Book review written by Wendy Covington during September of 2020.
How Fascism Works, By Jason Stanley
The first Harry Potter book was released on July 26th of 1997. William Gleason compared the series to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, published shortly before The Civil War in America, for the ways in which both novels shaped the thoughts and minds of society at the time (1). For purposes of this discussion, Harry could be labeled an anti-fascist. A member of Antifa. So, how could a generation of children and parents raised on a book that’s fundamentally against Fascism, also fall prey to it?
The number of young girls who expressed affection for the series anti-hero, Draco Malfoy, alarmed Rowling herself (2). I’ve been similarly dismayed by the number of my fellow Americans who seem unable or unwilling to recognize the face of evil. I mean, haven’t most of us imagined how we would have reacted if we’d lived in Germany as Hitler committed genocide? And if so, don’t most of us imagine we would have been helpers? Resisters?
In 2020, we can answer that question based not on imagination but on the way we’ve responded to the actions of the Trump administration. Who would you have been in Nazi Germany? Who are you in America today? When you learned that children were being ripped from their parents at our southern border, what did you do? When we watched a police officer kill a Black man on television, what did you do? Did you pick up the phone and call your elected representative to share your outrage? Did you clutch your pearls but remain silent? Or, did you defend the murderer?
Action, apathy, or agreement. What kind of German would you have been. What kind of American are you now?
I must admit, my faith is humanity has dimmed as I’ve watched so many of my family, friends, and fellow citizens support a man who is so clearly, evil. I think many of us find ourselves deeply disappointed by the number of people who are fooled by the serpents tongue. But how, and why, are so many led astray?
How Fascism Works attempts to answer this question. Most people know that Hitler ordered the execution of millions of human beings but far fewer understand how. Hitler did not act alone; he depended on a wide network of enablers from the most loyal supporter to the average German citizen. How are fascist able to convince enough people to commit crimes against humanity? Against their own neighbors, employees, and friends?
Like many assaults against human decency, part of the answer lies in the patriarchy and that’s where Professor Stanley opens. The first chapter is titled, “The Mythic Past” however we only make it five sentences before the patriarchy comes up. “In all fascist mythic pasts, an extreme version of the patriarchal family reigns supreme…”. Stanley explains that all fascist conjure up a false nostalgia for a time in the nations history that never existed, romanticize it, and tell people that it’s being destroyed. “Make America Great Again”.
But why must the past be a patriarchal one? According to Stanley, the family must mirror the nation with a father (dictator) as the head of the family (nation). Women’s role, and their only role, is motherhood, maintaining the purity of the bloodline, and raising good little fascists. In what he refers to as a “politics of hierarchy”, women are always 2nd class citizens.
This hierarchy can also be applied to race. If we think about the phrase “White Supremacy” the very premise is that white people are “supreme”. By convincing one group of people that they are better than another, fascism gives them permission to rule over those they deem inferior. This is happening all over the globe. One case can be found in India where Modi’s BJP party is attempting to purge the country of those of Muslim faith by convincing the Hindi population that they are the chosen ones.
Stanley tells us that The Mythic Past is never based in reality but rather subverts reality for power. One way the would-be fascist accomplish this goal is through the recreation of history. I attended school in suburban Virginia during the 1980’s where I was taught the civil war was about taxes and that Black people had sold other Black people, as if it excused the stain of slavery. Gaslighting history, truth, and reality due to shame or in the name of promoting “American exceptionalism” robs students of the ability to learn from the mistakes of those who came before them and opens the door for fascism.
If a group of people can be convinced that they are better than all others, then it will only be natural that they will want to protect that status. The fascist will have already accomplished creating an “other” to prey upon.
Fascists set about attacking liberal democracy by painting freedom and equality as a threat to the chosen, “supreme” group. If women are free to marry whom they love, that could taint the pure blood of the supreme group. If women are given equal status to men, it threatens the white male primacy of the patriarchy. Stanley labels this sexual anxiety and according to him, sexual anxiety may be the most telling sign of that a liberal democracy is disintegrating.
One issue readers may find alarming but not surprising is the way in which fascists use the politics of “us” and “them” during times of crisis, such as a pandemic. If we look back on the way the Trump administration sent aid to Puerto Rico versus Houston after both were hit by devastating hurricanes, we see that the people of Houston were given more help and more compassion than the people of Puerto Rico. Trump won Texas so he see’s the residents there as members of the chosen group.
This pattern has been repeated over and over as aid is sent to states that voted red or have Republican Governor’s while states that lean Democratic are left to their own devices. Is this really the way we want to treat one another? Two weeks ago California’s oldest park, Big Basin, burned as the local firefighters attempted, alone, to stop the wildfires tearing through their own home. No federal aid was sent and the fire grew to be one of the largest in California’s history. Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike enjoyed this park and now it’s gone.
Of course, it’s not just land that is harmed. Stanley teaches us that fascist believe in social Darwinism. Nazi’s used the term Lebensunwertes Leben, which meant life unworthy of life. This attitude manifested in the manner in which disabled citizens were treated in Nazi Germany and we see it today in Republican’s reaction to the pandemic. Send the children back to school, only a few will die and they’re weak anyway. Let the elderly die off. This goes against the fundamental American value (and constitutional right) to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It’s not limited to the pandemic though. Fascist don’t care about the people they rule over, they care only about maintaining power.
A phrase we’ve heard repeated by Trump voters is “to own the libs”. We see them repeatedly engage in activities or support legislation that actually harms their own self-interest. I watched videos of Trump voters burning their own shoes in protest of a company (Nike) supporting liberal democratic ideals. Sane people struggle to understand why someone would burn their own, perfectly good shoes that they’ve already paid for. Stanley’s answer points to one of the more disgusting aspects of fascism:
Fascist politics preys on the human frailty that makes our own suffering seem bearable if we know that those we look down upon are being made to suffer more.
It seems fascists exploit the darkest corners of humanity and enable the worst of us to be rewarded while the best of us are belittled and labeled weak.
There are far too many excellent points in Professor Stanley’s book to cover them all in this review but I feel there’s one last issue that needs to be underscored. Our future. Our children. President Trump released a series of bullet points for his re-election platform, one of which was “teach American exceptionalism”. Many Republican leaders are pushing the same educational goals at the state level. They do not wish to teach an accurate version of history but instead they wish to push their own version of history. Stanley calls this the anti-intellectualism of authoritarian movements. If the vast majority of children are taught hate, then hate is our future.
Fascism doesn’t require a very large toolbox. From Mussolini to Trump the same tactics are repeated. Stanley opens with patriarchy and weaves a picture together for us using events from history and current times to show us how fascism builds upon itself. How Fascism Works serves to teach the reader to recognize and not fall for fascist politics. A well-educated, strong-minded population is necessary to appreciate the gift of agency offered by democracy and resists the allure of fascism. Voldemort is storming the castle. Bravery, education, and kindness are our weapons.
References:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/22/jk-rowling-unnerved-by-girls-who-fall-for-draco-malfoy
https://www.npr.org/2018/11/05/660642531/right-wing-hate-groups-are-recruiting-video-gamers