Tuesday, July 13, 2004
You know how all of a sudden one particular word, or phrase, keeps popping up in your life? Well this time it's Fascism. About a month or so ago there were all these posters everywhere up and down Brunswick St claiming that the director of MUFF* is a Fascist, they seemed fairly libellous but apart from that I thought no more of it. Then the other day this came up again, and although I had a general idea about what Fascism is I realised I probably wouldn't be able to define it properly. Then on Troubled HYPHEN Diva I noticed a link on his sidebar about the "The strange, unexplored overlap between homosexuality and fascism" so I thought dammit! You're near a computer, google the damn word (I went to OED online first but they were no help).
Apparently it is quite a culturally specific word surrounding Mussolini, obviously, although it is also taken more generally to mean right-wing.
Anyway,
"...Fascism denies, in democracy, the absur[d] conventional untruth of political equality dressed out in the garb of collective irresponsibility, and the myth of "happiness" and indefinite progress.... "
and
"...The Fascist State organizes the nation, but leaves a sufficient margin of liberty to the individual; the latter is deprived of all useless and possibly harmful freedom, but retains what is essential; the deciding power in this question cannot be the individual, but the State alone.... "
which is I guess probably all you need to know.
*I have put the link with much hesitation, as I find this years promotional poster nothing less than offensive and do not wish to promote the festival at any level.
Apparently it is quite a culturally specific word surrounding Mussolini, obviously, although it is also taken more generally to mean right-wing.
Anyway,
"...Fascism denies, in democracy, the absur[d] conventional untruth of political equality dressed out in the garb of collective irresponsibility, and the myth of "happiness" and indefinite progress.... "
and
"...The Fascist State organizes the nation, but leaves a sufficient margin of liberty to the individual; the latter is deprived of all useless and possibly harmful freedom, but retains what is essential; the deciding power in this question cannot be the individual, but the State alone.... "
which is I guess probably all you need to know.
*I have put the link with much hesitation, as I find this years promotional poster nothing less than offensive and do not wish to promote the festival at any level.
