turn of the 21st century on, and a broad range of European fascist movements of the early 20th century, neofascist movements, or totalitarianism.-Origins of...
to describe Islamism
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
and militant Islam. On August 10, 2006, in the wake of an alleged terror plot foiled in London, President Bush described the war on terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
as a war against "Islamic fascists".
In 2004, Samantha Power
Samantha Power
Samantha Power is an Irish American academic, governmental official and writer. She is currently a Special Assistant to President Barack Obama and runs the Office of Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights as Senior Director of Multilateral Affairs on the Staff of the National Security Council...
(lecturer at the John F. Kennedy School of Government
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
) reflected Orwell's words from 60 years prior when she stated, "Fascism – unlike communism, socialism, capitalism, or conservatism – is a smear word more often used to brand one's foes than it is a descriptor used to shed light on them."
The term is also used as an insult to imply that the ruling party is too heavy-handed in certain actions. For instance, it was used to describe Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
's use of police to quell public disruptions during the miners' strike
UK miners' strike (1984–1985)
The UK miners' strike was a major industrial action affecting the British coal industry. It was a defining moment in British industrial relations, and its defeat significantly weakened the British trades union movement...
.
In 2006, the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
found contrary to the Article 10 (freedom of expression) of ECHR fining a journalist for calling a right-wing journalist "local neo-fascist", regarding the statement as a value-judgment acceptable in the circumstances
Possible explanations for casual uses
Following the end of the Second World War, no group wanted to affiliate with the term "fascist" and both the propaganda systems of the USSR and Western World branded fascism as an irrational ideology because it stood in opposition to those of the Allies. The term subsequently lost all significant meaning. Marxist theorists such as TrotskyistsTrotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
, which harbor an economic and materialist view of history, examined fascism strictly from an economic point of view. This bias led them to conclude that fascism was merely a form of extreme reactionary
Reactionary
The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
state capitalism
State capitalism
The term State capitalism has various meanings, but is usually described as commercial economic activity undertaken by the state with management of the productive forces in a capitalist manner, even if the state is nominally socialist. State capitalism is usually characterized by the dominance or...
, since fascist states adopted corporatism
Corporatism
Corporatism, also known as corporativism, is a system of economic, political, or social organization that involves association of the people of society into corporate groups, such as agricultural, business, ethnic, labor, military, patronage, or scientific affiliations, on the basis of common...
, promoted class collaboration
Class collaboration
Class collaboration is a principle of social organization based upon the belief that the division of society into a hierarchy of social classes is a positive and essential aspect of civilization.-Class collaboration under capitalism:...
, protected private property and wanted to eradicate all forms of socialism.
While attracting criticisms for imprecision and for downplaying the extremity of actual fascism, the use of fascist as an epithet for authoritarian and intolerant power-holders has a distinct analytical basis, suggesting that fascism is a continuum or a social relation, rather than simply a political system, and that acts of repression are in some way homologous with fascist ideology.
Theories such as Félix Guattari
Félix Guattari
Pierre-Félix Guattari was a French militant, an institutional psychotherapist, philosopher, and semiotician; he founded both schizoanalysis and ecosophy...
's concept of microfascism and Wilhelm Reich
Wilhelm Reich
Wilhelm Reich was an Austrian-American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, known as one of the most radical figures in the history of psychiatry...
's theory of fascism as repressive-desire provide an analytical basis for interpreting intolerance, chauvinism
Chauvinism
Chauvinism, in its original and primary meaning, is an exaggerated, bellicose patriotism and a belief in national superiority and glory. It is an eponym of a possibly fictional French soldier Nicolas Chauvin who was credited with many superhuman feats in the Napoleonic wars.By extension it has come...
, and authoritarianism as "fascist". The idea of authoritarian personalities
Authoritarian personality
-Historical Origins:Adorno, Frenkel-Brunswick, Levinson and Sanford compiled a large body of research and theory , which attempted to characterize a personality type that described the “potentially fascistic individual”...
prone to fascist attachments may be one reason why fascism is used as an epithet for the same kind of people who might be called "anal-retentive". On An(Archy) and Schizoanalysis by Rolando Perez uses the word fascist in an analytically informed way that is similar to the usage of epithet, showing that such usage is not necessarily ill-informed or unsystematic. One basic point of these perspectives is that a libertarian or emancipatory outlook requires openness of social space, tolerance or celebration of difference, and opposition to arbitrary authority; an absence of such an outlook contributes to social closure and exclusion, thus producing social effects similar to a fascist regime (e.g., oppression of minorities and lack of basic liberties).
Several Marxist theories back up particular uses of fascism beyond its usual remit. For instance, Poulantzas
Nicos Poulantzas
Nicos Poulantzas was a Greek Marxist political sociologist. In the 1970s, Poulantzas was known, along with Louis Althusser, as a leading Structural Marxist and, while at first a Leninist, eventually became a proponent of eurocommunism. He is most well known for his theoretical work on the state...
's theory of state monopoly capitalism
State monopoly capitalism
The theory of state monopoly capitalism was initially a Marxist doctrine popularised after World War II. Lenin had claimed in 1916 that World War I had transformed laissez-faire capitalism into monopoly capitalism, but he did not publish any extensive theory about the topic...
could be associated with the idea of a military-industrial complex
Military-industrial complex
Military–industrial complex , or Military–industrial-congressional complex is a concept commonly used to refer to policy and monetary relationships between legislators, national armed forces, and the industrial sector that supports them...
to suggest that 1960s America had a fascist social structure; this kind of Maoist
Maoism
Maoism, also known as the Mao Zedong Thought , is claimed by Maoists as an anti-Revisionist form of Marxist communist theory, derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong . Developed during the 1950s and 1960s, it was widely applied as the political and military guiding...
or Guevarist
Guevarism
Guevarism is a theory of communist revolution and a military strategy of guerrilla warfare associated with Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, one of the leading figures of the Cuban Revolution...
analysis often underpinned the rhetorical depiction of Cold War authoritarians as fascists.
Some Marxist groups – such as the Indian section of the USFI
Reunified Fourth International
The Fourth International is a Trotskyist international. In 1963, the majorities of the two public factions of the Fourth International, the International Secretariat and the International Committee, reunited, electing a United Secretariat of the Fourth International...
and the Hekmatist groups in Iran and Iraq – have provided analytical accounts as to why the term fascist should be applied to groups such as the Hindutva
Hindutva
Hindutva is the term used to describe movements advocating Hindu nationalism. Members of the movement are called Hindutvavādis.In India, an umbrella organization called the Sangh Parivar champions the concept of Hindutva...
movement, the 1979 Islamic Iranian regime
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
, or the Islamist
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
sections of the Iraqi insurgency
Iraqi insurgency
The Iraqi Resistance is composed of a diverse mix of militias, foreign fighters, all-Iraqi units or mixtures opposing the United States-led multinational force in Iraq and the post-2003 Iraqi government...
. Other scholars contend that the traditional meaning of the term fascism does not apply to Hindutva
Hindutva
Hindutva is the term used to describe movements advocating Hindu nationalism. Members of the movement are called Hindutvavādis.In India, an umbrella organization called the Sangh Parivar champions the concept of Hindutva...
groups, and may hinder an analysis of their activities.
Sources
- Iivi Masso 2009-02-19: Fašism kui propaganda tööriist (Fascism as a tool of propaganda), printed in Eesti PäevalehtEesti PäevalehtEesti Päevaleht is a major daily Estonian newspaper, from the same publishers as the weekly Eesti Ekspress. It has a daily circulation of around 36,000....