Question: Martin P.V.

The danger of fascism is real; perhaps everybody wants to be a fascist; the longing for submission and the lust for power is so real. Can freedom become a burden, too heavy for humans to bear, something they try to escape from?

Answer: Jacob Parappally MSFS

The revival of fascist thinking is on the rise. It is said that mind produces thinking and thinking produces feeling and feeling produces action. A manifesto attributed to the man having a Christian name who massacred 51 innocent people at the two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand declared that he himself is a fascist. The massacre of the Christians in the Sri Lankan Church during the celebration of Easter and the killing of 300 Christians and 27 guests at the Luxury hotels of Colombo by a man with a Muslim name found to be associated with a terrorist organization are the recent examples of the terrible and ugly head of fascist and supremacist thinking that leads to horrible crimes.

Fascism is not only a political ideology. It is also an expression of the perversion of the innate human capacity for transcendence. Authentic human transcendence is to reach out to God and submit oneself to God. But when it is perverted, one’s capacity for transcendence is used to control and dominate others or let one be dominated by others and find security in it. The parable of the unforgiving servant in the gospel according to Matthew (18:23-35) explains it to a great extent. The unforgiving servant submits himself to the King who forgives him but he is arrogant and tyrannical to his subordinate and he exercises his full power over him who is poor and weak. It is clear that whenever it is possible, the human tendency is to affirm one’s false identity or ego by dominating others. It is seen both at the individual and collective ego levels: 1. all dictatorship and tyranny at the individual level; 2. all organizations of domination in the society like class, caste, gender, ethnicity etc. and all political domination and conflicts among the nations at the collective ego level . Fascism can also be seen in the blind submission to an ideology that gives one a false identity.

As a political ideology ‘fascism is a form of radical, right-wing, authoritarian ultra-nationalism’. The main characteristic of fascism is the exercise of dictatorial power by the leader of the fascists. All forms of fascism would use force to suppress forcibly and cruelly any type of opposition. It would divide and regiment society and restructure the economic system of the nation to suit its ideology. We can assume that there were fascists throughout the history of the world but fascism rose to a political ideology and came to prominence in early 20th century in Europe leading to the Second World War.

In the present day, there is an alarming rise of fascism because the great number of people in all nations who feel threatened by the loss of their false sense of national and ethnic identities look for strong and domineering leaders who claim to protect their so called unique identities. In 2018 Madeline Albright, former Secretary of State of the U.S. told the TIME magazine, “Fascism is a disease and there are symptoms. So I think it’s important to warn about that”. Political parties, governments and also many individuals are increasingly becoming fascist.

Fascism of the Individual
Fascism is always associated with a group that shares extreme right wing ideology. Though fascism is a group ideology, it originates in the mind of individuals as every social and structural evil originates in the perverted thinking of the individual. The fascists seem to have an identity construct in opposition to others. They take this thinking to hyper-nationalism asserting their identity to themselves as well as using their propaganda machinery to spread their understanding about other nations as their enemies. This identity-construct based on opposition to others is the easiest but the most distorted and dangerous one. It grows in the mind of the individuals and expresses itself in situations where one is able to assert and actualize it or when it is not possible to exercise it they submit to someone who is in power and thereby experience a false sense of power identifying oneself with the powerful.

The lust for power to dominate and control is there deep down in the mind of every human being. As we have seen earlier, it is a perversion of transcendence to reach out to the Absolute and enter into communion with God and other humans. A false actualization of this transcendence in relation to other humans is by controlling and commanding others. It is also by getting others who are not capable of actualizing their false sense of transcendence to submit themselves to such a power. Tyrants feed on it and boost their power because there are thousands who are willing to submit their will to such leaders and follow him/her in order to escape from exercising their freedom which demands responsibility.

God-given freedom is to help humans to become what they truly are. It is by exercising their freedom that they can discern what is right and enter into real communion with God and others. Without exercising their freedom, humans never become what they truly are. However, this freedom becomes a burden for those who are not willing to assume responsibility for fear of failure or those who lack self-awareness and confidence in God and in themselves. It is easy for such people to submit themselves to the powerful and escape from being responsible for becoming truly human.

