Publisher’s write-up:
‘From Putin’s war on Ukraine to Trump’s assault on American democracy,
we’ve seen the ideas of fascism proliferate. But why? Where did it begin? What
do its new adherents believe? And how do we stop them? Fascism, Paul Mason
shows, is ‘the fear of freedom’, and only a new democratic coalition can defeat
it.’
How to Stop Fascism is a book from the journalist Paul Mason, mainly
analysing the return of fascism in the world, with several authoritarian
leaders around the world taking power in the last decade, such as Donald Trump
in the US, Narendra Modi in India, Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, Giorgia Meloni in
Italy, etc. who rose to power largely by exploiting the insecurities of the
majority from a ‘perceived external threat’ of the country. There are three
parts to the book, with the author first introducing fascism and its ideology,
then moving on to its history and finally on how we can resist it today.
To cite from the book, here is one example of the type of rhetoric
employed by the above stated leaders:
‘The ideas of the these self-styled ‘philosophers’ of the far right are
not simply grotesque, they would not last five minutes if subjected to the rigours
of logic and analysis in an actual philosophy department. That’s why they communicate
in obscure, long-winded and often unintelligible prose. However, they are persuasive.’
This is a very important topic given with rise of new technology,
political ideologies that were earlier in the fringes have found effective
means to reach the mainstream. Taking France for instance where I am from, the
party which was earlier considered a pariah, the Rassemblement National led by Marine
Le Pen, is today seen as a normal ‘opposition party’ often platformed in the
mainstream media. Similar trends could be observed in other countries. The
author takes the example of the 2020 Delhi riots in India (my country of
origin), where there was open violence initiated against Muslims of the city
following provocative speeches by the leaders of the Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP).
The author then talks about the history, how there were similar complacencies
about people writing obituaries of Mussolini’s political career in the 20s, or for
that matter after Hitler’s failed Beer Hall Putsch, there was more infighting
among the German left – where the Communist Party (KPD) considered the
Socialist Party (SPD) as the bigger threat an ignored Hitler. The author sends
us a pertinent warning that we are ignoring the present day fascists and neo
nazis at our own peril. The author talked about the mobilisation of these
groups, often picking up culture wars, be it on transgender rights or gay
rights, as their main rallying points to enthuse their base (as is often seen
in Trump rallies).
There were parts where I felt the book was a tad alarmist, where reading
it, one could be convinced that fascists are just one election away from taking
power from everywhere, but that said, that is also the point of the author’s
book, wherein, we should avoid the complacency that good sense will prevail.
The author also breaks the myth that people drawn to fascism are often those
who are left behind my the establishment / are in a precarious position, rather,
in case of both Mussolini and Hitler, barring their base, they had widespread
support from the mainstream middle class, which is what made them efficient
when they were in power.
The book largely focus on the West, occasionally touching upon India and
Brazil, but I felt East Asia was largely ignored, given it has had similar
tendencies in the past decade, especially the rule of President Rodrigo Duterte
in the Philippines. Similarly, though the People’s Republic of China is not a
democracy, Xi Jinping has become the ‘strongest’ Chinese head of state since
Mao Zedong, often stoking up militarist and etho-nationalist sentiment to legitimise
his hold on the establishment.
To summarise and conclude, I would say that this book addresses a very
important topic, given 2024 has major elections, which effectively have
democracy on the ballot – be it in US or India, or for that matter the rise of vote
share of authoritarian parties across several member states in EU (such as Vox
in Spain). It is also very important for us to keep in mind the history that
was involved, which brought fascists to power, so that we can be wary of the
same history repeating itself and act accordingly. While the focus was highly
on Western Europe and US, it could have concentrated on certain other regions
as well. On that note, I would award the book a rating of eight on ten.
Rating – 8/10
Have a nice day
Andy
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