Underground Knowledge — A discussion group discussion

Nowadays, the terms "fascism" and "fascist" are known worldwide, mainly as a doctrine and form of government that saw its birth at the beginning of the 19th century and had a great boom in Italy, due to the ascent of Benito Mussolini, and also in Germany, with Adolf Hitler and the rise of Nazism.

Although it has succumbed in historical terms, it does not mean that many people around the wouldn’t raise a flag of a somewhat reprehensible ideological position, and even in the current time of 2023, ideological fascism presents some lax policies that can permeate under modern societies, not only through hatred and resentment, but also through highly nationalistic and militarized politics.

In terms of a society that remains identified with excessive hatred towards other ethnic groups or social communities, the hustle to probe the superiority and primacy of the so-called “good old times" generally leads to marginalization and growing rejection of those considered “different”, which sometimes ends in a widespread of fear or isolation of certain groups of people. In addition, the essence of an overwhelmingly military policy, that conveys in a sense of giving one’s life for the nation, are some other factors that exacerbate an ideology of supremacy, an aggressive hate against those who are considered "foreign" to the homeland. Sometimes these characteristics may not converge into a war, but they some how tend to create a “war climate” that ends up interfering in peoples’ relations, and the act they act towards the rest of the world.

If all these periods of warfare sound so foreign to our times, why even consider the revival of some despotic government today?

Actually, years like the ones we are currently experiencing would hardly see the emergence of a government like those of Mussolini or Hitler, since today many countries are legally regulated by organizations such as the UN that lay the bases and foundations of the criteria to be adopted in relation to the assumption of a government, and proceed to interfere (or bring to trial) countries that compromise international peace and security. However, the fascism gene may not be installed in any specific government or policy, but rather it wanders like a ghost in the psyche of some societies that are constantly reported of hatred crimes, uncontrolled violence, or attacks against law enforcement agencies, because they claim to be “sicked” of the current political situation, claiming the greatness of those years where one ethnic group dominated over others, or where a certain community was rejected and isolated from the rest of society due to ideological prejudices.

The reality is that although there are specific cases in the history of governments that have monopolized all power and benefited from a totalitarian ideology that hypnotized and brainwashed citizens, I inevitably believe that today this is not merely a political and bureaucratic matter underlying the problems that beset our era. I feel there is an untouched issue of cultural ethnocentrism that doused its flames for a while, but each day breeds new cynical adherents who are seeking to establish a pecking order, forging a dirty and somehow forgotten path to the darkest times of our history.