How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them

How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us Versus Them is a nonfiction book published in 2018 by the American philosopher and Yale University professor Jason Stanley. In it, the author discusses ten mechanisms by which fascist politicians gain and consolidate power in democratic states, potentially yielding a fascist state with an absolute leader. Drawing on examples that range from Nazi Germany to the contemporary United States, Stanley explains the appeal of fascist ideology during times of socio-economic transition or extreme inequality. Fascist politics exploit liberal democratic values such as free speech to create an environment of fear and factionalism in which the very possibility of reasoned discourse can quickly decay.

Each of the book’s ten chapters is devoted to a different strategy used by fascist politicians to gain and hold onto power. The first is to mythologize the past, thereby establishing false narratives about a country’s cultural heritage. In the early 20th century, fascists like Nazi Germany’s Adolf Hitler and Italy’s Benito Mussolini promised their followers a return to a mythic past in which traditional racial and gender hierarchies ensured prosperity for in-groups, namely White males of Christian heritage.

Stanley devotes his second chapter to propaganda. Given the difficulty of advancing policies so manifestly harmful to large groups of people, fascists must cloak their agenda in universally accepted ideals, like “freedom” or “public safety.” In a contemporary example of fascist propaganda, the author cites U.S. President Donald Trump’s promises to “drain the swamp,” even as he and his political allies engage in the very corruption they publicly decry.

Next, Stanley describes fascists’ efforts to undermine intellectualism by launching attacks on education and expertise. By sowing doubt and distrust of scientific and historical experts, fascists are better able to spread false narratives to an increasingly receptive public.

Chapter 4 deals with the sense of “unreality” that emerges as a result of fascist propaganda efforts. To Stanley, fascist politics reshape the understanding of reality into a fierce contest of “us” versus “them,” where everything is defined in zero-sum terms and the leader is trusted as a protector even as he blatantly lies. In that unreality, the unthinkable and horrific becomes possible.

In Chapter 5, Stanley discusses the role of hierarchy in fascist states. Contrary to Enlightenment principles which theoretically afford every human being a measure of dignity, fascist ideology dictates that nature confers status and power in wildly unequal degrees. This creates supposedly natural hierarchies that tend to favor men, Whites, and members of the fascist party.

Stanley goes on to explain how fascists rely on victimhood to advance “us versus them” narratives. Here, the author is careful to distinguish between the real victims of fascist oppression and the false victims: the oppressors themselves.

Fascists also rely on disingenuous appeals to “law and order.” Although fascists often engage in blatantly criminal behavior to advance their goals, they also frequently claim to be tough on crime. By defining the parameters of who is and is not a criminal, fascist politicians can effectively persecute any group they perceive as their enemy.

Next, Stanley examines how fascists play on sexual anxieties to advance their goals. They do so in two ways: One, fascists demonize sexual behavior that exists outside a very narrow band. Two, they falsely accuse members of out-groups—usually immigrants and people of color—of sexual violence against women who belong to the more favored in-group.

In Chapter 9, titled “Sodom and Gomorrah,” the author describes how fascists paint cosmopolitan cities and the urbanites who reside there as the cause of all social ills that afflict the countryside. These urban-rural divides run particularly deep in the contemporary U.S. under President Trump, Stanley writes.

In his final chapter, Stanley addresses how fascists exploit a country’s preconceived notions about work. Fascists encourage a narrative in which members of the in-group—“us”—are hard workers who deserve the benefits offered by the state, while out-groups—“them”—are lazy and undeserving. The author points to Trump supporters who believed that the victims of Hurricane Harvey in Texas were entitled to federal disaster relief but victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico were not.

In a brief Epilogue, Stanley acknowledges that some readers may believe he connects the Nazi horrors too easily with modern examples. But he explains that fascism is often not seen as it emerges because its techniques are normalized within a society. What seemed unthinkable in the recent past may quickly become normal in political discourse. How Fascism Works is Stanley’s effort to provide people with the tools necessary to understand these processes as they happen and, hopefully, resist a fascist political takeover of liberal democracy.