Fascist politics are running rampant in America today—and
spreading around the world. A Yale philosopher identifies the ten
pillars of fascist politics, and charts their horrifying rise and
deep history.
As the child of refugees of World War II Europe and a renowned
philosopher and scholar of propaganda, Jason Stanley has a deep
understanding of how democratic societies can be vulnerable to
fascism: Nations don’t have to be fascist to suffer from fascist
politics. In fact, fascism’s roots have been present in the United
States for more than a century. Alarmed by the pervasive rise of
fascist tactics both at home and around the globe, Stanley focuses
here on the structures that unite them, laying out and analyzing the
ten pillars of fascist politics—the language and beliefs that
separate people into an “us” and a “them.” He knits together
reflections on history, philosophy, sociology, and critical race
theory with stories from contemporary Hungary, Poland, India,
Myanmar, and the United States, among other nations. He makes clear
the immense danger of underestimating the cumulative power of these
tactics, which include exploiting a mythic version of a nation’s
past; propaganda that twists the language of democratic ideals
against themselves; anti-intellectualism directed against
universities and experts; law and order politics predicated on the
assumption that members of minority groups are criminals; and fierce
attacks on labor groups and welfare. These mechanisms all build on
one another, creating and reinforcing divisions and shaping a society
vulnerable to the appeals of authoritarian leadership.
By uncovering
disturbing patterns that are as prevalent today as ever, Stanley
reveals that the stuff of politics—charged by rhetoric and myth—can
quickly become policy and reality. Only by recognizing fascists
politics, he argues, may we resist its most harmful effects and
return to democratic ideals.