Talk:Fascism

Latest comment: 2 years ago by PaleoNeonate in topic Global Research

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Fascism page.


This page appears to be largely hijacked by ideologues who have selectively chosen quotes, many from little-known or non-authoritative sources, in order to draw a link between fascism and the left. It needs a thorough review and overhaul. As it stands, it is not a useful document.

The following quotes were moved here from the page because the source has no apparent notability. If he is notable, please create a wp page, a wq page or add evidence of notability here. ~ MosheZadka (Talk) 14:48, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

"I wouldn't call it fascism exactly, but a political system nominally controlled by an irresponsible, dumbed down electorate who are manipulated by dishonest, cynical, controlled mass media that dispense the propaganda of a corrupt political establishment can hardly be described as democracy either." ~ Edward Zehr

Is there a source for the Sinclair Lewis attribution? I've tried to find it but am unable. Most people reference It can't happen here but the quote does not exist. The text is available at either http://reactor-core.org/cant-happen.html or http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks03/0301001h.html. 72.40.154.213


The Lewis quote seems to be attributed incorrectly. Information here: http://shii.org/knows/Fascism_comes_wrapped_in_the_flag


For what it's worth, I would like to offer the following response from Dr. Sally E. Parry of the Sinclair Lewis Society in response to my question regarding an authoritative reference to the quote: "When fascism comes to America..." usually attributed to Mr. Lewis:


This quote sounds like something Sinclair Lewis might have said or written, but the Sinclair Lewis Society has never been able to find this exact quote although we've been asked a number of times. Here are passages from two books Lewis wrote that at least hint at the quote attributed to him.

From It Can't Happen Here: "But he saw too that in America the struggle was befogged by the fact that the worst Fascists were they who disowned the word 'Fascism' and preached enslavement to Capitalism under the style of Constitutional and Traditional Native American Liberty."

From Gideon Planish: "I just wish people wouldn't quote Lincoln or the Bible, or hang out the flag or the cross, to cover up something that belongs more to the bank-book and the three golden balls."


BornRightTheFirstTime 20:17, 20 June 2009 (UTC)Reply

Unsourced edit

Published sources should be provided before moving these back into the article
  • Fascism is a religion. The twentieth century will be known in history as the century of Fascism.

5. Fascism is a religious conception in which man is seen in his immanent relationship with a superior law and with an objective Will that transcends the particular individual and raises him to conscious membership in a spiritual society. Whoever has seen in the religious politics of the Fascist regime nothing but mere opportunism has not understood that Fascism besides being a system of government is also, and above all, a system of thought. ...
9. If it is admitted that the nineteenth century has been the century of Socialism, Liberalism and Democracy, it does not follow that the twentieth must also be the century of Liberalism, Socialism and Democracy. Political doctrines pass; peoples remain. It is to be expected that this century may be that of authority, a century of the "Right," a Fascist century.
- Mussolini, Doctrine of Fascism, 1932.


  • Fascism was really the basis for the New Deal. It was Mussolini's success in Italy, with his government-directed economy, that led the early New Dealers to say "But Mussolini keeps the trains running on time."
  • Fascism is not defined by the number of its victims but by the way it kills them.

Recommended Additions edit

"Huey Long once said, 'Fascism will come to America in the name of anti-fascism.' I'm afraid, based on my own experience, that fascism will come to America in the name of national security." - Jim Garrison [Playboy interview, October 1967.

Why does this page about a movement most heavily associated with Europe open with images of an American and an American voting sign? edit

I recently reorganized the images on fascism and got a revert, which led me to realize images are a lot harder to justify both adding and deleting than quotes are as I'm really not sure who is right and who is wrong or why. Unless the image has nothing to do with the subject matter, which can generally be ascertained at a glance, the actual process of determining what images to include on Wikiquote is a matter of personal taste and getting community approval, and not going through a detailed checklist for notability and counting instances of a word being used, like it often is with contesting quotes. Personally I think trying to sum up fascism with one or two images at the top is a bit overly simplistic and suggests these are the definitive authorities on this subject, so leaving the top of the page blank and having images organized alphabetically comes across less reductionist in our reasoning and less POV. I think Peter1c chooses some amazing images to include on Wikiquote for the most part, it's just the placement of these images which is problematic as they often use them to create niche and misleading intros that fail to accurately summarize the subject. Other editors have noted this behavior is a problem for Peter regarding political pages, as it is being discussed on the talk page for America. I also think that having the two dictators most closely associated with the concept displayed close to the top is better than having an image of socialist baptist minister Tommy Douglas and an image from a Super Tuesday voting sign that seems to associate America with fascism much more strongly than it does Italy or Germany, which is somewhat misleading for anyone wanting to learn more about the subject in general and not just a specific aspect of it, e.g. American fascism and American anti-fascism, currently just red links, but potentially ultra specialized quote graveyards that will be hard to search for. How well known is Tommy Douglas in America, much less Europe where fascism is generally regarded as first taking root? This page seems pretty heavily Americanized, per the norm. CensoredScribe (talk) 16:23, 15 September 2019 (UTC)Reply

Global Research edit

I know that Wikiquote is an indiscriminate collection, including of bullshit, but Global Research is a Canadian website recknowned for pushing conspiracy theories and Russian propaganda, divisive disinformation, etc. PaleoNeonate (talk) 19:43, 11 July 2021 (UTC)Reply

Return to "Fascism" page.