[Paleopsych] Fourteen Defining Characteristics Of Fascism

Steve Hovland shovland at mindspring.com
Sat Mar 19 00:35:54 UTC 2005


Good work :-)

Steve Hovland
www.stevehovland.net


-----Original Message-----
From:	G. Reinhart-Waller [SMTP:waluk at earthlink.net]
Sent:	Friday, March 18, 2005 9:12 AM
To:	The new improved paleopsych list
Subject:	Re: [Paleopsych] Fourteen Defining Characteristics Of Fascism

For the sake of argument le us counter Dr. Britt's defining
characteristics of fascist regimes. In turning his 14 points upside 
down, we then have the following characteristics of a non-fascist regime:

1.  No nationalism....all members of a given country relate and pay
homage to all other nations, most especially those their ancestors came
from.

2.  Place "human rights" above security.  If someone kills your brother,
think of the murderer's rights before thinking of protecting your family.

3.  Don't label anyone as the enemy....this only promotes
scapegoat-ism.  View all as brothers and friends, even Islamic militants.

4.  De-glamorize the military by cutting their funding.  The military
serves no purpose, most especially for domestic problems.

5.  Remove males and other fascists from public office and allow support 
for divorce, abortion and homosexuality to thrive.

6.  Eliminate all controls of media....free speech must be supported 
even if it twists the facts.

7.  Removes all traces of National Security....provide for a 
laissez-faire government in which soldiers and police become new rock 
stars because crime will automatically disappear.

8.  Eliminate all forms of religion and replace with a scientific ideology.

9.  Eliminate all corporations in favor of "mom and pop" businesses.

10.  Support and promote Labor Unions.

11.  Allow all artists and academics freedom of expression.  Applaud 
gourmet treats such as barbecued dead babies or artistic works such as 
crucifix in urine.  Never censure a professor since what he has to say 
is intellectually correct.

12.  Provide no controls for crime which in turn eliminates any form of 
punishment.  Butterflies are free and so are humans.

13.  Eliminate cronyism in government and academe....only strangers can 
attain high positions, especially those without any background.

14.  Provide no security for elections.  Voting is a special treat 
available only to those with huge funds to buy their way into government.





Steve Hovland wrote:

>Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), 
>Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin 
>American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each:
>
>1.  Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make 
>constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other 
>paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing 
>and in public displays.
>
>2.  Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of 
>enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are 
>persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of 
>"need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, 
>summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc. 
>
>3.  Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people 
>are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a 
>perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; 
>liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
>
>4.  Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread  domestic 
>problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government 
>funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military 
>service are glamorized.
>
>5.  Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost 
>exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles 
>are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and 
>the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family 
>institution.
>
>6.  Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by 
>the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by 
>government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. 
>Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
>
>7.  Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool 
>by the government over the masses.
>
>8.  Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist 
>nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to 
>manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common 
>from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are 
>diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
>
>9.  Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy 
>of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into 
>power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and 
>power elite.
>
>10.  Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is 
>the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either 
>eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.
>
>11.  Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to 
>promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It 
>is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even 
>arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.
>
>12.  Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the 
>police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are 
>often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in 
>the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with 
>virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
>
>13.  Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are 
>governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to 
>government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect 
>their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes 
>for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even 
>outright stolen by government leaders.
>
>14.  Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a 
>complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns 
>against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation 
>to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and 
>manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their 
>judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
>
>
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>  
>


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