Map My Politics

FASCISM – The Authoritarian Ideology

Fascism is one of the six quasi-democratic or “fringe” political ideologies on the Map My Politics ideology chart, occupying the area on the very top above the populist zone and between the communist and paleoconservative zones. Fascists believe in conforming to the edicts of an authoritarian state in order to maintain a stable and orderly society. To achieve that goal, fascists are willing to sacrifice the types of personal and political freedoms that citizens of liberal democracies take for granted. Because this essentially places fascism outside the norms of democratic governance, we consider fascism on the fringe of the mainstream political ideologies.

Fascism spans a considerable range on the x-axis of economic liberty, principally because fascism isn’t ideological about the free market – or the lack thereof – in the manner of other political ideologies. Communism, fascism’s authoritarian neighbor to the left of the MMP chart, is ideologically socialist and therefore primarily concerned with social and economic justice. Fascism, on the other hand, is primarily concerned with social order, so it is content with a mixed economy that allows a capitalistic free market to operate within a framework of overall governmental control. Nobody would mistake a fascist state with a laissez faire one, however, as price controls, trade restrictions and other market regulations can be utilized to further perceived national objectives. Some have described fascism historically as staking out a “Third Position” between capitalism and socialism. This is entirely correct, as illustrated by the ideology’s position in the middle of the x-axis of relative economic freedom.

The true focus of fascism as an ideology is seen when it comes to the y-axis of social liberty. Without a doubt fascism is about social and national order, and you don’t get order by allowing personal freedoms to flourish unregulated. Broadly speaking, fascism on the Map My Politics chart can serve as a stand-in for other authoritarian forms of government, such as theocracy and monarchy; the common denominator is the placing of social order above personal freedom. For anyone steeped in the protections on speech, religion and lifestyle afforded in a liberal democracy, it may be difficult to understand the appeal of an authoritarian state, but it typically lies in a sense of unity, security and belonging, be it cultural or national. Fascism is like populism, its ideological neighbor to the south, in its majoritarian, “voice of the people” nature – only more so. Often this is manifested in anti-immigration policies or in expressions of intolerance for ethnic or religious minorities. Fascism today has a decidedly pejorative connotation because it is so strongly associated with the German and Italian fascist states defeated in the Second World War. Those governments used single party conformity and militarism to achieve social order, which led to territorial conquests and the mass murder of civilians. Despite that negative association, advocates exist for a modern neo-fascism, even in liberal democracies such as the United Kingdom, France and the United States. Such claimants to the ideology usually emphasize patriotic, nationalistic elements rather than brutal suppression of dissent. But there is no question that fascism, in whatever the guise, occupies the authoritarian end of the y-axis of social freedom.

Fascism as an ideology has many historical roots, usually corresponding to an individual nation’s attempt to impose order in the face of some destabilizing situation, be it corruption or insurrection. It is similar to populism in this regard for its lack of intellectual forebears; there is no philosophical “father” of political fascism in the way there is for socialism, liberalism or conservatism. Typically, a nation’s authoritarian ruler or movement becomes identified with the particular version of fascism. Some credit Napoleon Bonaparte as the first post-Enlightenment fascist, with France choosing the stability of an imperial authoritarian state after the corruption of absolute monarchy and the anarchy of the revolutionary Reign of Terror. Bonapartism was influential on the thinking of later anti-elitist political ideologies such as Marxism and Leninism, but it is generally understood to describe governance by an autocratic, centralized regime dominated by the military. As such, its more modern iterations include Aprilianism in Greece, Peronism in Argentina and Francoism in Spain.

The United States is – for the most part – a two-party system, and fascists traditionally have found both the Democratic Party and Republican Party inhospitable to their authoritarian views. In the heyday of modern fascism before the Second World War, there were notable Americans who expressed fascist sympathies, but they typically did so outside the ambit of mainstream politics. Some have described the populist tilt of the GOP under Donald Trump in more fascist terms, especially with respect to his support among white supremacists, his admiration of authoritarian regimes, and the January 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol that included avowed neo-fascist groups. Regardless how a fascist might choose to engage politically today, however, a fundamental aspect of their participation would be repudiation of recognized constitutional civil liberties. As we stress repeatedly on the Map My Politics site, politics at its most fundamental level is about ideology.

Fascism has been a presence in American politics but marginally so, mostly because the Axis fascist countries became wartime enemies and, in the aftermath of that cataclysmic war, fascism was widely regarded in highly negative terms. Just as communism was difficult to espouse openly in the United States during the postwar “Red Scare,” so too was fascism ostracized politically. In more modern times there are elected Republicans who have advocated more extreme populist positions that some political scholars and commentators interpret as fascist, most notably Donald Trump, but none who have openly endorsed fascism as an ideology. American fascist political figures have included George Lincoln Rockwell, William Luther Pierce and Enrique Tarrio. Among various American fascist writers and thinkers are Ezra Pound (an award-winning poet whose reputation was partially rehabilitated after a mental health diagnosis), Charles Coughlin (a Roman Catholic priest and radio personality), and the editor and publisher, Seward Collins.

For further reading about the fascist ideology, click here.

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