How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them
Product ID: 210065257
Buy anything from 5,000+ international stores. One checkout price. No surprise fees. Join 2M+ shoppers on Desertcart.
Desertcart purchases this item on your behalf and handles shipping, customs, and support to Iceland.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “No single book is as relevant to the present moment.”—Claudia Rankine, author of Citizen “With unsettling insight and disturbing clarity, How Fascism Works is an essential guidebook to our current national dilemma of democracy vs. authoritarianism.”—Jelani Cobb, New Yorker staff writer A Yale philosopher identifies the ten pillars of fascist politics, and charts their horrifying rise and deep history—now with a new preface. As a scholar of philosophy and propaganda and the child of refugees of WWII Europe, Jason Stanley has long understood that democratic societies, including the United States, can be vulnerable to fascism. In How Fascism Works , he identifies ten pillars of fascist politics—an appeal to the mythic past, propaganda, anti-intellectualism, unreality, hierarchy, victimhood, law and order, sexual anxiety, favoring “the heartland,” and a dismantling of public goods and unions—that amount to an urgent diagnosis of the tactics right-wing politicians use to break down democracies and a critical lens on the current moment. Stanley knits together reflections on history, philosophy, sociology, and critical race theory with stories from contemporary Hungary, Poland, India, Myanmar, and the United States, among other nations, making clear the immense dangers of language and beliefs that separate people into an “us” and a “them.” By uncovering disturbing patterns that are as prevalent today as ever, Stanley reveals that the stuff of politics—rhetoric and myth—can become policy and reality all too quickly. Only by recognizing them, he argues, can we begin to resist their most harmful effects and return to democratic ideals. Review: Be shocked & appalled, be wise and brave! - I listened to an NPR 1A episode 3 days ago in which the moderator asked, “Is Trump a fascist?” Not one of these distinguished intellectuals was brave enough to agree without a paragraph of mealy mouthed qualifications. I was so disgusted I screamed. I think God heard me. Surfing YouTube in the next hour, still seething, I played a video by Amanpour Co., where their journalist interviewed Prof. Jason Stanley. He was so well spoken and so courageously unequivocal in calling out Trump as a fascist. He is brilliant, articulate and sharply analytical. I immediately bought his book, How Fascism Works, and started reading. I was not disappointed. It is a masterpiece of concise insightful prose, written by a master of philosophy of language. His immediate family had fled a Nazi Germany and Communist Poland. They instilled in him ideals of courage and expression of truth. He teaches a course at Yale on Propaganda and Political institutions. His previous books have been well received by his academic colleagues. This is his first book for the general public. It is so readable that I could not put it down. He makes so many connections between social identities, institutions, and psychological manipulation through propaganda that anyone who reads this will never be able to see this type of speech again without knowing what it is and what it is trying to accomplish. Once you know—you cannot un-know. I hope that every thinking person will read this book now before it is too late. He reminds us that democratic institutions designed to protect us are actually real people who are subject to corruption or dismissal. Soon we all may feel the sting of “you’re fired!” Review: Excellent Lesson - Excellent lesson in spotting and recognizing fascism as it becomes present. Also great history of occurrences throughout time. If taught in schools, America may have many different political leaders.
| Best Sellers Rank | #10,653 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #2 in Fascism (Books) #7 in Political Philosophy (Books) #81 in World History (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 4,078 Reviews |
J**N
Be shocked & appalled, be wise and brave!
I listened to an NPR 1A episode 3 days ago in which the moderator asked, “Is Trump a fascist?” Not one of these distinguished intellectuals was brave enough to agree without a paragraph of mealy mouthed qualifications. I was so disgusted I screamed. I think God heard me. Surfing YouTube in the next hour, still seething, I played a video by Amanpour Co., where their journalist interviewed Prof. Jason Stanley. He was so well spoken and so courageously unequivocal in calling out Trump as a fascist. He is brilliant, articulate and sharply analytical. I immediately bought his book, How Fascism Works, and started reading. I was not disappointed. It is a masterpiece of concise insightful prose, written by a master of philosophy of language. His immediate family had fled a Nazi Germany and Communist Poland. They instilled in him ideals of courage and expression of truth. He teaches a course at Yale on Propaganda and Political institutions. His previous books have been well received by his academic colleagues. This is his first book for the general public. It is so readable that I could not put it down. He makes so many connections between social identities, institutions, and psychological manipulation through propaganda that anyone who reads this will never be able to see this type of speech again without knowing what it is and what it is trying to accomplish. Once you know—you cannot un-know. I hope that every thinking person will read this book now before it is too late. He reminds us that democratic institutions designed to protect us are actually real people who are subject to corruption or dismissal. Soon we all may feel the sting of “you’re fired!”
R**H
Excellent Lesson
Excellent lesson in spotting and recognizing fascism as it becomes present. Also great history of occurrences throughout time. If taught in schools, America may have many different political leaders.
V**2
Decent read but maybe not the best on topic
It’s a short read at only 218 pages but the author uses those pages to give the reader a decent grasp of how to recognize fascism in most forms. The book does a good job highlighting statements by Fascist gurus like Hitler and Mussolini and showing similarity with right-wing political leaders throughout the world today. Another thing I like about the book was how it dedicated enough space to identifying how fascism renders racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, and ableism acceptable. My main disappointment with the book is one I have with a lot of books on this and related topics as an atheist leftist, namely the fact that the author did a great job at pointing out instances of Judeo-Christian but only provided one tentative example of Islamic fascism but never labeled it “Islamic fascism”. This is a serious problem within the liberal and leftist mainstream despite the fact that there are dozens of nations living under fascist Sharia Law. With that caveat in mind, the book is still worth reading as an introductory level analysis of the definition of fascism. There’s plenty of food for thought in here.
B**R
Great Read!
Excellent book! I highly recommend it.
A**N
Wake up and save our freedom before it’s too late!!!!
Every American who opposes MAGA and its roots in fascism needs to read this. Easy read. Lays out strategies being used to undermine our democratic principles and provides evidence regarding how far right movements across the globe are a threat to us all. Similarities to nazism are seriously concerning.
T**Y
Read this!!
This should be required reading for everyone who is an American citizen. Then you'll understand what "ANTIFA" means.
M**E
Excellent book for anyone who believes in democracy.
Excellent book for anyone who believes in democracy.
A**R
Great Read
The book paints a detailed look at what fascism looks like, it’s objectives, and it’s history. It arms the reader with objective tools to identify and reject it. The book should be a required read for any American voter.
K**R
Good book
Good book
M**G
Outstanding!
A great read that helps one see the commonalities between today’s right-wing politicians and fascist movements of the past. Everyone should read this book.
M**I
Objetividade, precisão e relevância histórica. Fantástica leitura.
Objetividade, precisão e relevância histórica. Fantástica leitura.
G**I
Warning: if you want to preserve democracy, you need to read this book!
A must read. Should be a required reading in every school, every college. Should be translated in Italian (my primary language) by important publishers and studied in Italian schools too. Dr. Stanley introduces his readers with the real deal.
D**E
Tout est dit.
Un indispensable. On suit, point par point, chapitre par chapitre, les caractéristiques du fascisme qui nous renvoient indubitablement à l’actualité, bien sûr aux US mais aussi en Europe et dans le monde, qui a glissé ou glisse vers le fascisme. Ce livre fait peur mais donne tous les signes sonnant le glas de notre démocratie. Il est en outre très didactique et devrait être lu par tous, surtout la future génération.
Trustpilot
2 months ago
5 days ago