Fascism thrives when it's contrasted with a version of capitalist liberal democracy,

now often called neoliberalism. Fascism thrives when, as Hannah-Aren says,

individuals are atomized, and they don't have groups in which they can belong and identify.

For fascism to succeed, it needs to destroy all competing senses of purpose.

So all that's left is your ethnic identity, your national identity, your religious identity,

whatever principle the fascist movement is going to take as

the unifying force to give you value.

That's Jason Stanley, and this is Alternative Radio.

I'm David Barsamian.

This edition of AR features Jason Stanley on how fascism works. What is fascism? Michael Parenti, author and historian,

says, fascism historically has been used to secure the interests of large capitalist interests

against the demands of popular democracy. Then and now, fascism has made irrational mass appeals

in order to secure the rational ends of class domination, unquote. Fascism flourishes in times of

economic insecurity and cultural backlash. Opportunistic politicians offer up a platter of

racism, xenophobia, and hypernationalism. They stoke fear and resentment using simplistic

slogans such as, drain the swamp and build the wall.

In the United States today, there is a whiff of fascism in the air.

Witness the march of white supremacist with tortures held high in Charlottesville chanting,

blood and soil, an old Nazi slogan, and Jews will not replace us.

The president called them very fine people.

Our guest today is Jason Stanley.

He's professor of philosophy at Yale, and he's the author of many books, including How Fascism Works.

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