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Fascism Today: What It Is and How to End It
We can no longer ignore the fact that fascism is on the rise in the United States. What was once a fringe movement has been gaining cultural acceptance and political power for years. Rebranding itself as "alt-right" and riding the waves of both Donald Trump's hate-fueled populism and the anxiety of an abandoned working class, they have created a social force that has the ability to win elections and inspire racist street violence in equal measure. Fascism Today looks at the changing world of the far right in Donald Trump's America. Examining the modern fascist movement's various strains, Shane Burley has written an accessible primer about what its adherents believe, how they organize, and what future they have in the United States. The ascension of Trump has introduced a whole new vocabulary into our political lexicon—white nationalism, race realism, Identitarianism, and a slew of others. Burley breaks it all down. From the tech-savvy trolls of the alt-right to esoteric Aryan mystics, from full-fledged Nazis to well-groomed neofascists like Richard Spencer, he shows how these racists and authoritarians have reinvented themselves in order to recruit new members and grow. Just as importantly, Fascism Today shows how they can be fought and beaten. It highlights groups that have successfully opposed these twisted forces and outlines the elements needed to build powerful mass movements to confront the institutionalization of fascist ideas, protect marginalized communities, and ultimately stop the fascist threat. Shane Burley is a writer, filmmaker, and antifascist based in Portland, Oregon.
304 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
March 25, 2019
This is a really worthwhile read and a fantastic overview of a lot of the different fascist movements and strains of thought active today. Burley goes most in depth into the white nationalist, religious, and militant groupings within what could broadly be described as the fascist movement, and in that he excels. He also goes into what historical tactics have been used against similar movements, and offers some amount of perspective on how those tactics can be employed today, though that is not a focus. I think some of his final points about how the left needs to learn to effectively counter the claims of the right with better tailored education, more insight into the far right's entryism into leftist circles, and filling the same needs and desires that drive people to the right are highly valuable.
I also really appreciated the short section that goes through what has happened since Trump's election and even Charlottesville. It's one of the more hopeful looks at where we stand today that also includes careful, realistic analysis of where the left has fallen short and what dangers lurk ahead that I've read.
I have a few caveats, though they do not detract from the fact that this is certainly a worthwhile read. His focus on the explicitly non-capitalist movements within the far right is certainly welcome, as I know many on the left forget that they do not hold a monopoly on criticizing the failures of capitalism, and this leads to a certain amount of windmill tilting and strange, often unexpected ideological bedfellows. However, in my perception of many far right subcultures, the libertarian and anarcho-capitalist strains of thought are potent drivers of people into more explicit fascism, as the myth of meritocracy allows proto-fascists and fascists themselves to justify and "prove" the existence of a perceived natural order and hierarchy. Leaving this perspective out is a fairly large blind spot. Similarly, Burley only barely scratches the surface of the Dark Enlightenment crowd, which has a fairly large presence in Silicon Valley and the tech world, and so wields an outsized amount of power.
Somewhat less importantly, despite having a fantastic chapter on the types and function of religious thought in fascist movements, he seems to totally leave out any of the Mormon brands of it. This leads to a moment of whiplash as the very next chapter starts out by examining the occupation of the Malheur Wildlife preserve, the perpetrators of which proclaimed a radical, somewhat fundamentalist interpretation of Mormonism to justify some of their complaints against the federal government (one member of the group only referring to himself as "Captain Moroni", even) - but Burley never even so much as mentions that. Several (very good!) pages on Odinism and none on fundamentalist Mormonism seems like an odd balance.
However, I don't really think these are particularly important issues, as no one survey of any political field can ever be fully comprehensive, and for the most part Burley does do a great job with as much as he does cover.
Aside from that, there are a few text issues that I think would have been sorted out with another or more thorough round of editing - as an example, he at some point refers to the subreddit "r/The_Donald_Trump" where I'm 99.9% certain he meant "r/The_Donald" and the organization "Run for Something" gets misnamed as "Run for Nothing". Simple errors probably from mistyping rather than ignorance, but something that should have been caught before going to print.
In the end, one of the best reads I've had in awhile, highly recommended.
I also really appreciated the short section that goes through what has happened since Trump's election and even Charlottesville. It's one of the more hopeful looks at where we stand today that also includes careful, realistic analysis of where the left has fallen short and what dangers lurk ahead that I've read.
I have a few caveats, though they do not detract from the fact that this is certainly a worthwhile read. His focus on the explicitly non-capitalist movements within the far right is certainly welcome, as I know many on the left forget that they do not hold a monopoly on criticizing the failures of capitalism, and this leads to a certain amount of windmill tilting and strange, often unexpected ideological bedfellows. However, in my perception of many far right subcultures, the libertarian and anarcho-capitalist strains of thought are potent drivers of people into more explicit fascism, as the myth of meritocracy allows proto-fascists and fascists themselves to justify and "prove" the existence of a perceived natural order and hierarchy. Leaving this perspective out is a fairly large blind spot. Similarly, Burley only barely scratches the surface of the Dark Enlightenment crowd, which has a fairly large presence in Silicon Valley and the tech world, and so wields an outsized amount of power.
