Neo-Fascism

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This article is part of the
Neo-fascism series.

This series is linked to the Politics and Elections series

Varieties of Neo-fascism

Neo-Nazism
Neofascism and religion
Crypto-fascism
Neo-Nazi groups of the United States


Origins of Neo-fascism

Fascism
Nazism
Clerical fascism


Neo-fascist political parties and movements

American Fascist Movement
American Nazi Party
Aryan Nations
British Movement
British Nazi Party
Creativity Movement
Fronte Sociale Nazionale
German Empire Party
Italian Social Movement
Libertà di Azione
Muslim Brotherhood
National Alliance
National Renaissance Party
National Socialist Front (Sweden)
National Socialist Japanese Workers Party
National Socialist Movement (United States)
National Socialist Party of America
November 9th Society
Political Soldier
Socialist Reich Party
Union Movement


Relevant Lists

List of fascists


Related Subjects

Fascist symbolism
Roman salute
White nationalism
Nazi-Skinheads
White Power
Christian Identity
Holocaust denial
Conservative Revolutionary movement
National Bolshevism
International Third Position
Anti-fascism

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Neo-Fascism is the term used to describe a range of groups emerging after the Second World War that display significant elements of Fascism, or Clerical Fascism.

(For a discuccion of different ideological debates concerning fascism, see Fascism and ideology).

Groups and movements that also include as core tenets racial nationalism, antisemitism, and praise for Hitler, are discussed on the page Neo-Nazism. Groups and movements that are constructed around a religious identity or theology are discussed on the page Neofascism and religion.

Allegations that a group is neofascist are often hotly contested. Sometimes the term is used as a hyperbolic political attack that uses the term fascism as a politic epithet or slur.

The definitional debates and arguments by academics over the nature of fascism fill entire bookshelves. Most scholars consider Fascism to be an authoritarian political movement, and it is generally considered to be part of, or in coalition with, the extreme right. There is also a minority view that Fascism is a fundamentally leftwing ideology. This debate is discussed on the Fascism page.

First adopted in Italy during the 1930s, Fascism spread across Europe between World War I and World War II. Neofascism is the term used to describe fascist movements active after World War II.

In some cases the term Neo-Fascist (note uppercase 'F') by movements that express a specific admiration for Benito Mussolini, the insignia of Fascist Italy (e.g. the fasces, the Roman salute) and features specific to Fascist Italy. This usually includes ultranationalism, nativism, and various illiberal attitudes.

Neo-fascist (note lowercase 'f') movements can draw on an eclectic mix of attachment to Italian Fascism, German Nazism, and the fascisms of other nations.

Contents

Regimes often called fascist after World War Two


Argentina (1946-1955 and 1973-1974) - Juan Perón admired Mussolini and established his own pseudo-fascist regime. After he died, his third wife and vice-president Isabel Perón was deposed by a military junta. Similarities are best drawn, though, with the Vargas regime of Brazil.

South Africa (1948-1994) - Many scholars have labelled the apartheid system built by Malan and Verwoerd as a type of fascism. Whether it was a fascist regime or an example of a socially conservative administration with excessive powers is hotly debated. The racial and nationalist ideas were implanted inside the South African regime, however the economic structure of the country was not as regulated as that of a typically fascist state.

Guatemala (1953-1980s) - Mario Sandoval Alarcón, a self-declared fascist, headed the National Liberation Movement after a coup d'état overthrew the democratic government of Col. Jacobo Arbenz. Sandoval became known as the "godfather of the death squads" during the Guatemalan military's 30-year counter-insurgency campaign and at one point served as Guatemala's vice president.

Rhodesia (1965-1978) - The racial segregation system by Ian Smith is similarly considered by some to be a form of fascism. See the comments of South Africa.

Lebanon (1982-1988) - The right wing Christian Phalangist Party, backed by its own private army and inspired by the Spanish Falangists, was nominally in power in the country during the 1980s but had limited authority over the highly factionalised state, two-thirds of which was occupied by Israeli and Syrian troops. Phalangists, trained and supported by Israel are alleged to have carried out the Sabra and Shatila Massacre in 1982.

Iran (1950-1953) - Under the Iranian National Front, during the regime of Mohammad Mossadegh, attacks on the political left were led by right-wing groups with fascistic elements including the Iranian Nation Party, led by Dariush Forouhar; the Sumka (The National Socialist Iranian Workers Party) led by Dr. Davud Monshizadeh; and Kabud (Iranian Nazi Party) founded by Habibollah Nobakht.


Neo-Fascism and Italy

Organizations that have been described as 'Neo-Fascist' include;

Since the 1990s, Alleanza Nazionale has distanced itself from Mussolini and fascism and made efforts to improve relations with Jewish groups, with most die-hards leaving it; it now seeks to present itself as a respectable rightwing party. Lega Nord is primarily a secessionist movement, but has often been accused of xenophobia and racism; however, it has also lately presented its goals as a more moderate quest for local autonomy.

