learntoquestion ltq discussions

LTQ #5: Fascism in the Modern Age

Originally posted by kdj729 on November 25, 2025 09:13

According to Jason Stanley, there are ten defining tactics of fascism: the mythic past, propaganda, anti-intellectualism, unreality, hierarchy, victimhood, law and order, sexual anxiety, sodom and gomorrah, and arbeit macht frei. While not all of these need to be present for a society to be present, it seems as if at least one of those concepts is always there. Of these characteristics, the most prevalent is propaganda. It doesn’t matter where you are or what your cause is, propaganda will always be there in some form. It’s all over societies that wouldn’t even be considered fascist, so it’s not enough to be considered fascism alone. There needs to be more to fit that definition. Hierarchy and victimhood are the two pieces that are really necessary for a society to be considered fascist. More often than not, hierarchy begins with an outsider group that sees themselves as better than society. From there, others join to feel equally empowered and at some point, a singular leader will take control. Having a figurehead may seem like a good thing as they likely understand the concerns of their people, but that’s not usually how it goes. Leaders tend to overuse their individual powers and by the time that is happening, fascism has likely taken over the nation.

These characteristics have the potential to seriously harm ordinary people, namely the idea of victimhood. Fascism is built on the idea of a clearly defined enemy which is usually based on race. The most obvious example of this was Jewish people in Nazi Germany. Jewish people were in such danger because the rest of the nation was being fed lies and propaganda that they were the reason for all of Germany's problems. While they were the most at danger physically, the common people of Germany also had their individual freedom basically removed. If one were to stand up against the nation, they would likely be killed or otherwise suppressed. As Kenneth Feigenbaum’s BYU study puts it, “The character structure is formed by socio-economic processes, and it anchors and perpetuates these processes. Man’s biopathic character structure is, as it were, the fossilization of the authoritarian process of history. It is the biophysical reproduction of mass suppression”. Victimhood is dangerous not just for the real victims, but also for their sympathizers.

Fascism was so appealing to societies of the past, particularly after World War I, because the world is in a constant state of motion and fascism claims to provide real stability in its place. Italy, Spain, and Germany were all the largest offenders of fascism, and it makes sense when you see just how bad they were hurt by war. When those nations found themselves in stagnant democracies, the people could easily justify fascism by arguing that making some changes is better than none at all. The same can be said for many underdeveloped countries in the modern world. Corruption can be seen in so many leaders, however all of them defend their actions by claiming that it is for the betterment of society. At its core, that just what fascism is: progress by any means possible.

The most compelling idea in this post is the idea that some characteristics of fascism can be present without it actually being fascism. This makes it difficult to identify fascism, thus we need a more clear and fit definition. Furthermore, it makes it easier for fascists to justify their fascist beliefs or actions and overall deny any claims that they may be fascists. I agree with this idea because there isn’t actually one strict definition or description of fascism which makes it difficult to narrowly differentiate between a fascist and someone with similar beliefs but doesn’t actually fit into the fascist ideology. The line is very blurry and I find it interesting how much is left up to interpretation. In fact, I find it dangerous how much is left up to interpretation because that is why it is so easy for fascism to still be prevalent in society.

One similar view I have to this person is the idea that fascism is based on having a clearly defined enemy which is usually based on race. We both discussed how the idea of victimhood is dangerous to ordinary people because in order to be a victim, there must be an oppressor. For instance, Nazis painted Jews as their oppressors to justify the Holocaust, which has proven to be completely absurd. Furthemore, I agree with racism being extremely dangerous to ordinary people. Similarly to this post, I feel that a large amount of the population is of a different race or background, thus racism or fear of difference poses an immense threat.

Overall, this is a strong post that thoroughly elaborates on all ideas. I specifically noticed that the writer repeatedly went back to the idea of propaganda, something they started with.

Originally posted by chugjug on November 25, 2025 08:30

In light of recent events like Charlie Kirk’s death, we have revealed an entire empire of true believers that seem almost alien in our democracy. Yes, Kirk’s death was unjust, but the messages he evoked were equally negative. Seeing the sheer amount of people who saw Kirk as almost biblical was quite insane, providing many with similar feelings as the January 6th incident provided. In our government today, we have a leader who claims he can solve every problem with our country. Make it great again, make it healthy again. And then remove the founding principles of a nation of immigrants, allow forever chemicals in pesticides. To the current staffing, they see immigration as opposition to a unified collective of true Americans that are inherently free of corruption because of the color of their skin and the language they speak.

