The Psychology of Fascism

Presented by Ayala Leyser, Ph.d.

If you haven't yet acquainted yourself with Umberto Eco's U R fascism, you may take a shortcut to the 14 signs of Fascism written in 1995, about Mussolini's years (J 922-1943).

Our social world has seen some changes and so has the face of Fascism. One current article to browse through is What is Digital Fascism by Klikaur and Simms, 2021

However, the most comprehensive and well researched
analysis I found in the Guardian: The Rise of End Time
Fascism: 4/2025. Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor.

I can't add much to Klein and Taylor 's analysis, so I'd like to focus on the psychological traps Fascists have been setting for us, in order to maintain compliance, and conformity.

Rrecommendation: If you haven 't watched the 1970 movie: The Conformist, you can get it now on Streaming TV

I plan to discuss:

* The critical role of Trust as a social building block, and the mechanisms by which Fascism erodes and replaces it by Insecurity, Terror and Envy.

*The Disruption of individual and business 'ability to predict, expect and plan.

*The Turning of universal social Ethics on their head: Empathy treated as a weakness.

* The Replacement of Diversity with Uniformity of Self Expression: imposing Identity, and narrowing the social scope to binary or limited arbitrary categories.

*The manipulation of Mythos, religion and 'Romantica ' with themes of Domination, Glory and collective National identity aiming at intoxication, fascination and distraction.

* Rewarding authoritarian mentality by offering a sense of belonging and power. Identifying with the ultimate Dominator. "Identifying with the Abuser" as a way to empower the abused, might apply to Fascism as well.

*Finally, let's discuss the psychological assets
that we may still have to resist, defy and
change.