Distinguishing Fascists

We are currently facing a new conversation in society among the American people. What exactly is a Nazi? What is a fascist? What makes up the characteristics of Nazis and fascists? In this article, I will be using the terms “Nazi” and “fascists” interchangeably, considering Nazis are German fascists, and are the best known in the world.

There are, two major characteristics of Nazi politics; of fascist politics. The two characteristics are physical, and political. Of course there is also an economic characteristic, but that is just the mirror of capitalism, since the fascists possess no change of the economic mode of production, and rely on whatever brutality and cruelty will advance their fascist war machine.

The reason for this article and the focus on these two characteristics, is due to the societal pattern of throwing terms “Nazi” and “fascist” around wildly without context or analysis. It is important to detail the characteristics of exactly what makes a fascist “a fascist” or a Nazi “a Nazi.”

Political Characteristics: The political characteristics of Nazis and Fascists, is one that seems to get overlooked, or misunderstood in today's American society. The political characteristic is not only very extensive, but complex, especially in regards to how fascists achieve their goals. Fascists often utilize the most harsh, and destructive form of politics to achieve their ideals; the most reactionary form of chauvinism, to achieve their goals. This right wing populism is known in the general population. But the exact utilization taken of their politics, is the main focus. Fascists, the most politically active ones, often organize their own movements or gangs in order to spread their propaganda, and build a violent force to secure any activities they carry out; often times being illegal. I'll explain the organizations aspect below this point. In the USA, the best example of fascist manifestation is organized crime, usually in the name of funding or bloodthirst, which is popularized in television and movies. When it comes to funds, a few methods are used. Either membership dues, donations, or through alliance with capitalists. Fascist movements receive their financing almost exclusively from the largest monopoly capitalists like the Koch Brothers. Even the German Nazis got a lot of their funding from German industrialists, and American corporations.

Nationalism and Racial Superiority: Fascists and Nazis are the most far-right as can be in regards to political belief systems, they carry a nationalist focus for their nation, exalting national and racial superiority, pushing these lies that their national pride is collapsing to minorities, communists, and other groups they oppose; scapegoating innocent people in the interest of sounding appealing to the already hate filled population, who has been filled with hate from the conditions built by capitalism, who seek answers while not wishing to think deeply and critically on the issue. Pushing a lie of genocide of their race through multiculturalism. The phrase “Diversity is code word for white genocide” is a popular phrase among Nazi circles. Even the fascists of Nazi Germany manipulated the German people with the so called “crumbling of the Aryan German race.” Racial superiority is the biggest belief system of fascists, next to nationalism, and ethnic cleansing. It is with this belief system in racial superiority, fascists seek to, both openly and privately, promote and carry out the mass murder of all leftists, minorities, Jews, and others who are seen as a threat to their racial superiority and the state. It is why fascists like Mussolini, Hitler, Pinochet, and others, carried out the most atrocious acts of terror against groups of people who threatened their racial superiority belief system, nationalism, and the bourgeoisie economic model.

Pseudo Intellectualism: Fascists and Nazis don't create deeply thought out analysis, they target marginalized, low income groups who suffer under the boot of capitalism, and make them the focus of world issues, or national issues. As I wrote in my article “Fighting Fascism” I quote “fascism cannot be stopped by counter argument, it won’t fall from written opposition.” Fascists don't care what is correct or that they're proven wrong, the many times liberals debated against Nazis in Germany and that didn't stop the Nazi take over. The fact is, fascists utilize fear and hate to their benefit by directing it toward the oppressed minorities, and others that fascists oppose. They call out any and all facts that disprove their beliefs and propaganda, as being owned and manipulated by the very people they hate, most often being Jews and leftists. They try to become professional in appearance while pushing an agenda of state sponsored terror against innocent people, based on their belief system of racial superiority.

Fascism, the bourgeoisie, and leftist rhetoric: Fascists ally themselves with the bourgeoisie, like Hitler did with the German industrialists. Fascists, despite using leftist rhetoric, believe firmly in privatization and merger of state power with corporate interests. As was seen historically as Hitler privatized 6 major corporations, brought them in to the ranks of the Nazi party, and Mussolini merged corporate power with the state. Hitler's connections with German industrialists and American corporations made him big allies as his economic view was a shared view with the capitalists who seek to take more political power in the interest of increasing profit. With all this said, Hitler's utilization of leftist rhetoric would have been a interesting counter against the capitalists, however it wasn't. Fascists utilize leftist rhetoric as a tactical strategy to do two things. 1) Peaking the interest of the working class into thinking you are on their side. 2) Gain the attention of leftists, to make them attend your rallies, and cause them to fight among themselves. Fascists' utilization of leftist rhetoric was never in the interest of pushing anti-capitalism, it was to destroy the left so that the fascists can dominate them.