People don’t often speak up about corruption because it does not affect them first hand. Presidents don’t often get gifted planes, politicians with 160 thousand dollar salaries usually do not have over 2 million dollars in stocks. Fascism has built its foundations strong in Silicon valley where the tech bros and the elite work and live (Guardian). Money is the ringleader and the elite are the faults. We are increasingly seeing this shift from the support of a democratic government to that of a leader, Donald Trump. It is undeniable that his motives are unclear and lackluster in critical thinking, but seeing his motives to push for another term, his motives to remain in power and eliminate everyone and everything that he feels goes against him is at the forefront of his plans. Stating that democrats should be punished by death, he isn’t hiding his motives behind thick glass or legal terminology; this is a direct president with direct and negative intentions.

In fascist societies, they shift from mainstream media to government policed propaganda. Did we perhaps see this when Trump removed many left leaning and non-Trump first news publications from White House briefings and press events? The push to remove and label these media companies as corrupt or illegitimate is an attempt to push for complete identity where every misinformed American can then consistently make misinformed decisions. It is undeniable that red states favor red media publications like Fox and even more right leaning media. As such, they have gained this conditioned perception that immigrants are stealing their jobs, stealing their homes, and hurting their kids. They are able to take one statistic of a person of color and through repetition, make it the forefront of any Trumpy’s headspace. “Yes Trump doesn’t like immigrants but do you remember when that one immigrant shot an American woman” They truly believe we are all like this and truly believe that the problem lies with the removal of all immigrants. As if they were not once immigrants. The man in office, married to an immigrant, telling us that immigrants are the problem. The man in office, a convicted felon, telling us the immigrants are gang leaders and threats to our safety. The man in office, claiming to make America great, provided his friends the opportunity to take advantage of stock market deflation for their own personal gains. He is not a man of the people, he is a man of the elite. He plays dirty and cares more about the plating of his toilet than the people of this nation. Don’t get it twisted—this man would try to become a fascist leader and convert our democracy into such given he had the mental capacity to do such a thing.

The most compelling argument from my peer’s post is that “people don’t speak up against corruption because it doesn’t affect them”. I agree with this idea because most of the time we have to be the ones to experience the tragedies to truly understand the extent of them. The post also conveys to me that empathy only goes so far in an imperfect and unjust world. In addition, I really appreciate the social awareness, and the several examples that this person provided to support their arguments, such as “ in fascist societies, they shift from mainstream media to government policed propaganda. Did we perhaps see this when Trump removed many left leaning and non-Trump first news publications from White House briefings and press-events”. Although my peer’s LTQ didn't necessarily resemble my personal comments, I appreciate how they took a modernist approach to their commentary, and how all the information was still relevant to the fascism topic. Additionally, it was interesting for them to focus on what the right and Trump is doing, but not necessarily call him a fascist, but examine his fascist-like characteristics. Overall, I enjoyed this post, and I feel like all the points included were relatively straightforward and strong. If anything, I would have liked it even more if they added more details because I was so sucked into the post, as it reminded me of a news blog or something I would come across on my feed.

According to Humberto Echo, characteristics that are present in a fascist society include contradicting ideas, reinforcement of tradition, an emphasis on living life as a struggle and extreme heroism. One of the most dangerous characteristics are contradicting ideas because they force people to accept simple answers to complex issues and not encourage them to think critically. Fascism was so widely accepted by societies in the past because they were searching for a consistency that fascism provided them. Under fascist rule there was temporary economic stability in some cases and also peace. However, it didn’t last very long, but it still gave the illusion of a stable environment. It also made the majority group feel superior using us versus them tactics that targeted the minorities while lifting up the majority and also winning favor. During a discussion with my peers, we discussed how a hierarchy with a dominant majority group was also very important because it provided some legitimacy to the leader. The leader also ruled using fear tactics and comparing the past present in future. Scaring people into supporting them, convincing them that it is the only option. Another key component is nationalism or glorification of the military. We saw this when a lot of money effort in time was poured into the military, allowing them to mobilize quicker and support the fascist ruler.

I think that the US is experiencing a slight taste of what fascism could be, specifically regarding their treatment of immigrants. For example, place immigrants in detention centers where many times they elect basic necessities for survival parallels forced concentration camps, while still being very different. There is also a Us versus Them hierarchy in place because many citizens feel as though they are better than immigrants. I think that the fear of being different is overwhelmingly present in many societies. It is easy to agree with the system that works for us, but if we put ourselves in the shape of another we can see that the systems we rely on are broken. I think because fascism targets what the majority believe they need it is easier to appeal to more people. Some of the US parallels to fascism include storming the capital on January 6 which is similar to burning the Reichstag in Germany. This was caused by the frustration of people with the current political leadership and was very detrimental to the authority of that party.

