crucial

Dr. Lawrence Britt, a political scientist, wrote an article about
fascism which appeared in Free Inquiry magazine, a journal of
humanist thought. Dr. Britt studied the fascist regimes of Hitler
(Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia),
and Pinochet (Chile). He found the regimes all had 14 things in
common, and he calls these the identifying characteristics of fascism.

The article is "Fascism Anyone?," Lawrence Britt, Free Inquiry,
Spring 2003, page 20. The 14 characteristics are:

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. Opposition to abortion is high, as
   is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.

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 ex- pression in the arts is openly attacked,
    and governments often refuse to fund the arts.

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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Goodwin's Law

Professor Goodwin, U of I, in 1981 made the observation that Usenet discussions gravitate downhill.

He postulated that as the length of a discussion thread grows, the probability approaches one (1) that one participant will introduce the terms "Hitler" or "Nazi".

The custom has evolved that the first party to utter "Hitler" or "Nazi" has lost the discussion, and the thread terminates.

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A little recommendation to amateur internet liberals: don't go accusing people of being Nazis, it kills the argument. You will never succeed in convincing anybody that they are a Nazi.