The term ‘fascism’ is one of those words that isn’t used in polite company. The images of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis mean that the term is rarely taken seriously, often used to just insult someone, like in a recent internet debate when one guy labeled for no apparent reason geologists concerned about peak oil as “fascists.” And, while Marxian theory and socialism remain acceptable despite the horrors done in their name, fascism is seen as the nefarious ideology, defeated and evil.

As someone who is most decidedly anti-fascist, I find that a dangerous state of mind. Fascism is not only real, but has many forms. It is not inherently anti-semitic, and in fact can appear quite benign. I won’t go into the academic debates about the meaning of the term, though wikipedia gives a good summary. They are concerned with political fascism, which is primarily a nationalist ideology which…