Somewhat less importantly, despite having a fantastic chapter on the types and function of religious thought in fascist movements, he seems to totally leave out any of the Mormon brands of it. This leads to a moment of whiplash as the very next chapter starts out by examining the occupation of the Malheur Wildlife preserve, the perpetrators of which proclaimed a radical, somewhat fundamentalist interpretation of Mormonism to justify some of their complaints against the federal government (one member of the group only referring to himself as "Captain Moroni", even) - but Burley never even so much as mentions that. Several (very good!) pages on Odinism and none on fundamentalist Mormonism seems like an odd balance.
However, I don't really think these are particularly important issues, as no one survey of any political field can ever be fully comprehensive, and for the most part Burley does do a great job with as much as he does cover.
Aside from that, there are a few text issues that I think would have been sorted out with another or more thorough round of editing - as an example, he at some point refers to the subreddit "r/The_Donald_Trump" where I'm 99.9% certain he meant "r/The_Donald" and the organization "Run for Something" gets misnamed as "Run for Nothing". Simple errors probably from mistyping rather than ignorance, but something that should have been caught before going to print.
In the end, one of the best reads I've had in awhile, highly recommended.
February 7, 2020
It has been a hot minute since I read a book on anti-fascism, and so, rather than wait until I could convince my book club to do it, I decided to just get around myself to reading Shane Burley's Fascism Today: What It Is and How to End It, which I had picked up at the Lucy Parsons Center over the summer and which has been sitting around my apartment since August.
First things first: This book was published in late 2017, and aaaaaaaaaaaaahahahaha good god will it never not be hilarious to read things that talk about Matthew Heimbach's Traditionalist Worker's Party from when it still existed and was an active threat. The Night of the Wrong Wives still remains, in my opinion, the funniest unforced error/dramatic implosion in the history of modern fascism, and yes, I am keeping up on my Cantwell News (I'm about halfway through the latest I Don't Speak German episode as I write this).
Anyway. The bulk of the book is taken up with a taxonomy of the modern far right, divided up more or less by ideological strain, and with a focus more on what the... uh... "thinking" is and how it works than on individual people and groups (although obviously these feature heavily). While race obviously features pretty heavily in American fascism, as it does in American politics generally, not all fash groups are primarily and explicitly white nationalists, and it's good to see chapters dedicated to things like religion and misogyny, which often get subsumed in popular discourse about what the fascist movement (as one thing) is. Burley points out that these various bigotries aren't always separable; fascists are pretty infamous for making lefty infighting look tame, but when it comes to violently hating on everyone "below" them in a hierarchy, they've got a frighteningly decent handle on this coalition-building intersectional thing. There's a chapter on the pseudoscientific theories of "race realism" and their influence on the far right; there's also a chapter on far-right paganism and mysticism and all that pseudo-medieval stuff. I think it does a pretty good job of laying out the landscape of the far right circa 2017 with a decent degree of thoroughness and in a way that's easy-to-follow enough that it makes a pretty good basis for following the next three years' worth of developments, for which I'd probably recommend staying away from books altogether and just listening to I Don't Speak German instead so you can stay relatively timely.
The last third or so of the book is the "How to End It" part, which gives some history of militant and popular antifascist action through the twentieth century, and discusses the sort of things that go into antifascist action these days--doxxing, pressure campaigns, mass mobilizations, no-platforming, etc. It is perhaps not so much of a how-to as some people would like, judging from some of the reaction I heard to Mark Bray's Antifa: The Antifascist Handbook, but it does give a good look at what kind of things there are to do and what different sorts of organizations can do them. (It is simply not realistic to go into a mainstream, respectable bookstore and get a manual on how to doxx Proud Boys, but a lot of people seem to expect to find one anyway.) There's solid explanations about why these things are done and what sort of results they have actually in fact gotten. (I particularly enjoyed the small cameo by my own city the weekend after the A11/A12 attacks, which was described thus: "The following weekend an Alt Right rally was planned in Boston, but its fifty participants were met by an estimated 40,000 anti-fascists who flooded the streets and crushed the event before it started." An annoying amount of local reporting/discussion on this event focuses on solely on the march route and avoids the bit about shutting the rally down, presumably because liberal reporters find that sort of thing distasteful.) There's discussion about what needs to be done going forward; although this runs a little bit theoretical compared to the rest of the book, the theory is sound.
I learned a good amount from this book, especially where the author discusses subcultures I'm less familiar with (such as fascist creep in heathenism or folk music), although there's also plenty that I already knew, since I have been following the right-wing nutjob beat pretty closely since about Gamergate. The stuff I did already know is quite solid, including plenty of the sorts of details that tend to get left out of mainstream accounts of fascist and anti-fascist activity in order to build false equivalencies (such as Milo's doxx talks, which the mainstream press tended to report on like they were just screeds of abstract bad ideas that could theoretically be argued against).
It probably says something about how much of this sort of content I consume already that I found this a pretty chill and easy read; almost any kind of reporting on this stuff is easier to handle than actually looking at even the lite-est of Alt Lite meme pages with your own tender eyeballs. If you are more squeamish than me you should be aware that this book does discuss some really terrible people who do and believe really terrible things, and it doesn't slow-walk it for you. But if you're over that hurdle it's a good, solid primer on navigating what the fuck is actually going on with these people.
