Re: [LiteracyForAll] The Fourteen Characteristics of Fascism

["GERALD BRACEY" <gbracey1@verizon.net>]

I don't think this is a full fledged hoax--some guy named Lawrence Britt did write an article for Free Inquiry in 2003.  It could be a pen name.  So far as I can tell, he has absolutely no qualifications for such an analysis.  If you put his name into Google, you'll get thousands of hits, almost all of them identical and calling him a political scientist.  Many give him a doctorate.

It appears, though, that his one claim to fame is this article.  No published work shows up before or since except a novel, June 2004, a 1998 political thriller about a fascist takeover in the U. S.  It's 1,740,000 on Amazon's best selling list.

I've seen the list over the years.  It's very facile but I don't think there's any serious, credible analysis underlying it.

Jerry
  
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: wildes@pdx.edu 
  To: LiteracyForAll@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Wednesday, July 04, 2007 4:25 PM
  Subject: Re: [LiteracyForAll] The Fourteen Characteristics of Fascism


  Anybody who thinks we're living under fascism, read something about 
  life in Nazi Germany or North Korea today. The CENTRAL characteristics 
  of fascism involve extreme control of people's lives. These other 
  characteristics just accompany those. I'm not saying there aren't lots 
  of abuses going on today, but it seems disrespectful of people who 
  have really lived under fascism to equate it with our very free and 
  (for many) privileged lives in American today.

  Sorry if my contrarianism annoys anyone, but I think open discussion 
  of these issues is important. A truly fascist country would ban this 
  listserv.

  sandra

  uoting PRISCILLA GUTIERREZ <pgutpgut@msn.com

  > Dr. Lawrence Britt, a political scientist, in studying the fascist regimes
  > of Hitler, Franco, Pinochet and others identified 14 characteristics they
  > all had in common. It will not be a surprise how many fit the current
  > administration. Here are some of them:
  >
  > 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.
  >
  > Note: Bush's commutation of Libby's sentence, considering he approved of
  > the execution in Texas of a woman who killed her husband after year's of
  > abuse is very telling indeed.
  >
  > Supremacy of the Military: Even when there is widespread domestic problems,
  > the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and
  > the domestic agenda is neglected. Soliders and military service are
  > glamorized. (What's the latest figure on our national deficit?)
  >
  > Rampant Sexism: The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost
  > exclustively 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.
  >
  > Controlled Mass Media: Sometimes the 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 wartime, is very common. (Armstrong Williams,
  > anyone?)
  >
  > 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.
  >
  > 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 are common from
  > government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are
  > diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
  >
  > 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 (Halliburton, Reading First, anyone?). It is not
  > uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be
  > appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
  >
  > 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 opppressed.
  >
  > The rest of the characteristics can be found at
  > www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/fasci14chars.html.
  >
  >
  >
  > Priscilla Gutierrez
  > Outreach Specialist
  > New Mexico School for the Deaf
  >
  > ...change is inevitable, growth is optional...
  >
  >
  >



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