Too many people are throwing the word fascist around to insult anyone that disagrees with them politically. So, here is a quick and dirty crash course in what fascism/fascist means. It may be cliché, but I’ll start with the dictionary.
fascism ~ făsh′ĭz″əm
noun
1 often capitalized : a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition
2 : a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control
Merriam Webster
So, before you call someone a fascist, ask these questions:
- Do they exalt nation above the individual? This is not the same as being patriotic. One can have a strong love of country without putting the country above individual liberties.
- Are they advocating for a centralized autocratic government? Do they want bigger government, or smaller government? More regulations, or fewer? Higher taxes, or lower? More federal power over the states, or stronger state’s rights?
- Is this person supportive of a dictatorial leader? Or, are they the dictatorial leader? Keep in mind, a leader making one decision that you do not like does not indicate they are a dictator. A dictatorial leader has absolute power with no checks or restrictions over them.
- Does the person impose or advocate severe economic or social regimentation? Do they want all people forced to comply in a very specific way? Do they want to mandate something on all people, with few or no exceptions?
- Does this person use force to suppress opposition? Do they censor opposing speech or opinions? Do they cancel someone for holding a differing opinion. Do they call any differing opinions dangerous, or violent, or hateful?
I hope this was helpful. See you around the Twitter sphere.