It used to be dismissed as hyperbole. Now the idea of the USA’s being – or shortly becoming – a ‘Fascist’ power is being taken seriously.
Obviously Trump is not gassing Jews, or anyone else, yet. But neither did Hitler until 1941, or Mussolini ever. Those who think that genocide is the test a regime has to pass before it can be labelled ‘Fascist’ are clearly wrong. The ‘final solution’ was the culmination of Hitler’s particular form of Fascism, not essential to it. There are other more characteristic features: including different forms of racism, irrationalism, anti-intellectualism, totalitarianism, authoritarianism, nationalism, assertive masculinism, corporatism, resentment against past national humiliations, anti-‘elitism’, anti-politics… and so on. They must all strike chords today.
As a historian, I was intending to post a blog on the comparison with Trumpism, as well as the differences. But I soon realised that this has already been done a score of times (Google Trump/Hitler comparisons); and so I won’t burden you with my take on it now. Except to say that in my judgment Trumpism is a particular form of Fascism, peculiar to America because of the late-capitalist environment in which it is being born there – vide the very Ayn-Randy and obvious ‘techno’-Fascist Elon Musk – and so not strictly comparable in every detail with the 1930s variety (in which capitalism played a lesser part); but nonetheless sharing many of the latter’s characteristics.
I was reminded of these when I recently watched the TV documentary series Hitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial. The similarities shout out at you. Among trivial ones, it’s the narrator who compares the Berghof to Mar-a-Lago; so the series must have been made fairly recently, and with Trump in mind. The Nuremberg rallies are another obvious parallel. Then there’s the Austrian Anschluss, raising fears for present-day Canada… and so on. – I recommend the whole series, which you can get up at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32331294/. It must raise some doubts in the minds of those who dismiss our ‘Nazi’ fears as mere left-wing scare-mongering. As of course many did in the 1930s.
Porter’s Pensées 
Hello, Bernard.
I think that one of the more neglected features of fascism is the dictator’s resort to a kind of neo-feudalism. He confiscates the wealth and property of his adversaries, Jews, anti-fascists etc, and passes them on to his supporters and his own party. Of course, there can be no organised resistance to this form of theft as the population is terrified or perhaps supportive of measures that punish those who have been vilified. Would Trump do this? It would require the suspension of the constitution; however, this must be on the cards if his will is sufficiently thwarted. All he would need would be some approximation of the Reichstag fire as a pretext, which would not be too hard to arrange. Or maybe a pretext would not be required at all. The kleptocratic instincts of someone like Musk seem obvious; Trump fits that category as well. The MAGA crowd could feast on the bodies of the vanquished.
Once upon a time I would have wanted to publish this under my own name in your comments section; only now, I feel intimidated.
Wishing you well.
Philip
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Good evening, Bernard, I see that you are cited in the latest, immensely glossy, Brentwood School mag…a chap called Martin Rowland is writing about Colin Reid. It’s always interesting to see who feels that they “own” certain important OBs…… It’s an interesting read, but mag is a huge PR exercise in a world of VAT and non-charitable status. Martin Rowland makes the point that 85% of the boys up to mid ‘1970s’ were state funded…..a different world. Hope all well in Sweden…. John Evans
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