Originally published at If you're a Nazi and you're fired, we did that on purpose.
First things first: This book was published in late 2017, and aaaaaaaaaaaaahahahaha good god will it never not be hilarious to read things that talk about Matthew Heimbach's Traditionalist Worker's Party from when it still existed and was an active threat. The Night of the Wrong Wives still remains, in my opinion, the funniest unforced error/dramatic implosion in the history of modern fascism, and yes, I am keeping up on my Cantwell News (I'm about halfway through the latest I Don't Speak German episode as I write this).
Anyway. The bulk of the book is taken up with a taxonomy of the modern far right, divided up more or less by ideological strain, and with a focus more on what the... uh... "thinking" is and how it works than on individual people and groups (although obviously these feature heavily). While race obviously features pretty heavily in American fascism, as it does in American politics generally, not all fash groups are primarily and explicitly white nationalists, and it's good to see chapters dedicated to things like religion and misogyny, which often get subsumed in popular discourse about what the fascist movement (as one thing) is. Burley points out that these various bigotries aren't always separable; fascists are pretty infamous for making lefty infighting look tame, but when it comes to violently hating on everyone "below" them in a hierarchy, they've got a frighteningly decent handle on this coalition-building intersectional thing. There's a chapter on the pseudoscientific theories of "race realism" and their influence on the far right; there's also a chapter on far-right paganism and mysticism and all that pseudo-medieval stuff. I think it does a pretty good job of laying out the landscape of the far right circa 2017 with a decent degree of thoroughness and in a way that's easy-to-follow enough that it makes a pretty good basis for following the next three years' worth of developments, for which I'd probably recommend staying away from books altogether and just listening to I Don't Speak German instead so you can stay relatively timely.
The last third or so of the book is the "How to End It" part, which gives some history of militant and popular antifascist action through the twentieth century, and discusses the sort of things that go into antifascist action these days--doxxing, pressure campaigns, mass mobilizations, no-platforming, etc. It is perhaps not so much of a how-to as some people would like, judging from some of the reaction I heard to Mark Bray's Antifa: The Antifascist Handbook, but it does give a good look at what kind of things there are to do and what different sorts of organizations can do them. (It is simply not realistic to go into a mainstream, respectable bookstore and get a manual on how to doxx Proud Boys, but a lot of people seem to expect to find one anyway.) There's solid explanations about why these things are done and what sort of results they have actually in fact gotten. (I particularly enjoyed the small cameo by my own city the weekend after the A11/A12 attacks, which was described thus: "The following weekend an Alt Right rally was planned in Boston, but its fifty participants were met by an estimated 40,000 anti-fascists who flooded the streets and crushed the event before it started." An annoying amount of local reporting/discussion on this event focuses on solely on the march route and avoids the bit about shutting the rally down, presumably because liberal reporters find that sort of thing distasteful.) There's discussion about what needs to be done going forward; although this runs a little bit theoretical compared to the rest of the book, the theory is sound.
I learned a good amount from this book, especially where the author discusses subcultures I'm less familiar with (such as fascist creep in heathenism or folk music), although there's also plenty that I already knew, since I have been following the right-wing nutjob beat pretty closely since about Gamergate. The stuff I did already know is quite solid, including plenty of the sorts of details that tend to get left out of mainstream accounts of fascist and anti-fascist activity in order to build false equivalencies (such as Milo's doxx talks, which the mainstream press tended to report on like they were just screeds of abstract bad ideas that could theoretically be argued against).
It probably says something about how much of this sort of content I consume already that I found this a pretty chill and easy read; almost any kind of reporting on this stuff is easier to handle than actually looking at even the lite-est of Alt Lite meme pages with your own tender eyeballs. If you are more squeamish than me you should be aware that this book does discuss some really terrible people who do and believe really terrible things, and it doesn't slow-walk it for you. But if you're over that hurdle it's a good, solid primer on navigating what the fuck is actually going on with these people.
Originally published at If you're a Nazi and you're fired, we did that on purpose.
October 17, 2023
This book is written from an antifascist perspective. It gives a broad overview of fascist ideology and worldview as well as its numerous varieties and branches, although it focuses on the US context. Reading this book was interesting but a little heavy.
The book uses research literature, news articles and interviews as sources, and many of the source works found their way on my reading list. Mostly, the text was easy to understand, although it felt quite slow to read. The only term that wasn't defined was racialism/racialist ("a belief that race determines human traits and capacities"), and it is used a lot in the book. The book would have benefitted from a closer proofreading.
Content wise, one of the most interesting aspects of the first part was the multifaceted relationship between the far right and the radical left. They have contradictory goals, but their drive to change society partially stems from similar reasons, e.g. critique of capitalism. This also explains why some far right groups in Finland have, seemingly smoothly, managed to combine questions of ecological sustainability to ethnic nationalism and white supremacy. It was also interesting and new to me to read about some leftists activists collaborating with fascists and authoritarians on certain issues, such as opposing imperialist wars (for moral vs. isolationist reasons). Thankfully, this practice was also sternly criticised by the author. Other types of confluence between the far right and the far left, such as National Anarchism, were new to me, and I found reading about them very intriguing but also quite... surprising, for lack of a better word.