Fascist re-branding: Fascists often re-brand themselves in order to make themselves approachable by the masses. The most successful of these re-brandings, is the recent rise of the alt-right, which has gained traction by white supremacists, and Tea Party conservatives. The interaction of white supremacists with Tea Party conservatives, and in many cases, right-Libertarians, soon converts the conservatives and Libertarians to white supremacy. Fascist re-branding is a common tactical strategy to gain traction of racial superiority among workers.

Fascist Organizations: Fascist organizations are listed under the political characteristic because fascists utilize their organizations as a means to push their propaganda and gain influence. The heads of a fascist movement, the face or key figures of fascism in one nation, often do not do anything outside the political role, but instead round up supporters to build a lynch mob mentality, training them through their rhetoric, to be mindless soldiers who should be ready to kill when needed, or spread the propaganda, or both. To fight and kill for the purpose of restoring their racial pride and national pride. To be the shield of the movement who is willing to destroy, and willing to take the fall when things get out of control. They don't educate them through a world outlook or a study of all important issues, but rather take hate that has grown in an individual, and direct it to a minority group the individual and the fascist shares a hate/prejudice against. And leave the individual a supporter for fascism, and a unrestrained ticking time bomb. We've seen this with Nazi gangs, as Nazi gunmen commit mass murders without a listed leader, or, shield their leader by taking the place to fight back, if not have the entire group jump in to do so as well. We've seen this as fascists spit rhetoric that, even heavily incorrect, is used to recruit the anger of frustrated, and bigoted people. Fascists can create multiple groups in the interest of either re-branding, which I covered previously, or spread their influence out in to other regions. Fascist organizations, like every political organization, are the best means of organizing members, supporters, and showing some form of a legitimacy or professional role to the whole of the country and the workers, to have them normalize them as a legitimate political organization.

Physical Characteristics: The physical characteristic of fascists is what is often widely known about by the whole of the nation, the physical violence and terror of fascists to subjugate oppressed people under their dominance, to the point of mass murder or genocide. However too often are groups like the liberals (center-right spectrum) so consumed in their pacifism that they regard all forms of violence as fascism, while ignoring their country doing just that during its imperialist war campaigns, or exploitation and institutional oppression of people. Which, if you look at the status of fascism developing in a state, such imperialism and institutional oppression is one of many fascist tendencies that develop; and fascism develops further and further as the workers become more difficult to control under the capitalist society, as the state, seeking to secure the dictatorship of capital, becomes more authoritarian in the interest of protecting the bourgeoisie, until the point comes that the bourgeoisie has sided with the fascist movement, and fascism takes hold in state power, and state wide terror spreads throughout the country, against the workers, via the power of the state apparatus. However, on the level of political organizations, or the level of petty individual terrorism, fascists will carry out organized violence upon oppressed minorities and leftists, those that are deemed as enemies to their nationalist, and chauvinist interests.

Conclusion: If we were to establish a correct, more detailed definition for fascism, or fascist movements, it would be the following:

“A radical, militant movement of authoritarian nationalists, built by reactionary politics, who aim to build an ethno-state. A state or political party, funded by monopoly finance capital, built and organized, with the characteristics of white chauvinism, hatred of leftism, hatred of class oriented trade unionism, and hatred of individual liberty.”

Thus, given the clear detail of what a fascist is, both by their political character and physical character, to destroy the fascist movement must be by characteristics of militant egalitarianism. A movement who opposes fascism, and the material conditions that gave rise to it, that being capitalism. Fascism must be destroyed by a organized, united movement whose focus must be, on the one hand, for unity of workers, but on the other hand, militantly opposed to fascism via the most radical display of ruthless violence. For fascists are merciless, and to destroy them, the opposition must be as ruthless, and organized. To hold back their lines, or, to force them in to a constant state of fear or submission. Fascism will spread among the frustrated workers, and hateful capitalists; to destroy this spread, their hegemony must be dismantled in all regions; their movements must be opposed and pushed back; their armed wings must be met with armed resistance, and a willingness of radical anti-fascists to push back fascism at all costs. Not one step back!