I prefer to reserve the term Fascism for totalitarian states organized along the lines of Italy from Mussolini's assumption of power to his overthrow. To wit:

1. A totalitarian single party political system in which the supremacy of the state becomes an end unto itself, and in which all true opposition (organized or not) is outlawed.

2. An one-dimensional hyper-nationalism in which patriotism is equated with mass public rituals, and also in which any questioning of such rituals is branded disloyal at best and treasonous at worst.

3. The complete subjugation of the individual to the state, and the complete rejection of the belief that the individual has any rights other than those granted by the state.

4. A subserviant judiciary which lacks any pretense of independence, which displays no commitment to uphold generally recognized principles of fairness, and which far from being the champion of justice is merely another instrument of state oppression.

5. The complete absence of any independent political, economic, journalistic, cultural, or educational institutions that can serve as countervailing forces to the one-party state. Whatever institutions do exist, from newspapers to trade associations to labor unions to universities, are controled by the party and/or the state. Otherwise they are surpressed.

6. Military and paramilitary forces whose numbers and authority are far in excess of any required for legitimate national defense and internal security.


All states, even the most democratic ones, act in a more or less authoritarian manner from time to time. That's inherent in exercizing state power. However, real Fascism, as outlined above, is something of an entirely different magnitude.