Neo-Fascism and the United States

Critics making this claim come from a variety of political viewpoints. The claim that the United States is fascistic remains dubious and fiercely debated, with few scholars supporting the claim.

This idea was first brought up in the cautionary novel It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis. Cases have been made both for and against this allegation on all sides of the political spectrum.

For example, there are those on the right who claim that the US has been Fascist since the New Deal policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In 1933, retired General Smedley Butler testified to the McCormack-Dickstein Committee that he had been approached by a group of wealthy business interests, led by the Du Pont and J. P. Morgan industrial empires, to orchestrate a fascist coup against Roosevelt. The alleged coup attempt has come to be known as the Business Plot.

From the Right

Some on the political right have long argued that statism represents a form of fascism in the U.S. See: Fascism_and_ideology#Historic_view_from_the_Right

Richard Rahn, a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute and adjunct scholar of the Cato Institute states:

"Despite the election of a 'compassionate conservative' as president, federal spending is again growing faster than national income, even excluding the new military spending, in large part due to a bipartisan effort to enlarge government. The laudable effort made in the late 1990s to get rid of most farm subsidies is now in the process of being thrown out. Free trade is under attack and protectionism is again emerging, and the recent 'campaign finance reform' legislation is a direct attack on free speech. The new fascism is not just a danger for Europeans; it is a present danger for us." [1]

From the Left

Some on the political left see fascism in authoritarian policies of various, but not all, Republican administrations based on their Church and State infuences from the Christian Right, on foreign policy matters from neoconservative thinktanks like PNAC, and the self-interest lobbying from big businesses such as Enron and Halliburton. Some radical (anti-fascist) leftists , notably Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky, refer to both political parties as two sides of the same coin for allowing corporate power and influence to dominate the electoral process, and believe that essentially "free elections" have become defunct in America. Few scholars take these claims seriously (see Neo-Fascism).

Noam Chomsky has warned that people in the U.S. need to remain vigilant to keep America from drifting towards fascism.[2]. Some link growing corporate power to fascism.[3].

In several essays, David Neiwert has explored the rise of what he calls "Pseudo-Fascism." He concedes that "American democracy has not yet reached the genuine stage of crisis required for full-blown fascism to take root" and thus " the current phenomenon cannot properly be labeled 'fascism.' But he warns:

But what is so deeply disturbing about the current state of the conservative movement is that it has otherwise plainly adopted not only many of the cosmetic traits of fascism, its larger architecture -- derived from its core impulses -- now almost exactly replicates that by which fascists came to power in Italy and Germany in the 1920s and '30s.
It is in this sense that I call it Pseudo Fascism. Unlike the genuine article, it presents itself under a normative, rather than a revolutionary, guise; and rather than openly exulting in violence, it pays lip service to law and order. Moreover, even in the areas where it resembles real fascism, the similarities are often more familial than exact. It is, in essence, less virulent and less violent, and thus more likely to gain broad acceptance within a longtime stable democratic system like that of the United States.
And even in the key areas of difference, it is not difficult to discern that those dissimilarities are gradually shrinking, and in danger of disappearing.
That this is happening should not be a great surprise. After all, as I've already explored in great detail, the mainstream conservative movement has increasingly had contact with the genuine American proto-fascists of the extremist right over the past decade or more, particularly in the trafficking of ideas, agendas and the memes that propel them. [4]

Clinton Administration

There continues to remain conservative, libertarian, and independent view points that the Bill Clinton administration was fascist. They point to Clinton's attempt to "centralize" the financial and economic markets and to socialize the economy. They also suggest a liberal control of the media and contend that the media worked in collusion with the administration. Likewise, many of Hillary Clinton's policies have been criticized as fascist.

Certain actions taken by Clinton during his administration have also caused critics to call his administration Fascist:

Chip Berlet, of the think tank Political Research Associates, disagrees with this analysis, and wrote that a mythic conspiracy theory generated by right-wing conspiracists created the idea in several sectors of the U.S. political right (the Patriot and armed militia movement, the Christian Right, the libertarian right, the extreme right) that Clinton was attempting to create a fascistic and totalitarian New World Order:

"For those in this right-wing conspiracist subculture, Clinton as President represents a constitutional crisis because he is seen as a traitor betraying the country to secret elites plotting a collectivist totalitarian rule through a global New World Order. Stories of Clinton's alleged sexual misconduct buttress this notion because they demonstrate symptoms of his liberal secular humanist outlook, which ties him to what is seen as a longstanding conspiracy against God, individual responsibility, and national sovereignty."[5]

Bush Administration

Some writers claim that the United States now meets some or all requirements for a Fascist state. Cases have been made both for and against this allegation on all sides of the political spectrum.

