Radio Free Burrito Presents: Ur-Fascism by Umberto Ecco

Wil Wheaton

By popular request, here is Umberto Ecco's essay UR-FASCISM, published in 1995. In this essay, he talks about living in Fascist Italy as a child, growing up under that system during the Second World War. Then he details 14 qualities that define Fascist movements, regardless of the time and place they began. It's a powerful and relevant essay. Many -- MANY -- of the 14 qualities he identifies exist in the MAGA cult, and I can see that a lot of them existed in the Astroturfed Tea Party movement from a few years ago. There's not a whole lot of daylight between the Republican Party in 2020 and the Fascist movements of the 20th and now 21st centuries. Not all Republicans are Fascists, but all Fascists are *definitely* Republican. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definitions_of_fascism#Umberto_Eco https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1995/06/22/ur-fascism/