Sure is alot of talk about fascism these days, and at times I have to wonder just how many people out there who casually use that term even know what it takes for an individual/country to be considered genuinely fascist?

But... if you're going to loosely throw the term fascist around, it's worth pointing out that both political extremes can display fascistic tendencies. Fascism, in its purest form, can be opposed to both liberalism and conservatism. A key element of Fascism is that it seeks to establish a “national rebirth” or “new order”. While references could be made to a "good old days" past, fascists don't exactly want to return to such, which would put them at odds with a good number of conservatives. Regarding liberalism, fascists are certainly opposed to liberal ideology, but not everyone who associates with the political left is liberal, and the further left one goes you'll find types who also despise liberalism. For example, the loosely structured activist collectivism known as ANTIFA openly hate liberalism, and blame many societal ills on liberal viewpoints. That's not to say that every single individual who identifies with ANTIFA hate liberalism, but only that liberalism in general is not held in high regards according to the manifesto of the anti-fascist intellectuals.

Anyways, it's good to have knowledge on what fascism is and isn't, for the next time you might find yourself debating with someone who enjoys throwing the word "facsist" around in order to win an argument. This post was long overdue...

What fascism really is — and what it isn’t...
We often hear rhetoric comparing certain political leaders and moments to fascism, but is that accurate? Perhaps more importantly, is that a good thing?
[bigthink.com]