Fascism Today by Shane Burley

“No better volume exists to understand the nexus of alt-right bigotry and anti-fascist resistance in the United States than Fascism Today. Burley’s work is an essential ‘tool for opposition’ that brings to bear years of in-depth research and investigation into the resurgence of the far right. To destroy fascism, we must first understand it—that understanding starts here.”—Mark Bray, historian and author of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook

We can no longer ignore the fact that fascism is on the rise in the United States. What was once a fringe movement has been gaining cultural acceptance and political power for years. Rebranding itself as “alt-right” and riding the waves of both Donald Trump’s hate-fueled populism and the anxiety of an abandoned working class, they have created a social force that has the ability to win elections and inspire racist street violence in equal measure.

Fascism Today looks at the changing world of the far right in Donald Trump’s America. Examining the modern fascist movement’s various strains, Shane Burley has written an accessible primer about what its adherents believe, how they organize, and what future they have in the United States. The ascension of Trump has introduced a whole new vocabulary into our political lexicon—white nationalism, race realism, Identitarianism, and a slew of others. Burley breaks it all down. From the tech-savvy trolls of the alt-right to esoteric Aryan mystics, from full-fledged Nazis to well-groomed neofascists like Richard Spencer, he shows how these racists and authoritarians have reinvented themselves in order to recruit new members and grow.

Just as importantly, Fascism Today shows how they can be fought and beaten. It highlights groups that have successfully opposed these twisted forces and outlines the elements needed to build powerful mass movements to confront the institutionalization of fascist ideas, protect marginalized communities, and ultimately stop the fascist threat.

“Fascism Today clearly and accessibly contextualizes the current moment in the United States, as well as the varied tactics to combat it.” —Portland Mercury

“Burley leaves no stone unturned in this vigorous and indispensable guide to modern fascism and the interlocking movements that oppose it, issuing a clarion call for ethical, intersectional resistance.” —Alexander Reid Ross, author of Against the Fascist Creep

“Shane Burley was one of the first people to recognize the influence of the Alt Right and closely track its political development and intellectual approach. I highly recommend Fascism Today as both an accessible and comprehensive account of the Alt Right and related white nationalist groups—as well as their antifascist opposition.”—Spencer Sunshine, author of Up in Arms: A Guide to Oregon’s Patriot Movement

“Burley’s work gives us the most thorough dissection of the different tendencies of the modern far-right in clear, jargon-free language. If there are any three anti-fascist books that must be on every activist’s bookshelf, this is one of them.” —Truthout

Table of Contents

Foreword, by Matthew N. Lyons
Preface
Glossary of Key Terms

PART I: WHAT IS FASCISM?

Introduction: Drain the Swamp
Defining Fascism
A Great European Ethnostate
“Race Realism” and the Jewish Question
Misogyny
Tribe and Tradition
A Third Way
Faith, Family, and Folk
American Patriots
Toward a Racial Insurrection
Mainstreaming

PART II: ENDING FASCISM

Twentieth-Century Resistance
Fascism Without Adjectives
The Heart of Resistance

Resource List
Index

Shane Burley is a writer, filmmaker, and antifascist based in Portland, Oregon.