This video took about four months to make and wouldn't be possible without my supporters on Patreon. So I want to start by giving a huge thanks to them. If you'd like to chip in and support me check out www.patreon.com/rchapman. Video notes below: I designed 'we think with the blood of our nation' to be a memorable phrase that can help people identify fascism. That being said, it's not formulated like a formal definition and needs more nuances in order to stand as one, so I regret calling it a definition. The phrasing was meant to invoke a fanaticism behind a singular nationalist mass movement. Fascism does not tolerate other principles conflicting with its nationalism (something that distinguishes it from more moderate forms of nationalism that might be content, for example, existing in a democracy). Fascism's nationalism wants to impose itself on others. Other ways of thinking are obstacles to fascists that need to be removed. Political or economic systems like socialism or capitalism, as stated in the video, are only tolerated if they're believed to be helping the fascist cause. They're dropped, attacked or modified as needed. The 'we' in 'we think with the blood of our nation' means a collective of people thinking together as a political mass movement. Fascism has to be in the context of mass politics. It gains its power and legitimacy by inciting mass enthusiasms, making it a phenomenon of the modern era when political legitimacy was seen in terms of popular support. It's not something used to describe the rule of emperors or monarchs, who hold themselves to be sovereign - the highest political authority. Fascists leaders, by contrast, hold the nation to be more important than themselves. Everything they do, they do for the nation. They merely know and have the power to act in its interests. A tighter albeit more awkward re-rephasing might go something like 'We think together with the blood of our nation *and will tolerate nothing else*.' The phrase really just gets your foot in the door for understanding and identifying fascism, similar to how 'the abolition of private property' gets your foot in the door for understanding and identifying communism. Translating it into a formal definition would look something like: 'fascism is a political ideology that conceives ideal political life as being wholly governed by a singular conception of national consciousness.' You could also think of it as the rough right-wing equivalent to communism. Communists want to total political control over their state for a single conception of a socialist cause, just as fascists want total control over their state for a singular conception of a nationalist cause. I also think that Roger Griffin's definition is a good one, but again it's complex. If you want to remember Griffin's more easily, I think you can do fine reducing it down to the last part: 'populist ultra-nationalism.' To use that, you have to understand what populism is (I've made a video on it). More self-criticism: I simplified the conditions in Germany before Nazi rule down to hyperinflation and constraints from the Treaty of Versailles. There were about 16 years of turmoil between WWI and the Nazis coming into power and I wish I spent at least another sentence or two fleshing that context out. Hyperinflation was a factor behind the early success of the Nazi party and led Hitler to mount a failed coup in 1923, but it only lasted about two years. When Hitler came into power, he did it by riding a wave of despondency coming from another economic crisis: the Great Depression. The Treaty was still seen as a major villainous constraint on Germany at the time, but there was more emphasis on it being a national humiliation and military constraint than an economic constraint. The broad point is that economic conditions were quite bad (in all but a few years in the mid-late '20s), and Hitler (and many Germans) believed that Germany was being humiliated and needed to rise to its glorious potential. Fascism was their means of doing it. Some commenters also think I claimed that there have only been two fascist movements: interwar Italy and Germany. What I actually said is that they are the only two movements that have remotely uncontroversially earned the label (a point widely accepted among fascism scholars). You can make the case that other movements have been fascist. My point was that the fascism described in this video (which stuck close to our accepted scholarly understanding of it) should be the basis for identifying fascism elsewhere. Spain under Franco is the next 'fascism' people tend to pick, but that label tends to come from foreigners and not the Spanish themselves (at least from that time period). Most professional analysis I've seen rejects the label and argues that Franco's fascism was superficial. They claim he adopted fascist imagery and slogans to (successfully) get war support from Italy and Germany, and if you look at what he believed, his movement, his rule, then you'll see it wasn't fascist. More of a conservative military dictatorship. I plan on making a video on it at some point. I saw some people say Hitler wasn't a Catholic or take offense to the passing remark I made about his Catholicism. I think it's safe to say that he wasn't a Catholic in the traditional sense, but he was raised Catholic, claimed he believed in God (shown in the video), and also claimed to be a Catholic fairly late in his life. As he put it to his army adjutant Gerhard Engel in 1941: "I am now as before a Catholic and will always remain so" (from Engels' diary: 'At The Heart of the Reich'). I called it 'his Catholicism' and left it at that. One last thing: it seems a lot of people think 'National Socialism isn't Fascism,' which gets some basic things wrong and I think is a message being spread by other KZfaqrs. My response to that is in this video: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Zs2WjMV20JzWco0.html - Ryan

“In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.” ~Nietzche

This fusion of spirituality and nationality is likely why fascism is so hard for people to understand. It behaves more like a cult than a well-defined political ideology.

