Prompted by an old post by Bob Schwartz (2017), I revisited and reread Ur-Fascism, the essay Umberto Eco wrote in 1995 for the New York Review of Books.
What are the features of Fascism? We need to know, so we can recognize them and point them out as they emerge, as they always tend to do, time and time again, as our societies struggle to evolve.
Sounds like heavy reading material, but it isn’t. I mean, look at the incipit:
In 1942, at the age of ten, I received the First Provincial Award of Ludi Juveniles (a voluntary, compulsory competition for young Italian Fascists — that is, for every young Italian). I elaborated with rhetorical skill on the subject “Should we die for the glory of Mussolini and the immortal destiny of Italy?” My answer was positive. I was a smart boy.
Brilliant. I forgot what a masterpiece of synthesis, clarity, accessibility, and subtle irony this essay is. While Schwartz’s post offers an excellent, concise synthesis, the original is worth reading in its entirety, especially in today’s context.