One strategy that I wasn't quite certain about was naming terrorists. I kind of understand the decision: all other fascists are also discussed by name, which I get. But I'm not sure if the same should be applied to convicted and, in many cases, dead mass murderers. Often, one of their goals is infamy, and printing their names furthers that aim. I'm not sure what's the benefit of naming them, though.
The second part of the book dealt with antifascist action. It introduced some very good tactics, such as disrupting events and making scientific information more accessible/understandable to counter pseudoscientific, racialist talking points.
Reading this book made me reflect on my own position as a leftist: what am I willing to do for equality, and what have I done already? What tactics am I comfortable with? I do believe in the diversity of tactics, but I'm somewhat hesitant about some ideas presented in this book, e.g. doxxing. It was talked about a lot in this book, and its downsides were not discussed. I understand the arguments for using it, and the far right uses it as well, but I think normalising it can be quite dangerous. In certain cases, such as revealing the identities of leading organisers and full-on members of fascist organisations, doxxing can be an effective way to disrupt fascist activities, but it should be used very carefully. The effect that doxxing by fascists has had on online antiracist activists was touched upon briefly, but I would've liked to read a bit more critical consideration about the issue. Then again, this book was about fascism in the US, and the situation there is a lot worse than in Finland. The author does mention that each country's situation is unique and the approaches should be tailored accordingly.
The book uses research literature, news articles and interviews as sources, and many of the source works found their way on my reading list. Mostly, the text was easy to understand, although it felt quite slow to read. The only term that wasn't defined was racialism/racialist ("a belief that race determines human traits and capacities"), and it is used a lot in the book. The book would have benefitted from a closer proofreading.
Content wise, one of the most interesting aspects of the first part was the multifaceted relationship between the far right and the radical left. They have contradictory goals, but their drive to change society partially stems from similar reasons, e.g. critique of capitalism. This also explains why some far right groups in Finland have, seemingly smoothly, managed to combine questions of ecological sustainability to ethnic nationalism and white supremacy. It was also interesting and new to me to read about some leftists activists collaborating with fascists and authoritarians on certain issues, such as opposing imperialist wars (for moral vs. isolationist reasons). Thankfully, this practice was also sternly criticised by the author. Other types of confluence between the far right and the far left, such as National Anarchism, were new to me, and I found reading about them very intriguing but also quite... surprising, for lack of a better word.
One strategy that I wasn't quite certain about was naming terrorists. I kind of understand the decision: all other fascists are also discussed by name, which I get. But I'm not sure if the same should be applied to convicted and, in many cases, dead mass murderers. Often, one of their goals is infamy, and printing their names furthers that aim. I'm not sure what's the benefit of naming them, though.
The second part of the book dealt with antifascist action. It introduced some very good tactics, such as disrupting events and making scientific information more accessible/understandable to counter pseudoscientific, racialist talking points.
Reading this book made me reflect on my own position as a leftist: what am I willing to do for equality, and what have I done already? What tactics am I comfortable with? I do believe in the diversity of tactics, but I'm somewhat hesitant about some ideas presented in this book, e.g. doxxing. It was talked about a lot in this book, and its downsides were not discussed. I understand the arguments for using it, and the far right uses it as well, but I think normalising it can be quite dangerous. In certain cases, such as revealing the identities of leading organisers and full-on members of fascist organisations, doxxing can be an effective way to disrupt fascist activities, but it should be used very carefully. The effect that doxxing by fascists has had on online antiracist activists was touched upon briefly, but I would've liked to read a bit more critical consideration about the issue. Then again, this book was about fascism in the US, and the situation there is a lot worse than in Finland. The author does mention that each country's situation is unique and the approaches should be tailored accordingly.
January 29, 2018
This is the third book on fascism that I have read recently, and so far it is the best. (Is it best because it is third and some details are becoming familiar? Maybe.)
What I liked about this one is the detail on the ideas behind fascism, the analysis of how various fascist groups think, especially on race and gender. I also appreciated detailed explanations of how fascist groups overlap with liberal groups, at least superficially. This was followed by ideas to look for to separate them out (hierarchy, search for purity and ideal man, reference to a mythic ideal past).
The how to end it section had two chapters: an overview of actions that had been tried and one drawing conclusions and suggestions from that survey.
What I liked about this one is the detail on the ideas behind fascism, the analysis of how various fascist groups think, especially on race and gender. I also appreciated detailed explanations of how fascist groups overlap with liberal groups, at least superficially. This was followed by ideas to look for to separate them out (hierarchy, search for purity and ideal man, reference to a mythic ideal past).
The how to end it section had two chapters: an overview of actions that had been tried and one drawing conclusions and suggestions from that survey.
January 30, 2018
Amazing book. If you want to know what is going on in N. America and Europe now, read this. Essential reading to understand late-fascism.