In many situations, fascist resumes put an emphasis on unified thinking rather than free thoughts and autonomy. I believe that when one doesn’t have a strong foundational education, then they cannot make decisions for themselves based on their own beliefs and aside from the beliefs that were indoctrinated into them.

I think the current US climate is very different from fascist societies and I would not think a fair assessment to claim that the US is a fascist regime. I also do not think that all right leaning political movements are fascist by I also do not think that all right leaning political movements are fascist by nature. While reading the national review article “ No Trump is not a Fascist” I came across a quote that captured this opinion, even though the article was arguably very biased. It said,” Trump says crude and unworthy things and behaved abysmally after the 2020 election, but the idea that he bears any meaningful resemblance to these cracked movements is a stupid smear.” I do agree that the president has said some very un-tasteful things about multiple types of people, including minorities. I do not think he fits into the category that we classify other fascist regimes and leaders in although he possesses many qualities of that kind of leader.

There are extreme groups on either side of our two party system and groups that exhibit extreme nationalism, but not to a great extent, such as the fascist movement in Germany, where the majority of the population were affected. However, I do not think that we are immune to fascism. We have very detailed checks and balances in place that work directly against fascism and monarchies, but we are not immune.

Originally posted by user927 on November 25, 2025 12:41

There are numerous characteristics that, if present, could lead to a society being considered fascist; however, these characteristics are not always present at the same time. One of these characteristics being applicable does not guarantee that all other characteristics are present. According to an excerpt from “Ur-Fascism” in “How to Spot a Fascist” by Umberto Eco, some of the characteristics of a fascist society include: cult of tradition, traditionalism, cult of action, view of dissent as betrayal, fear of difference, appeal to the frustrated middle classes, obsession with conspiracies, and elitism. The characteristics that represent the most danger to ordinary people in society are racism/xenophobia, suppression of dissent, and the idea that leaders speak for the “true people.” Racism and xenophobia are dangerous to ordinary people in society because many ordinary people are different races and have different backgrounds and cultures. These differences are uncontrollable and should not be suppressed, but rather embraced. Ordinary people who fall into these categories suffer tremendously because of the oppression faced for something so far out of their own control. Furthermore, the suppression of dissent is dangerous because it urges people to never form their own opinions. The fear of difference that allows Ur-Fascism to grow enhances the concept that racism is a dangerous characteristic of Ur-Fascism as well because the “Fascist movement is a call against intruders. Ur-Fascism is therefore racist by definition.” (Eco, 20). Fear of difference just proves that Fascist leaders take advantage of their power to control citizens; and they fear those citizens forming a personal opinion that could potentially take away from the legitimacy of the leader. In the past, people accepted fascism so easily because they were struggling with economic frustrations, humiliation, and conspiracy thinking , specifically following World War I. This made the simple and emotional explanations offered by Fascist leaders very appealing. Citizens wanted a safe and secure person who they trusted to effectively run their government. The United States is not necessarily Fascist but could potentially be moving toward characteristics of fascist societies. For instance, Donald Trump has demonstrated the cult of personality. His followers often exhibit unwavering loyalty for him, holding the belief that he can do no wrong and he is a truthful leader who can “fix” the problems within the United States. Certain characteristics of fascism such as conspiracy narratives, anti-intellectualism, and extreme nationalism are also still very present today. The January 6th attack on the Capitol was an example of these characteristics in action. I think certain characteristics of fascism are appealing to people today for the same reason they were so many decades ago: people facing uncertainty desire clear identities, strong leaders, and simple explanations for complex problems. The current climate in the US is different from fascist societies that we have seen throughout history because the US maintains multiple political parties, press freedom, and functioning institutions. Eco described his first time seeing a newspaper: “God, I had never read words like ‘freedom’ or ‘dictatorship’ in all my life.” This demonstrates how much control Fascist leaders can have and the ways in which they can brainwash citizens. In my opinion, the US, which is known to be the land of the free, could never fall into a fascist ideology in which US citizens are completely brainwashed. Right-leaning politics are not inherently fascist, fascism is defined by specific traits such as irrationalism, worship of a leader, and fear of difference, not by being conservative.

