Why Can't People See The Descent into Fascism

Donald Trump has deployed the National Guard in Washington D.C. to fight crime. According to many people, especially those who sit on the left side of the political spectrum, this is the moment when the United States became a fascist nation. Of course many of them said that moment came when ICE started rounding up illegal aliens. And many of them said that moment came when Trump won the presidential election. Why can't people agree on when a government becomes fascist?

Part of the reason is that fascism is a loosely defined ideology. The ideology can be boiled down to a single charismatic leader making all of the important decisions. When the leader says that a free market economy is important, then a free market economy becomes the fascist ideal. When the same leader changes his mind and says that a control economy is important, then a control economy becomes the fascist ideal. Another part of the reason is that people use fascism synonymously with authoritarianism and people don't agree on what is authoritarian and what is just good governing.

I have a long laundry list of what is authoritarian. Let me list a few. Any government restriction against the private ownership of weapons is authoritarian. Any attempt by the government to censor speech is authoritarian. The government performing widespread surveillance is authoritarian. The government running black sites where prisoners are held without due process is authoritarian.

Most people have a much shorter list than I do. Many people believe government restrictions against the private ownership of weapons is good governing to protect the people. Many people believe the government must curtail hate speech or the promotion of dangerous ideologies like fascism. Many people approve of government surveillance so long as it's targeted against people they dislike. Many people are also OK with the government running black sites so long as the prisoners being held without due process are foreigners or terrorists.

The same is true with deploying the National Guard in Washington D.C. to fight crime. Some consider it authoritarian. Others consider it a necessary action to keep the people of that city safe.

This issue has another dimension of complexity. Most people's definition of authoritarian changes depending on who is implementing a policy. During the administration of George H. W. Bush, most people on the left screamed that the Global War on Terror, Guantanamo Bay, the PATRIOT Act, and many other post-9/11 decisions were authoritarian/fascist. When Barack Obama was elected, their opinions changed almost immediately. Even though Obama campaign on ending the Global War on Terror and closing Guantanamo Bay, he did neither and his supporters didn't hold it against them. Most of them simply pretended neither existed. Some of his supporters decided that both were necessary. Likewise, his supporters either ignored or supported his lack of effort to repeal the PATRIOT Act. People don't just disagree with each other on what is authoritarian. They disagree with their past selves too.

Why can't people see the descent into fascism? People can't agree on a definition of fascism. People can't agree on what acts of government are and aren't fascist. People can't even agree with their past selves on what is fascist.