A vital read . . . The book provides a fascinating breakdown of the fascist ideology, nimbly interweaving examples from Germany, Italy and Hungary, from Rwanda and Myanmar to Serbia and, yes, the US. As he proceeds through his framework of the broadest features of his subject, Stanley includes smaller observations that may for some readers land bracingly close to home. The Guardian
By placing Trump in transnational and transhistorical perspective, Stanley sees patterns that others miss. . . . Stanley s comparative perspective is particularly effective in illustrating how fascists use fears of sexual violence. . . . By calling Trump a fascist a word that strikes many Americans as alien and extreme Stanley is trying to spark
public alarm. He doesn t want Americans to respond to Trump s racist, authoritarian offensives by moving their moral goal posts. The greater danger, he suggests, isn t hyperbole, it s normalization.
The New York Times Book Review (Editors Choice)
Jason Stanley s staggering analysis has only grown in importance since the release of
How Fascism Works in 2018. It is one of the defining books of the decade. Elizabeth Hinton, author of
From the War on Poverty to the War on CrimeJason Stanley reveals how the liberties of the people wither when voters embrace politicians who promote the divisive politics of us versus them while denigrating cooperation, compromise, and respect for others.
How Fascism Works builds on philosopher Stanley s insightful
How Propaganda Works to explain in concise and easily understood terms how people get tricked into reversing the expanding rights that made America great. David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize winning author of
It s Even Worse Than You Think and
The Making of Donald TrumpAn endless question about history does it repeat itself? The Allies triumphed over fascism nearly seventy-five years ago. But is it on the rise again? The national populism of Trump and Bannon; Brexit; Orban and the rise of the Hungarian right; the Italian five-star movement; Erdo an Jason Stanley has in this extraordinary book tried to answer these questions. For those in denial or in doubt, Stanley s book provides overwhelming evidence that fascism is alive, well, and on the rise. It s a clarion call to wake up, pay attention, and do something. No one has any doubt that fascism works; the question remains: How do we stop it? Stanley tells us that fascism is
not a plan on how to govern but a plan on how to seize control. This is an important and essential book. Errol Morris, filmmaker and author of
The AshtrayThere are moments in which the fate of humanity itself hangs in the balance, and such times always bring with them the resurrection of ugly myths. And yet, as Jason Stanley, one of this nation s most important philosophers, makes clear, when such myths are deconstructed and their history is laid bare, we remember the extraordinary ties that in fact bind us together. And in the fire of that powerful recollection, modern-day fascism the current myth-dependent moment of intolerance, xenophobia, and fearmongering in which we find ourselves can be rendered to ash. Heather Ann Thompson, Pulitzer Prize winning author of
Blood in the WaterJason Stanley s book comes at a most propitious time, when we must come to grips with the political consequences that may follow the rise of xenophobic populism. History teaches what those consequences are, and in his book Stanley, with great analytical and conceptual clarity, not only tells the story but more crucially provides a critical framework through which to see the insidious mechanisms at play that are threatening today s democracies around the globe. How Fascism Works is a must-read for all of us who take seriously our responsibility as citizens. Jan T. Gross, author of
NeighborsA sharply argued and timely guide . . . Stanley s highlighting of the politics of sexual anxiety is particularly welcome and relevant. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, author of
Italian Fascism s Empire CinemaWith unsettling insight and disturbing clarity,
How Fascism Works is an essential guidebook to our current national dilemma of democracy vs. authoritarianism. The fingerprints of the fascist past are visible in the present, and this volume bravely shines a light upon them. William Jelani Cobb, author of
The Substance of Hope
