These threads about the ongoing conflict recently have had me reflecting on Umberto Eco’s work “Ur-Fascism” as of late. Specifically the 14 common features he identified that are shared under fascist thought. The one I’ve been thinking about the most lately, as I read some of the grotesque things people are writing, is #8: The enemy is both weak and strong. “[…] the followers must be convinced that they can overwhelm the enemies. Thus, by a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak.”

But upon review I think that these other ones are worth reflecting on as well. I mean they all really are in the context of this crisis, but I found these to be the most striking.

#4: Disagreement is treason. “The critical spirit makes distinctions, and to distinguish is a sign of modernism. In modern culture, the scientific community praises disagreement as a way to improve knowledge.”

#5: Fear of difference. “The first appeal of a fascist or prematurely fascist movement is an appeal against the intruders. Thus Ur-Fascism is racist by definition.”

#6: Appeal to social frustration. “[…] one of the most typical features of the historical fascism was the appeal to a frustrated middle class, a class suffering from an economic crisis or feelings of political humiliation, and frightened by the pressure of lower social groups.

#7: The obsession with a plot. “The followers must feel besieged. The easiest way to solve the plot is the appeal to xenophobia.”

#9: Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy. “For Ur-Fascism there is no struggle for life but, rather, life is lived for struggle.”

#10: Contempt for the weak. “Elitism is a typical aspect of any reactionary ideology.”

edit: formatting