A fascist is not just someone whose political opinions differ from yours. Such generic labels are neither useful, nor accurate. But fascists and their regimes often do have common characteristics that help identify them. This list was compiled two decades ago by political scientist, Dr. Lawrence Britt, after studying the fascist regimes of Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Suharto, and Pinochet. SOURCE: "American Fascism and God," Davidson Loehr, Chelsea Green Publishing Co., 2005, pp. 78-70.

For those interested in further understanding of fascism, two approachable and brief summaries are "On Tyranny", by Timothy Snyder, and "How Fascism Works," by Jason Stanley.

Fascist characteristic #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.

Fascist characteristic #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, and so on.

Fascist characteristic #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; terrorists; and so on.

Fascist characteristic #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.

Fascist characteristic #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. Opposition to abortion is high, as are homophobia and antigay legislation in national policy.

Fascist characteristic #6

Controlled mass media. Sometimes the media are directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media are indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives.

Fascist characteristic #7

Obsession with national security. Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

Fascist characteristic #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.

Fascist characteristic #9

Corporate power is protected. The industrial and business aristocracies 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.

Fascist characteristic #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.

Fascist characteristic #11

Disdain for intellectuals and the arts. Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility toward higher education and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.

Fascist characteristic #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.

Fascist characteristic #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 racist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even stolen outright by government leaders.

Fascist characteristic #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, opposing 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.