by Euan Burns

When Umberto Eco wrote Ur-Fascism, he sought to give a definition of fascism able to encompass a relatively wide  range of possible fascisms. Fascism is not a singular ideology. Instead, it’s more like a hot dog – it can contain many possible ingredients prepared in countless ways while still remaining unmistakably a hot dog. The list of features of fascism Eco outlined are not requirements – any one (or two or three or…) can be removed. The particular composition need not even be internally coherent. 

Donald Trump matches Ur-Fascism so well Eco might have cribbed from a time-traveller. For example, from point three: “The official Fascist intellectuals were mainly engaged in attacking modern culture and the liberal intelligentsia for having betrayed traditional values” – think of the accusations against degenerate antifa college professors. Or point eight: “by a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak.” – Joe Biden is simultaneously a doddering old fool and a criminal mastermind, Mr Magoo and Professor Moriarty.