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Many definitions FASCISM BUT core tenets...
Fascism is a complex ideology. There are many definitions of fascism; some people describe it as a type or set of political actions, a political philosophy or a mass movement. Most definitions agree that fascism is authoritarian and promotes nationalism at all costs, but its basic characteristics are a matter of debate.
The core principle — what Paxton (Social Science PROF Emeritus) defined as fascism's only definition of morality — is to make the nation stronger, more powerful, larger and more successful. Since fascists see national strength as the only thing that makes a nation "good," fascists will use any means necessary to achieve that goal.
(Yep, sounds familiar)...
"a form of political practice distinctive to the 20th century that arouses popular enthusiasm by sophisticated propaganda techniques for an anti-liberal, anti-socialist, violently exclusionary, expansionist nationalist agenda."
"What Is Fascism?" According to Paxton, these regimes excel at propaganda and make use of grand gestures, such as parades and leaders' dramatic entrances. Fascists scapegoat and demonize other groups, though those groups differ by country and time.
(SCARY PART)
As a result, fascists aim to use the country's assets to increase the country's strength. This leads to a nationalization of assets, Montague (Australian writer/scholar on post war Fascism) said, and in this, fascism resembles Marxism.
Paxton, author of several books, including "The Anatomy of Fascism" (Vintage, 2005), said fascism is based more on feelings than philosophical ideas. In his 1988 essay "The Five Stages of Fascism," published in 1998 in the Journal of Modern History, he defined seven feelings that act as "mobilizing passions" for fascist regimes. They are:
-The primacy of the group. Supporting the group feels more important than maintaining either individual or universal rights.
Believing that one's group is a victim. This justifies any behavior against the group's enemies.
-The belief that individualism and liberalism enable dangerous decadence and have a negative effect on the group.
-A strong sense of community or brotherhood. This brotherhood's "unity and purity are forged by common conviction, if possible, or by exclusionary violence if necessary."
-Individual self-esteem is tied up in the grandeur of the group. Paxton called this an "enhanced sense of identity and belonging."
-Extreme support of a "natural" leader, who is always male. This results in one man taking on the role of national savior.
-"The beauty of violence and of will, when they are devoted to the group's success in a Darwinian struggle," Paxton wrote. The idea of a naturally superior group or, especially in Hitler's case, biological racism, fits into a fascist interpretation of Darwinism.
