Dr. Britt, a political scientist, published his article “Fascism Anyone?” in Free Inquiry magazine
(Spring, 2003), a journal of humanist thought.  He studied the fascist regimes of Hitler
(Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile). Dr.
Britt found the regimes all had 14 things in common, and he calls these the identifying
characteristics of fascism.

1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic
mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag
symbols on clothing and in public displays.

2. 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.

3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a
unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial,
ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

4. Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military
is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected.
Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

5. Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively 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.

6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to 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 war time, is very common.

7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over
the masses.

8. 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 is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion
are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.

9. 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.

10. 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 suppressed.

11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open
hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other
academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and
governments often refuse to fund the arts.

12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost
limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even
forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with
virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

13. 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. It is not uncommon in fascist
regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright
stolen by government leaders.

14. Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other
times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition
candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and
manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or
control elections.

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