Erasing History, Jason Stanley

 

Erasing History:  How fascists rewrite the past to control the future by Jason Stanley

Started: 10/11/2025
Completed: 10/11/2025
Recommendation: Highly recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

It is interesting to hear how fascists fight to get rid of history.  It is important that the history of a fascist state be "good" and attributable to the fascists.  Stanley argues that a large part of the work happens in schools where history is codified among children.  This explains the focus on censorship of books in the school libraries.  The justification was that someone could always go to the regular library to read the book, but the regular library is coming under fire.

History is also better when viewed from many facets (several people can experience the same event in different ways).  Fascists, however, want to control the story (honestly, like everything else), so they want one history to be told (their history).  This is short book, but it is very clear and the topics covered are kept close to actual history and its erasure which allows for some context while at the same time applying brevity.  Very well done. 

How Fascism Works, Jason Stanley

How Fascism Works:  The politics of us and them by Jason Stanley is a book relevant to current politics written by a Yale philosopher.  What a shock I would want to read it.

Started: 9/25/2019
Completed: 9/28/2019
Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Recommended By:  Nobody

Review:

A cogent and careful analysis of Fascism in general and an understanding of how current Republican politics are fascist in nature.  Establishing immigrants as a "them" against America as an "us" is a fascist effort.  Describing immigrants as rapists, despite evidence to the contrary, is a fascist tactic that develops a mythic threat to "our" manhood and a threat to the patriarchal family.  Further mythic assaults (e.g. the attack on Christmas) attack "our" culture.  Fascism strives to keep a "pure" culture, sense of family, and, often, race.  Current Republican political arguments are fascist in nature.  A mythical history to which the country is to be restored is also a fascist talking point (e.g. make America great again).  Finally, the fascist politician works to become the soul source of truth so that even current events can be warped to match the Fascist myths.   We should be worried when Lamar Smith (R-TX) says, "Donald Trump is the sole source of truth."