Umberto Eco: Ur-Fascism (1995) [pdf]

Thank you. Do you just recall these off the top of your head or do you generally check each post that makes it to the front page, either manually or with a script?

Re: Umberto Eco: Ur-Fascism (1995) [pdf]

#4

Post by danans » Tue, Feb 16, 2021, 7:54 PM UTC

For an entertaining take inspired by the Eco essay, I recommend this recent video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M6CXhUS-x8&t=1s

Re: Umberto Eco: Ur-Fascism (1995) [pdf]

#5

Post by tptacek » Tue, Feb 16, 2021, 8:04 PM UTC

danans wrote: post #4

For an entertaining take inspired by the Eco essay, I recommend this recent video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M6CXhUS-x8&t=1s

This is "Checkmate, atheists"-grade rhetoric.

Re: Umberto Eco: Ur-Fascism (1995) [pdf]

#6

Post by kencausey » Tue, Feb 16, 2021, 8:05 PM UTC

airstrike wrote: post #3

dang wrote: post #2

If curious see also 2018 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17413908 2016 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12173823

Thank you. Do you just recall these off the top of your head or do you generally check each post that makes it to the front page, either manually or with a script?

Perhaps you haven't noticed the search field at the bottom of the page?

https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...

Re: Umberto Eco: Ur-Fascism (1995) [pdf]

#7

Post by adolph » Tue, Feb 16, 2021, 8:06 PM UTC

I remember reading this in the Utne Reader in the 90's.

4. No syncretistic faith can withstand analytical criticism. The critical spirit makes distinctions, and to distinguish is a sign of modernism. In modern culture the scientific community praises disagreement as a way to improve knowledge. For Ur-Fascism, disagreement is treason.

Re: Umberto Eco: Ur-Fascism (1995) [pdf]

#8

Post by calvinmorrison » Tue, Feb 16, 2021, 8:07 PM UTC

Well met

> Franklin Roosevelt’s words of November 4,1938, are worth recalling:I venture the challenging statement that if American democracy ceases to move for-ward as a living force, seeking day and night by peaceful means to better the lot ofour citizens, fascism will grow in strength in our land.

A very interesting quote that should be taken seriously today. Many Americans view our federal government poorly, on both sides of the aisle, and in the last 20 years 'working' across the aisle has become a meme rather than a reality. We just impeached the same president twice, and congress has a what, single digit approval rating?

Earlier in this essay the author states that a disaffected middle class can lead to fascism but I don't think he nailed why. I think it is this:

When people stop believing democracy can function, they readily look for alternatives.

Re: Umberto Eco: Ur-Fascism (1995) [pdf]

#9

Post by pmoriarty » Tue, Feb 16, 2021, 8:15 PM UTC

Also see Eco's "Eternal Fascism: Fourteen Ways of Looking at a Blackshirt".[1]

I'd also recommend reading David Neiwert's essays on his blog Orcinus[2], who (more than 15 years ago, long before the rise of Trump, Proud Boys, the alt-right, QAnon, etc) was already extensively discussing Eco's essays and related analysis of fascism and proto-fascism as it manifested in "patriot", militia, and "white nationalist" movements in the US, who Neiwert did extensive investigative reporting on (and published books on this as well).

His "The Rise of Pseudo Fascism"[3] and "Rush, Newspeak, and Fascism"[4] are good summaries of his work.

Also related are Sinclair Lewis' 1935 "It Can't Happen Here"[5] and Jack London's 1908 "The Iron Heel"[6].

[1] - https://interglacial.com/pub/text/Umberto_Eco_-_Eternal_Fasc...

[2] - http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/

[3] - https://dneiwert.blogspot.com/The%20Rise%20Of%20Pseudo%20Fas...

[4] - http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/Rush%20Newspeak%20%20Fascism.pd...

[5] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Can%27t_Happen_Here

[6] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Iron_Heel

Re: Umberto Eco: Ur-Fascism (1995) [pdf]

#10

Post by Florin_Andrei » Tue, Feb 16, 2021, 8:16 PM UTC

calvinmorrison wrote: post #8

Well met > Franklin Roosevelt’s words of November 4,1938, are worth recalling:I venture the challenging statement that if American democracy ceases to move for-ward as a living force, seeking day and night by peaceful means to better the lot ofour citizens, fascism will grow in strength in our land. A very interesting quote that should be taken seriously today. Many Americans view our federal government poorly, on bo…

> Many Americans view our federal government poorly, on both sides of the aisle

Maybe the current instance of the government.

But as for the idea of government in general, the opinions are sharply different across the aisle.