How Fascism Works
Jason Stanley
In his book, How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, Jason Stanley talks about the ideas and strategies that fascist leaders use. He notes that these ideas aren’t individual concepts that are thrown together, but are instead part of one bigger idea, and they all are interrelated.
The core part of the Fascist ideology is what Stanley calls “The Mythic Past”. This is the idea that in the past, everything was perfect, even though it was never like that. This provides the justification for the fascist government, as they are claiming that they are attempting to bring their country back to the way it used to be. This can be used for nearly anything, as the past that the fascists speak of is always abstract so as to avoid any specific rules or customs that the fascists might be bound to. This means that the fascists can do anything they want using that justification.
A very large part of the fascist ideology are two related ideas. The first is that the racial or cultural group that is the biggest in the country is persecuted. Even though that dominant group is generally doing very well for itself, fascist leaders will point to specific examples where that group is falling behind others. The second is the idea that that said dominant group is naturally meant to be above all others. This belief is generally rooted in racism. Together, these two ideas paint a very dangerous picture: the biggest group isn’t getting what it deserves, is instead being oppressed, leading many to attempt to regain their former status, which is interconnected to the first idea, by being fascists and oppressing the people who aren’t part of the biggest group.
In the end, by using the idea that they are restoring the past to a way where a certain group of people was in charge, fascists are able to control the people. They use this idea as the bait to convince people to follow them and to help them take control. The best way to spot fascist politics is when they begin to try to separate this dominant group out from everybody else. When politicians begin to use “us and them” rhetoric, then you know that things have become dangerously close to fascism.