Nations don't have to be fascist to suffer from fascist politics. A Yale philosopher identifies the ten pillars of fascist politics, and charts their horrifying rise and deep history in the United States and around the world, to conclude that fascism is alive in America today.
Fascism means dividing a population to achieve power. Jason Stanley understood this as a scholar of philosophy and propaganda and as the child of refugees of WWII Europe, but even he was surprised by its prevalence at home. First with the rise of the birther movement and later the ascent of Donald Trump, he observed that not only is the rise of fascist politics possible in the United States, but its roots have been here for more than a century.
Drawing on history, philosophy, sociology, critical race theory, and examples from around the world from 19th-century America to 20th-century Germany (where Hitler was inspired by the Confederacy and Jim Crow South) to 21st-century India-- Stanley identifies the ten pillars of fascist politics that leaders use to hold onto power by dividing populations into an us and a them: the mythic past, propaganda, anti-intellectualism, unreality, hierarchy, victimhood, law and order, sexual anxiety, appeals to the heartland, and a dismantling of public welfare and unity.
He uncovers urgent patterns that are as prevalent today as ever and pins down a creeping sense that fascist tendencies are on the rise. By recognizing them, he argues, readers might begin to resist their most harmful effects.
Title: How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them (Hardcover)
Author: Stanley, Jason
Publisher: Random House
Date Published: Hardcover – Illustrated, 23 Aug. 2018
Category: Political Science
Subject: Political Ideologies
Binding: Hardcover
Reading Age: Books for Adults
No. Of Pages: 208 pages
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-0525511830
Amazon Price: £17.99