Fascist Mind-set of the Collective Ego
The term ‘fascio’ itself in Italian language means “a bundle”. The fascist group keeps a leader who appears to be ruthless in his style of leadership that the entire group feels that their exclusivist, supremacist, discriminatory and ultra-nationalist ideology finds its best expression in such dictatorial leaders. Business people and the rich in general support such leaders who would protect their interests. For the sake of protecting their interests, which they wrongly consider as an extension of their self, they submit themselves and give all support to the fascist leaders and identify themselves as part of the fascist ideology.

When all fascist groups met together for the first time, Mussolini, the fascist leader told them that the membership of the fascist group depends on their commitment to “sabotaging the candidacies of the neutralists of all parties by any means necessary.” According to Ben-Ghiat, “Mussolini thought that democracy was a failed system. He thought that liberty of expression and liberty of parties was a sham, and that fascism would organize people under state power… Their idea was ‘you would be freer because you wouldn’t have any class consciousness. You’re just supposed to worship the nation. It’s nation over class.’” In fact, this freedom which fascism offers is enslavement. However, people who do not want to take responsibility for their lives and actions submit to such slavery rather than to struggle and become truly free by the Truth that sets them free.

The transference of one’s self-identity to the collective self happens when one identifies oneself with a team of players or to a political party or a religious group. The present day globalization that threatens the specific identity of all groups or “the bundles” is a fertile ground for the growth of fascism. People look for some leaders who appear to them as strong in their assertion of national or religious or political identity and who promise to be their protectors and saviours. Their narratives are very appealing and their promises for the future appear to be very real for those who are seeking such assurances at a time of anxiety and fear.

The fascist leaders evoke such a fear of the other in the minds of the people regarding other nations and people of other religions and ethnicities. All recognized minorities in a fascist society are painted as enemies to the culture and ethos of those who follow fascist leaders who whip up the feelings that such enemies are a threat to their well-being and all what they cherish in their lives. Fascism thrives on false propaganda .The repeated presentation of ‘the other’ as an enemy through all means of communication enters into the mind of the people and evoke in them prejudices, hatred and even emotions of violence which may be actualized in eliminating the other as it happened during the Nazi regime in Germany and in the lynching of innocent people of other religions and destruction of their property sporadically happening in our country. The fascists are often indirectly supported by a silent majority who share at least some of their prejudices and hatred. They do so because to some extent they are unable to transcend the boundaries of their selves, families and societies in their pilgrimage to their destiny with the Trinitarian God of Absolute Communion. Any fascism divides and destroys both individuals and societies.

Religions and Fascism
Religions which are expected to provide meaning for human existence in relation to the Absolute or God become tools in the hand of fascist leaders because they substitute Godly religion with the worship of Nation as god or the idol of their ideology. The policies and actions of the fascist leaders are very clear and they execute them systematically and ruthlessly. They make use of religious beliefs and symbols and re-interpret them to suit their ideology and enthuse believers to follow their political ideology of domination, discrimination and destruction. But the cruelty of fascism is subtle and alluring when religions preach and practice exclusivism, superiority feelings about themselves in comparison with people of other religions, condemnation of the real religious practices of others and negate any type of plurality. When religions share with fascism its authoritarianism, intolerance of plurality, the evil principle of “end justifies the means”, false propaganda and indoctrination it becomes like fascism which enslaves rather than liberates. It is also a tragedy when religious leaders assume some of the characteristic attitudes of fascist leaders and expect the believers to submit to them blindly. They reduce religions’ insistence to submit to God which liberates and makes humans really humans to an ideology which enslaves. Every fascist ideology and practice thrives on fear and fascist leaders exploit it for exercising their power for domination. True religion provides means for humans to become truly human through the right exercise of freedom and to grow in communion with God and all humans and live in harmony with nature.