[subego]

Define this.

[The Final Dakar]

Am I allowed to look up definitions online to hone my interpretation?

[Paco500]

Facism was a political movement in Italy under Mussolini. Everything thing else that gets called Facism is pretty much wrong. It started and died there.

But as I said in the other thread, it's been misused so often that it has pretty much lost it's meaning. I would say the general definition at this point includes things like extreme nationalism, authoritarianism, racism, with healthy overtones of violence.

Once people started calling the Nazis facists, the original meaning faded into the sunset.

[subego]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

Am I allowed to look up definitions online to hone my interpretation?

NO!

Yes?

[subego]

Originally Posted by Paco500 

Facism was a political movement in Italy under Mussolini. Everything thing else that gets called Facism is pretty much wrong. It started and died there.

But as I said in the other thread, it's been misused so often that it has pretty much lost it's meaning. I would say the general definition at this point includes things like extreme nationalism, authoritarianism, racism, with healthy overtones of violence.

Once people started calling the Nazis facists, the original meaning faded into the sunset.

I tend to agree with the "meaningless" definition. Its seemingly applied to, on one end, every single dictator, and on the other, whiny college students.

[Paco500]

Originally Posted by subego 

I tend to agree with the "meaningless" definition. Its seemingly applied to, on one end, every single dictator, and on the other, whiny college students.

I don't like what you say! You're a facist!

Protesters shut down my rally! They are violating the 1st Amendment!

[P]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

Am I allowed to look up definitions online to hone my interpretation?

Do that. Try Wikipedia, the section "Definition". Not so helpful.

I guess a fair description is that it originated in Italy as a response to all these newfangled liberal democracies and communist ideas, claiming that those things were now obsolete with the introduction of the total war in WWI. Someone who wants to dismantle democracy make themselves king/dictator can be considered a fascist, especially if there is some glorification of violence there. So... North Korea can be described as fascist. Daesh/ISIS too, and any other crazies of that ilk, Boko Haram and the like. Not too many other examples spring to mind.

[andi*pandi]

In my mind, it's more of a governmental thing than a small group of protesters.

[subego]

Umberto Eco tries to define fascism here:

http://www.pegc.us/archive/Articles/eco_ur-fascism.pdf

In leading up to his definition, he notes the "fuzzy" nature of what defines fascism, as opposed to something like Nazism, which has a much more rigorous definition, and can even be considered a philosophy unto itself.

He poses the question why cops get called "fascist pigs" and not "Nazi pigs", and opines it's due to the malleability of meaning with the former as opposed to the latter.

However, be warned that when he gets to his actual definition, he goes full metal Bertie Eco occult on your ass. I find what he says fascism is not to be more useful than what he says it is.

http://www.pegc.us/archive/Articles/eco_ur-fascism.pdf

[subego]

Probably the easiest component to tease out of Eco's proposal is a sort of über-nationalism.

What makes a Nazi country great is its racial purity.

What makes a Communist country great is its proletariat.

What makes a Fascist country great is its that country. What makes you great isn't your racial makeup, or your labor, it's being born there.