I think that all of the names' characteristics are indicators of a fascist society, but they all do not need to be present at once to qualify a society as fast. I think that the most interesting idea is comparing Donald Trump‘s actions to the cult of personality. Trump supporters are very loyal and persistent in their positive beliefs of him. He has also openly expressed his favor to the uneducated, and the people who are on the far right within his movement. I think that a lot of the posts have a common understanding and agreement that the United States is not a fascist society; however, our political leaders and certain aspects of society are indicators of a budding fascist society. While reading this, I realize that I share a lot of the same ideas as this point of view. In my post, I discussed the events of January 6, which, in combination with the actions of the president, display of fascist presence. I think the most common idea we both expressed was the appeal to the middle class and the illusion of stability. I think stability is one of the most comforting and important feelings and when someone feels stability they can go about their actions without constantly overthinking wondering if they have their necessities. I also think appealing to the middle class is very telling because that is usually where the majority lies, and when the majority is appealing to political powers it can have the most effect.

Originally posted by Kitkat on November 25, 2025 10:42

The term fascism has been a common buzzword thrown around, especially during such a time of civil unrest. However, without properly breaking down the term, it is impossible to be identified and acted upon. When people think of fascism, the first thing to come to mind is a fascist leader- Mussolini, Hitler, Francisco Franco- who people look to for guidance on world-view and actions. However, these leaders are not completely initiating the chaos and extremity of a country, but rather harnessing it for their benefit. Take Germany for example. Antisemitism and political extremity was still very much a real issue in Germany before Hitler took control, he just managed to push it to its extremes. The question now becomes what these politicians are harnessing.

A primary one is the idealization of the past. Often during fascist movements, patriarchal and traditional values tend to be on the rise. Fascist societies arise during times of unrest; post-war eras, during economic turmoil, so on and so forth. People want a big change, but they also want something that is comfortable to them, something they are familiar with. A not so revolutionary revolution of sorts. They become so desperate for a so-called return to greatness that they see the past with rose-colored glasses, and ignore the many negatives and reasons society has progressed in the first place. This longing for comfort and familiarity is where anti-intellectualism comes into play. Anti-intellectualism often becomes sthe most dangerous part of a fascist movement, as it prevents any pushback to the extreme actions of fascist leaders and governments. People do not want to put the effort into thinking critically about their situation, and it is so convenient to look at one figure for all the answers. It even gets to a point where people hate intellectualism and conflate it with elitism, referring to intellectuals as “‘eggheads,’ ‘radical snobs’”. That aversion towards critical thinking also makes it easier to turn against people and scapegoat them. Once again, the people they scapegoat are rooted in very familiar and established notions- the fear of “external forces” (immigrants), or greedy, Anti-Christian people (Jews), to name a couple. As people fall into place, they fail to acknowledge the contradictory nature of a fascist state. Fascism promises this idea of unity, with everyone united under the same values and mission. They even make people fear any form of dissent, pushing the idea that “dissent is betrayal”. The people that oppose those values still exist however, and a very clear distinction is drawn as people are thrown into camps, tortured, and or pushed out. They are made to believe that they’re driving out division, when in actuality they’re driving division more than any “fragmented” democracy. The difference, however, is that the space is not made to discuss those differences. A fascist society must push these spaces out- shaming intellectual thinking as previously discussed, but also burning books, limiting access to schools. People are not given the space to think critically, but they are made to believe that it was their choice. Ultimately, fascism and the liberation the fascism promises is an illusion.

I really liked this person’s overarching idea that fascism is an illusion, which I also alluded to in my post, but I think this response articulated it perfectly. I definitely agree, especially with the factors this person used to support, such as anti-intellectualism, division disguised as unity, and leaders harnessing the issues happening in the world. I also really found their take on leadership in fascist societies to be compelling. Instead of saying that leaders are the most important, they made a point that leaders are nothing without the people who support them and incited the issues leaders built off of. I also wrote about scapegoats in my response, but I like how this person took this idea to again prove how hypocritical a fascist state is. Expanding on how unity is a key point of fascism, but only unity within the desired group, thus defeating the whole point of promoting unity. Overall, this was a great response and my response had many similarities to it. To make it even stronger, they could have made a connection to the United States, which they almost alluded to when they said, “the fear of “external forces” (immigrants), or greedy, Anti-Christian people (Jews), to name a couple,” which to mean sounds like some scapegoats of modern day US. One small spelling mistake, but otherwise excellent.