The 14 points of Fascism

found this while surfing...
http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm

Wake up and smell the Fascism

"If Mussolini defines fascism as "the merger of corporate and government power" what does that make the Republican party?"

1.) Powerful and Continuing Nationalism

2.) Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights

3.) Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause

4.) Supremacy of the Military

5.) Rampant Sexism

6.) Controlled Mass Media

7.) Obsession with National Security

8.) Religion and Government are Intertwined

9.) Corporate Power is Protected

10.) Labor Power is Suppressed

11.) Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts

12.) Obsession with Crime and Punishment

13.) Rampant Cronyism and Corruption

14.) Fraudulent Elections

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Since retiring, Britt has written three novels. But it's one short article that has gained him high visibility on the left. Fascism Anyone? (www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/britt_23_2.htm) outlines 14 common threads linking Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Franco's Spain, Salazar's Portugal, Papadopoulos's Greece, Pinochet's Chile, and Suharto's Indonesia. The article was published in Free Inquiry in 2003, but type the title into Google and you'll get 3,500 hits. One political website --- Project for the Old American Century --- fleshes out his 14 points with examples of how America is slouching toward fascism (www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm).

http://www.rochester-citynews.com/gbase/Gyrosite/Content?oid=oid%3A3136

defined fascism as the the merger of corporate and government power (where labor power is necessarily diminished) because he was "convenient(ly)" finding parallels to Republicans?

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This is the best thread I have bookmarked from DU on the 14 points of fascism.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=592344

There is an animation that does the 14 points- http://www.bushflash.com/14.html

but with all the taser discussions today, i thought it was worth a repeat.

Of all the forms of tyranny that have existed, fascism has its own niche and shouldn't be confused with other historic tyrannies.

What separates fascism from other tyrannies is that a nexus exists between the large business interests and the government. The relationship is either that they collaborate together directly or that business interests influence government indirectly. Furthermore, such a relationship must naturally exclude the interests of the people. Civil liberties, labor protections, environmental protections--these are all subordinate to the interests of corporate power.

Nazi Germany was more an example of direct collaboration, while the current government in the US is more an example of indirect influence over the government.

What separates the US model from the German model is that 1) the trappings of a representative democracy are still held in place, 2) the news media is instead controlled by corporations directly instead of the state, and 3) opposition is weakened but not annihilated in the US.

If the phenomenon in the US were much more similar to that seen in Germany, then the news media would be controlled directly by the government; the Democratic Party would be outlawed and "liquidated" as well as members of the Green Party, socialists, anarchists, and other dissidents; and elections, civil liberties, and other institutions found within representative democracies would be suspended or dismantled altogether.

perhaps the american model has simply evolved to a more insidious form.
sure we have the trappings of a representative democracy...one that only represents the interests of wealthiest 1%.
the news media is controlled by friends of the government instead of directly by the government...same end.
the opposition has been virtually annihilated...just not banned or disappeared yet.

Wouldn't it be more efficient to trick people into believing they live free than to try to take it by brute force and then spend bullets and bombs beating the population into submission afterward? Instead of building prisons of stone and steel, why not prisons of ignorance and fear? A prison of the mind, not the body.

I would say the misinformation people believe such as Iraq being behind 9/11 is one of the greatest examples of social engineering in modern history. It's truly impressive if you look at its scope and effectiveness. Absolutely stunning.

and the fiasco in florida. recall how the GOP, with the help of the media, portrayed the recounting of votes as some evil, dangerous scheme to deprive the bushbot of his rightful place in the white house? that was quite stunning too. i was just talking to someone the other day who still believes the 911/iraq big lie...i am sure there are many who still do. a more efficient form of fascism indeed.

He was on WPR last week,
you can listen to the interview online:

http://wpr.org/ideas/programnotes.cfm?dteDate=6/8/2005

PROGRAM NOTES FOR WEDNESDAY, JUNE, 8, 2005

...

8:00 AM

Joy Cardin - 06/08C

Listen

Powerful nationalism and an obsession with national security are two of the fourteen characteristics of fascism, according to Joy Cardin's guest, after eight. He'll explain why, and why the U.S. may fit the bill of a fascist state.

Guest: Laurence W. Britt, author on economic and political issues. His article, "The 14 Characteristics of Facism" appeared on the Free Inquiry Magazine. www.freeinquiry.org

i will check it out.