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What Turns a Man Into a Fascist
As my country yet again dives into general elections, and in the face of a constantly rising far-right, I observe with some perplexity that around me, including among close family members, intentions to vote for a fascist party are growing. I shouldn’t be surprised: the trend has been coming for some time and was predictable.
The surprise lies only in the fact that close people reveal an ignoble face contradictory to what I thought I knew. I’m left trying to discern whether this is indeed their essence or merely a mask, adopted in the face of the current situation to adapt to the times. I prefer to believe in the second hypothesis.
Rather than exploring the social context and the causes that lead a man or woman to fascism (the main ones being precariousness, feelings of insecurity, disinformation, breakdown of trust in institutions, and national trauma, themes I intend to explore in a future article) I intend with the following words to explore what leads a man to become a fascist.
This is because we must distinguish between two things: witnessing the growth of fascism is one thing, and becoming fascists ourselves is another. The first is beyond our control, while the second is a choice. And I consider it important to detect the patterns that emerge so that, with relevant precision, we can build a strong internal structure capable of detecting the traps of…