December 23, 2017
Due to hearing the term fascism coming up in the news so often the past year I've read several books on the topic to deepen my understanding. None that I have read have done a better job of defining fascism and how it has evolved in the 21st century than Burley's latest work. There probably isn't a better resource for demystifying the "alt-right", due primarily to the fact that Shane was researching the associated groups long before they became a household word. This is also one of the best resources I've come across for understanding the broad spectrum of activist groups dedicated to opposing the rising tide of fascism.
January 7, 2021
I read this book while writing my Master’s dissertation on the alt-right’s emergence from the depths of the online sphere into a neo-fascist insurrection movement. Burley’s detailed and comprehensive history of modern fascism is incredibly important in understanding the modern day Neo-Nazism that is poisoning society and after the events that happened in the Capitol last night, hugely important for as many people to understand just how deeply rooted this all is in the most heinous of ideologies.
December 31, 2017
This offered a more in-depth look at the current state of American fascist and fascist-adjacent groups than Mark Bray's "Antifa," and seemed more focused as well. I picked it up on a whim and was very satisfied with it.
August 26, 2019
Excellent. Well written, well researched. Essential reading.
January 6, 2021
Un libro sobre el ascenso de grupos fascistas y neo-nazis en USA desde la campana de Trump. Se hace bastante lento de leer ya que se detiene demasiado en ejemplos muy locales, tanto de grupos fascistas como de sus contrapartes antifascistas, en distintos estados de USA.
De todas maneras contiene un sinnúmero de ideas interesantes, especialmente sobre la capacidad camaleónica del fascismo para infiltrarse hacia una población que en principio considerariamos proclive a la izquierda, por el hecho de compartir ciertas ideas con esta, aunque con un origen y finalidades completamente distintos.
-Fascism is an attempt to answer the unfinished equation of capitalism, and, instead of challenging the inequalities manifested through this economic system, it hardens them.
-Fascism grows in the arts, in poetry, in philosophy, in spirituality, in the formation of community bonds, and the ways we see ourselves. Politics is only the public manifestation of a cosmic shift in attitudes and values.
-...while the left critiques capitalism for its inability to deliver broad equality, the far-right critiques it for not being explicitly racialized and unequal enough.
-(in Fascism) Difference cannot be celebrated horizontally; it can only be ranked vertically.
-For the Alt Right, free speech per se has never been an issue of importance, instead it is an easy tool to use to appeal to liberal values and cement their own access to a platform.
-Antifascist work is a piece of the larger mass working-class struggle for survival and progress, and it should come out of the experiences and needs of the class rather than the ideological imposition of experienced organizers.
-Fascism has always fed on weaknesses in the left, the ideological inconsistencies, the internal clashes, and the inability to live up to its own radical promises.
- Often times, in an attempt to venerate the indigenous and find enemies in the current crisis, we find allies in the nightmares of the past, whether real or fetishized.
Esta última frase me hace pensar en donde pueden yacer las trampas de fascismo en Chile. Por ejemplo, en la desesperada búsqueda por cierta identidad (whatever that means) que empuja a parte importante de la población a tragarse tomo tras tomo de supuestas "historias secretas de Chile", a la continua apropiación del imaginario de los pueblos originarios. El fascismo se alimenta de nacionalismos y tribalismos. En enfatizar las diferencias como manera de clasificarnos y separarnos, y no de celebrarnos en nuestra diversidad.
De todas maneras contiene un sinnúmero de ideas interesantes, especialmente sobre la capacidad camaleónica del fascismo para infiltrarse hacia una población que en principio considerariamos proclive a la izquierda, por el hecho de compartir ciertas ideas con esta, aunque con un origen y finalidades completamente distintos.
-Fascism is an attempt to answer the unfinished equation of capitalism, and, instead of challenging the inequalities manifested through this economic system, it hardens them.
-Fascism grows in the arts, in poetry, in philosophy, in spirituality, in the formation of community bonds, and the ways we see ourselves. Politics is only the public manifestation of a cosmic shift in attitudes and values.
-...while the left critiques capitalism for its inability to deliver broad equality, the far-right critiques it for not being explicitly racialized and unequal enough.
-(in Fascism) Difference cannot be celebrated horizontally; it can only be ranked vertically.
-For the Alt Right, free speech per se has never been an issue of importance, instead it is an easy tool to use to appeal to liberal values and cement their own access to a platform.
-Antifascist work is a piece of the larger mass working-class struggle for survival and progress, and it should come out of the experiences and needs of the class rather than the ideological imposition of experienced organizers.
-Fascism has always fed on weaknesses in the left, the ideological inconsistencies, the internal clashes, and the inability to live up to its own radical promises.
- Often times, in an attempt to venerate the indigenous and find enemies in the current crisis, we find allies in the nightmares of the past, whether real or fetishized.
Esta última frase me hace pensar en donde pueden yacer las trampas de fascismo en Chile. Por ejemplo, en la desesperada búsqueda por cierta identidad (whatever that means) que empuja a parte importante de la población a tragarse tomo tras tomo de supuestas "historias secretas de Chile", a la continua apropiación del imaginario de los pueblos originarios. El fascismo se alimenta de nacionalismos y tribalismos. En enfatizar las diferencias como manera de clasificarnos y separarnos, y no de celebrarnos en nuestra diversidad.
