Page Text: What is fascism?
Fascism is a belief system that can be described by a set of traits - it doesn't have to have everything on the list, and in fact most versions in the world won't have everything on the list. We would say most versions will be Ultranationalist, Authoritarian, and Xenophobic. We can can also say for sure that the danger that fascist organizing poses is real and immediate because violence is essential to achieve their goals.
Fascism can be hard to define because every fascist movement is different, and the ideology itself contains many contradictory ideas. The term has also come to be used to label any idea that is authoritarian, right-wing, or even just disliked. This poses a problem for us because we think it is important to describe each movement accurately. To that end, we use a definition of fascism that is based on a cluster of traits. While each movement may not contain all these traits, we call it 'fascist' if it has a majority of these characteristics:
Ultra-nationalism, which defines the "nation" around a shared racial, ethnic, cultural, or historical identity. This excludes some members of society, and people are expected to place their allegience to the "nation" over all other identities.
Belief in, and a desire to return to, a past utopian vision of society. This may or may not have existed historically, and they believe it has been lost due to "corruption" or "degeneracy".
Scapegoating of marginalized/oppressed groups, who are blamed for causing society's problems and preventing a return to this ultra-nationalist utopia.
Advocating for, or enacting, the removal of these scapegoated groups, including by violence, genocide, and/or ethnic cleansing.
White supremacy and belief in racist, patriarchal hierarchies that place the nation over other groups, men above women, straight people over gay people, etc.
Authoritarianism, often centered around a single, charismatic leader.
Antisemitism. Antisemitism is central to many fascist ideologies, and this conspiritorial thinking about Jewish people provides the corner stone that supports many other racist ideas.
Anti-communist, anti-liberal, and anti-conservative rhetoric.
Opposition to Unions and other Organized Labor groups.
Aspiring to the complete militarization of society. This includes Paramilitary organizing and vigilantism.
Anti-elitist, populist rhetoric to appeal to the “common man,” coupled with internal elitism and willingness to accept support from existing elites.
Fascism posits itself as both a revolutionary and traditionalist politic.
What is Antifascism?
The broadest answer to this is that antifascism is any activity that is intended to oppose and/or disrupt fascist organizing. This can range from the "everyday antifascist" who participates in call-in campaigns, sends in tips and helps build an antifascist culture that is resistant to fascism, or militant antifascists like Rose City Antifa who work to ensure that there are consequences for fascists who spread their hate and violence in our city.
Why is it important to directly oppose Fascism?
There are a number of reasons, but the most important to highlight is that fascists will use any opportunity they can to recruit and indoctrinate new people into their ideologies. Over our 13 years of organizing we've found that the most effective way to prevent the indoctrination of new fascists is to confront fascist organizing at every opportunity. Militant opposition to fascism creates the social consequences that make becoming a fascist in the first place a lot less appealing.