Cases made to support the contention that the US is currently Fascist or moving towards fascism include:

  • Use of "administrative warrants" and other tools such as those in the Patriot act which allow the administration to exercise police powers without judicial oversight. The designation of "enemy combatants" by the administration and the use of kangaroo courts like the Combatant Status Review Tribunal to bypass the normal rule of law. The use of torture. Claims by the administration that it needs more and more of these powers. These may indicate a movement towards a police state.
  • Decreasing openness in government: significant increases in the amount of information deemed classified, the introduction of "unclassified but sensitive" information, "sneak and peek" searches and gag orders on search targets (allowed by the Patriot act), etc.
  • Reports such as the Bush Administration paying journalists to promote the policies of the Administration. This would lend credence to the allegation that Media is being controlled by the Administration. Also, self-censorship such as the sort practiced in open forums to prevent the spread of viewpoints that oppose the current administration may be considered evidence that the administration need not openly censor, but can rely on supporters to carry out the necessary censorship. (The Armstrong Williams incident)(The Balkans Website incident)
  • The widespread use of religion as a justification for many laws and policies (such as Faith Based Initiatives) and the blocking of certain legislation on religious grounds (such as gay marriage and stem cell research). Also the widespread use of religious rhetoric and symbolism in many speeches and appearances lend credibility to the allegation of religion being intertwined with Government.
  • Fraudulent Elections have been suspected in both of the last presidential elections. There is evidence such as the sworn testimony of Mr. Clint Curtis, and other widespread indications of deceptive election processes in Ohio and other locations, in addition to the conflicts of interest with Secretary of State of Ohio Mr. Blackwell also being the co-chair of the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign in Ohio.

To counter the claim that the United States is becoming fascist, opponents point to the fact that George W. Bush won a majority of the popular and electoral votes in the 2004 U.S. presidential election. However it should be noted that the Electoral Votes are usually based on the popular vote counted from the election. Of course, some police states were originally installed in free and fair elections, so this only counters the claim that it is fascist now, not that it is becoming fascist. It is further noted that the belief that the US is becoming fascist is fiercely disputed under any administration by all sides of the debate.

External links

Neofascist Site

Other Critiques

One of the most widely circulated arguments implying the U.S. shares some similarities with fascism is the article by Lawrence Britt.

Britt argues that "fascism’s principles are wafting in the air today, surreptitiously masquerading as something else, challenging everything we stand for." Britt looked at the "following regimes: Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Franco’s Spain, Salazar’s Portugal, Papadopoulos’s Greece, Pinochet’s Chile, and Suharto’s Indonesia. To be sure, they constitute a mixed bag of national identities, cultures, developmental levels, and history. But they all followed the fascist or protofascist model in obtaining, expanding, and maintaining power. Further, all these regimes have been overthrown, so a more or less complete picture of their basic characteristics and abuses is possible" [6].

1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism.

2. Disdain for the importance of human rights.

3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause.

4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism.

5. Rampant sexism.

6. A controlled mass media.

7. Obsession with national security.

8. Religion and ruling elite tied together.

9. Power of corporations protected.

10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated.

11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts.

12. Obsession with crime and punishment.

13. Rampant cronyism and corruption.

14. Fraudulent elections.

External links

Organizations and movements

Organizations that also have been described as 'Neo-Fascist,' with varying degrees of justification, include the following.

See also

Academic surveys

  • The Beast Reawakens by Martin A. Lee, (New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1997, ISBN 0316519596)
  • Fascism (Oxford Readers) by Roger Griffin (1995, ISBN 0192892495
  • Fascism in Britain: A History, 1918-1985 by Richard C. Thurlow (Olympic Marketing Corp, 1987, ISBN 0631136185)
  • Fascism Today: A World Survey by Angelo Del Boca (Pantheon Books, 1st American edition, 1969)
  • Free to Hate: The Rise of the Right in Post-Communist Eastern Europe by Paul Hockenos (Routledge; Reprint edition, 1994, ISBN 0415910587)
  • The Dark Side of Europe: The Extreme Right Today by Geoff Harris, (Edinburgh University Press; New edition, 1994, ISBN 0748604669)
  • The Far Right in Western and Eastern Europe by Luciano Cheles, Ronnie Ferguson, and Michalina Vaughan (Longman Publishing Group; 2nd edition, 1995, ISBN 0582238811)
  • The Radical Right in Western Europe: A Comparative Analysis by Herbert Kitschelt (University of Michigan Press; Reprint edition, 1997, ISBN 0472084410)
  • Shadows Over Europe: The Development and Impact of the Extreme Right in Western Europe edited by Martin Schain, Aristide Zolberg, and Patrick Hossay (Palgrave Macmillan; 1st edition, 2002, ISBN 0312295936)

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