January 11, 2020
Everyone should read this book. The author brings a great deal of detail and nuance to his exploration of the alt-right and other fascist organizations. He avoids generalizations and considers each group separately. His exploration of the pseudo-science and the highly mythologized utopias that these groups use is fascinating.
The only criticism I have is that, in the second portion of the book where he discusses remedies, his lack of generalization sometimes loses the narrative thread. This deficiency is worth no more than half a star so I kept it at a five-star review.
Let me summarize for you:
1. Don't give fascist groups a platform. This is less about preventing free speech and more about preventing recruitment and normalization.
2. Out members as fascists--make them pay a price for their beliefs.
3. Make common cause with other groups but carefully research first because some groups have hidden fascist agendas. This can be a problem with environmental groups who want to limit immigration to save the land for white people, for example.
4. Learn from historically oppressed groups like black organizations that do not rely on governmental intervention for protection.
5. Develop a consistent counter-narrative based on our values of inclusion, equality, and commonweal.
6. Support Unions. Give the white working class an opportunity to develop a class identity over ethnic identity. Too often, fascist groups use white identity both as recruitment and as a means of oppression. The white working-class are asked to trade the goods of society for the belief that they are better than people of color. Unions can give them power and identity.
Personally, I would like to add two more items.
1. We need to create working-class jobs. For the past forty years, we have created upper-middle-class jobs and exported or automated working-class jobs out of existence. The cult of personal responsibility is used to wag our fingers and blame the working-class for their fate while wealth and jobs are transferred from the lowest quartiles to the tip-top of the highest.
2. We need to use peaceful methods. The fascist organizations are defined partially by their love of violence. We need to avoid becoming the thing we hate which is all too easy.
The only criticism I have is that, in the second portion of the book where he discusses remedies, his lack of generalization sometimes loses the narrative thread. This deficiency is worth no more than half a star so I kept it at a five-star review.
Let me summarize for you:
1. Don't give fascist groups a platform. This is less about preventing free speech and more about preventing recruitment and normalization.
2. Out members as fascists--make them pay a price for their beliefs.
3. Make common cause with other groups but carefully research first because some groups have hidden fascist agendas. This can be a problem with environmental groups who want to limit immigration to save the land for white people, for example.
4. Learn from historically oppressed groups like black organizations that do not rely on governmental intervention for protection.
5. Develop a consistent counter-narrative based on our values of inclusion, equality, and commonweal.
6. Support Unions. Give the white working class an opportunity to develop a class identity over ethnic identity. Too often, fascist groups use white identity both as recruitment and as a means of oppression. The white working-class are asked to trade the goods of society for the belief that they are better than people of color. Unions can give them power and identity.
Personally, I would like to add two more items.
1. We need to create working-class jobs. For the past forty years, we have created upper-middle-class jobs and exported or automated working-class jobs out of existence. The cult of personal responsibility is used to wag our fingers and blame the working-class for their fate while wealth and jobs are transferred from the lowest quartiles to the tip-top of the highest.
2. We need to use peaceful methods. The fascist organizations are defined partially by their love of violence. We need to avoid becoming the thing we hate which is all too easy.
June 13, 2023
This book brought substance, context and a label to what I have long been characterizing as "a hierarchical view of the world." Shane Burley uses the first part to explore fascism, one definition being "inequality through mythological and essentialized identity" and gives US ex-president Trump's rise to power as a recent success story for fascist ideology.
Burley points out that fascists are faced with a challenge, in that most people recoil in horror at the idea of one small group of humans taking control of all human activities and endeavours, essentially subjugating the majority to the interests of a few in a nihilistic distopia. We have seen what happened when a fascist government took hold in Germany in the 1930s. You may have read George Orwell's Animal Farm. For this reason, fascist groups have to find various nefarious ways to sell their message--one method being seeking out intersectional alliances with causes like environmentalism, animal rights, and even indigenous rights. This deceptive strategy is known as the "Third Way."
Given the geopolitical situation as I write this, of the war in Ukraine, a fascist world view becoming mainstream through NATO and other actors, and the climate crisis--we all need to educate ourselves about fascism and armed with this knowledge, be prepared to persistently show up and speak up when fascist groups attempt to propagandize their hateful ideology. The second part of the book provides myriad examples of how the left has defeated fascism through organizing, and names many antifascist and fascist groups and individuals. Fascism is insidious, but it can be overcome. Love is stronger than hate, as long as we remember that love is a verb, and overcoming hate won't be easy.
Overall, a helpful book, essential reading for peace activists.
Burley points out that fascists are faced with a challenge, in that most people recoil in horror at the idea of one small group of humans taking control of all human activities and endeavours, essentially subjugating the majority to the interests of a few in a nihilistic distopia. We have seen what happened when a fascist government took hold in Germany in the 1930s. You may have read George Orwell's Animal Farm. For this reason, fascist groups have to find various nefarious ways to sell their message--one method being seeking out intersectional alliances with causes like environmentalism, animal rights, and even indigenous rights. This deceptive strategy is known as the "Third Way."
Given the geopolitical situation as I write this, of the war in Ukraine, a fascist world view becoming mainstream through NATO and other actors, and the climate crisis--we all need to educate ourselves about fascism and armed with this knowledge, be prepared to persistently show up and speak up when fascist groups attempt to propagandize their hateful ideology. The second part of the book provides myriad examples of how the left has defeated fascism through organizing, and names many antifascist and fascist groups and individuals. Fascism is insidious, but it can be overcome. Love is stronger than hate, as long as we remember that love is a verb, and overcoming hate won't be easy.
Overall, a helpful book, essential reading for peace activists.
July 11, 2018
I actually picked up an ARC of this book from my old department's take-one-leave-one shelf when I went back to visit a professor, so I've had it sitting around for a while without much incentive to read it except freaking out about how everything is bad and ideologically on fire in this country now and forever, etc etc. Anyway, the only reason why I didn't give this book a bunch of stars is that it was pretty dry and hard to get through - I put it down several times for a few weeks-months (maybe I'm just finding it harder to finish nonfiction now that I'm out of school?) However, the organizational structure and writing style of the book is very clear and I loved how wide-ranging it was. It's a measured and pretty in-depth look at fascism (in the Western world) in the current day, not a historical book although it does touch on history, and it definitely introduces a lot of different groups/concepts but they're all explained clearly. I would definitely recommend it for those trying to get some background on the alt right and the different ideologies and cultural terms/products they engage with. It provided me with a lot of insight into the goals and logics (if they can be called that) of different fascist groups acting in US society. I would recommend it for politically engaged people, students, and organizers - less as incendiary material or instructions on dismantling fascism, although it does include both those things to some extent and I really valued the section on different antifascist projects. It was more of a useful insight and glossary to me that has helped me navigate thinking and talking about combating the right with more precision. I wish it were a little more juicily worded, but I know that's not the point!
March 11, 2018
Shane Burley's book 'Fascism Today' is an excellent addition to the recent literature produced in the fight against fascism. Burley's strength are three fold: they provide an illuminating glossary of key terms/groups, a substantial history and context to old and emerging fascist movements, and crucial section on resisting and destroying fascist threats. The glossary and readability of the book alone makes this one of the best available books on the subject especially for those new to the subject.
The majority of the book is about what fascism is (what it isn't) and how this concept has changed and shifted in time and from group to group. The section is not overly theoretical (something I would have personally enjoyed more of), but provides a correct idea of what is meant by the term and how various groups relate to the idea while maintaining individual differences. There are a lot of groups covered so at times it can feel shallow in its treatment of individual groups, nonetheless the breadth is overall beneficial for understanding the complexity of the threat.
The final section is much shorter, but very crucial because it gives some of the basics arguments, strategy, and complexities of resisting a changing threat. This section is critically important for new readers, but is not extensive in terms of the explaining the complex and heroic history of antifascism.
The majority of the book is about what fascism is (what it isn't) and how this concept has changed and shifted in time and from group to group. The section is not overly theoretical (something I would have personally enjoyed more of), but provides a correct idea of what is meant by the term and how various groups relate to the idea while maintaining individual differences. There are a lot of groups covered so at times it can feel shallow in its treatment of individual groups, nonetheless the breadth is overall beneficial for understanding the complexity of the threat.
The final section is much shorter, but very crucial because it gives some of the basics arguments, strategy, and complexities of resisting a changing threat. This section is critically important for new readers, but is not extensive in terms of the explaining the complex and heroic history of antifascism.
November 14, 2022
This useful book is an effective introduction to the contemporary far right landscape from an activist point of view. It provides a wealth of information on the many varieties of far right groupings, struggles against them, and resources for learning more.
That activist point of view is important. So many theoretical discussions of the far right get bogged down in trying to define fascism to narrowly, but at the grassroot level, you aren't going to find consistency in platform and program within the far right itself, so why should our definition?
I do think the broad definition of fascism utilized in the book could have been complemented by a better incorporation of the broader definition of antifascism Burley discusses toward the end of the book. To his credit, he does emphasize the importance of black liberatory and anti-racist struggle, but that discussion does feel a bit compartmentalized.
That activist point of view is important. So many theoretical discussions of the far right get bogged down in trying to define fascism to narrowly, but at the grassroot level, you aren't going to find consistency in platform and program within the far right itself, so why should our definition?
I do think the broad definition of fascism utilized in the book could have been complemented by a better incorporation of the broader definition of antifascism Burley discusses toward the end of the book. To his credit, he does emphasize the importance of black liberatory and anti-racist struggle, but that discussion does feel a bit compartmentalized.
June 14, 2019
Writing about fascism in this time is a daunting task. The playing field has shifted somewhat in the scant two years since its release—the TWP has disbanded, Richard Spencer is more a laughing stock than anything, Proud Boy presence has strengthened, and the amount of ‘lone wolf’ fascist violence has horrifically increased. Yet this still remains the most in-depth contemporary analysis on the modern fascist movement I’ve read. The amount of research on both right wing and anti-fascist counter groups is sprawling, yet easily digestible. It’s a perfect primer for those who have seen the threat rise since 2016, and want to fight but don’t know how. This pairs well with Mark Bray’s Anti-fascist Handbook and Alexander Reid Ross’s ‘Against the Fascist Creep.’
April 17, 2023
A comprehensive overview of the fascist and protofascist movements in America's recent past and contemporary manifestations. The summaries of eruptions like the KKK, the fascist skinheads, rhe Oathkeepers, the 3%eres and the hate-mongers of the Altright, Breitbart and the vituperative adherents of these fascist sects are systematically compiled and revealed, there seems to be a lack of urgency as to the catastrophic dangers that these virulent groups present to our country. The facts are spot on, but the emotional intensity of this tsunami of hate seems, at times, a bit weak.
But, despite my , possibly. picayune opinions, I do recommend this book to all who are as worried ad I am about the growing threat of Fascism in our world.
But, despite my , possibly. picayune opinions, I do recommend this book to all who are as worried ad I am about the growing threat of Fascism in our world.
August 4, 2023
In Fascism Today, Shame Burley defines fascism as movements aiming for "inequality through mythological and essentialized identity." He describes various common features of Fascism including racism, misogyny, elitism, violence, antisemitism, a tendency to steal rhetoric from the left, etc.
Ultimately, the author chooses not to dwell on the merits of different definitions of Fascism, opting instead for a sort of compendium of different fascist or fascistic political movements in the US today.
I have a growing collection of books on this topic and I hope to write more about it in the future.
Ultimately, the author chooses not to dwell on the merits of different definitions of Fascism, opting instead for a sort of compendium of different fascist or fascistic political movements in the US today.
I have a growing collection of books on this topic and I hope to write more about it in the future.
January 16, 2021
While reading this I realised that prior, despite how much we talk about facism and antifa, I would not have been able to explain exactly what makes facism exactly facism, and now I can which feels very empowering. Extremely well written -- not too jargony as to be hard to follow and super clear in its x to y to z of how alt right figures develop. I found it especially enlightening wrt why things like paganism, occultism, and folk are so appealing to and rife with fascists. Very good ground work read and very much recommend.
December 29, 2022
Fantastic. Despite being several years old, and predating a lot of major developments with respect to fascism, white nationalism and the international far right’s global power grab, it still is extremely relevant and essential reading. Shane presents a clear and concise view of the political landscape and what it demands of us in this moment. The book ends with empowering examples of recent antifascist struggles throughout the country and left me feeling ready to fight and determined to win. You should read this book.
July 6, 2018
As the title suggests, the book weaves together an analysis of contemporary fascism with suggestions for opposition organizing. The discussion of anti-fascist resistance may be the strongest and most original contribution of the book, as it discusses a wide variety of organizing responses to fascist groups in the US, from militant black bloc style, to legal strategies, investigative work,and mass protest organizations.
October 10, 2018
Burley creates a writeup that is articulate but also straight to the point and accessible. It manages to avoid a pitfall of academic reads where jargon and endless referential theory makes the whole thing a slog. There's a lot of ground covered in this standard-sized book and it conveys much of that concisely without feeling overwhelming.
August 26, 2019
The far right and fascist movements have consumed me for the past few months. I have been reading articles and books about it eager to understand more of the context behind what is happening now and how did we get here.
This book connected all the dots for me. It’s clear concise and organized in such a way it’s easy to understand. Shane does a great job of making this a story and not a textbook. He’s a brilliant journalist and now I can say he’s also a brilliant author. Pick up this book.
This book connected all the dots for me. It’s clear concise and organized in such a way it’s easy to understand. Shane does a great job of making this a story and not a textbook. He’s a brilliant journalist and now I can say he’s also a brilliant author. Pick up this book.
September 25, 2020
I'm so glad I finally read this. Given the situation we're in, I can't recommend it enough. It's more important than ever to understand what fascism actually is, how fascists try to gain power, and how fascist ideas can creep into our organizing spaces. And it's super important to learn about effective strategies to stop it. Very relevant and helpful.
December 2, 2020
Shane Burley does a wonderful job discussing the current state of Fascism, specifically within the culture and politics of the US today. He discusses multiple factions, and philosophies within the US fascist community as a whole, how they're connected, and most interestingly, how antifascist groups combat different groups, with different tactics.
July 21, 2021
A good read, do not be deterred by it's constant references to Trump as president of the US (which he is no longer). The book gives a needed warning to all community-based [political] groups that are infiltrated by fascists. The book is a valuable reading source to all those who wish to start an action group.
January 10, 2023
An excellent primer and introduction to contemporary forms of fascism. Shane Burley gives a detailed explanation of the various strands of fascist and far-right thought that have exploded in popularity since the election of Donald Trump. At the same time, he also gives decent context from past incarnations of the fascist threat. A read worth experiencing.
March 22, 2018
Filled with ideas and information that we need to understand our country in these dark times. I real eye-opener which challenged many of my assumptions about fascism and those fighting it. A must-read.
Want to read
August 1, 2019Shane and Mark talking fascism and resistance:
November 25, 2020
Essential reading for anyone wanting to understand today's neo-facist movements and how to counter them
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