I absolutely cannot believe that this is the first time I discovered your account. Holy cow. Thank you so much for the videos

Glad I found this channel. This was great. I’m going to need to watch it a few times. Thank you!!!

It's becoming increasingly difficult to find high quality content on KZfaq these days... But this was gripping, well delivered, and informative. Thanks muchly

thank god someone is actually explaining this word. i feel like it’s thrown around like an insult and no one actually knows it’s meaning or context. this is sooooo needed thank you!!

I'm thankful to you for uploading such high quality lessons, the kind of lectures one would get only in a university, free of charge to the internet. Thank you. It's a service you are doing.

This is my second video from your channel. Very well done. Really happy with my subscription

'The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduce them Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master, who ever attempts to destroy their illusions easily their victim' -Gustave Lebon: 'The Crowd: a study of the popular mind' 1895

Hey, someone actually from Germany here. Thank you for the video, this is a great and "wonderful" exploration of our dark history, and how easy, and dangerous it can be to slowly fall for these wicked ideas. We in Germany, of course, learn a lot about this in school, and for good reason. Yet having a video like this in English, reaching for the international community of people, for who this topic isn't the highest priority in history and sociology classes, is priceless. Again, thank you so very much for your work here.

Excellent , I look forward to your other videos. Thank you.

Thank you, Ryan, this was concise and compelling. Subscribed

I'm only 5 minutes in and I'm already fascinated how Gustave Le Bon already completely comprehended something that's still so relevant today.

"There are many that do not know they are fascist but will when the time comes". Ernest Hemingway "For Whom the Bell Tolls". I always add to this; "Then it will be too late".

Well worth the 4 months. First time experiencing this page, KZfaqr and instant subscription like, and it's only because I've been going over my YT/patreon support budget that I have to wait until March to join your patreon. Very excited about getting to know you and your videos.

You did an amazing job explaining this to everyone here. I for have looked for a in depth video like this and could never find a good answer of what it actually was . Thank you

I am astounded by your ability to keep such a long video and nuanced topic so structured and on point. The 40 minutes were not tiring, confusing or boring. Same goes for your video on Socialism - it's impressive really.

This. Was. Incredible. I’ve had to listen to it 3 times just to digest the history and knowledge you put into this! BRAVO MAN!

Very clear. Thank you! The context you provide is invaluable. ❤

This was very wholesome. Really enjoyed listening to it. You also have a great voice and calm which makes it easy to follow.

You are by far the best creator on the academic side of KZfaq. Ive never seen anyone cover such topics with impartiality and this degree of depth. I hope you get the exposure you deserve!

From the book on fascism I read it is all about the collective group. It is hard against individualism.

That was a very well put together piece thank you.

I've always used the term fascism to describe any ideology that promotes the annihilation of those who think differently. Now I see that intolerance is an attribute of fascism, but not its essence.

When I was in high school, we had the best pre-game pep rallies that filled us with school pride and unity. That made a huge impression on me. Decades later, I still think about being swept up by that energy. In that case it was used for good. But we also see how the usurpation of that energy can be used to inspire acts of madness and horror. Thought provoking video. Thank you.

This is what I asked in another of your videos! so cool, thanks!

Communism and fascism are more similar to each other than to democracy. This idea is known as the Horseshoe Theory. Instead of being on opposite ends of a linear spectrum, the far left and far right bend towards each other, forming a horseshoe shape where they meet around authoritarian, military-controlled government.

Ryan Chapman - Don't you DARE stop ever making your videos. They're wonderful.

I’m italian. First of all, great video, you summed up the italian situation pretty well (even though there are some aspects that should be described more thoroughly to give a truly comprehensive view of our situation but I understand that if it were to be done this video would have been 3 hours long). One thing that didn’t allow Italy to become a truly totalitarian fascist state is that, unlike germans who (because of the legacy of protestantism) could somewhat homogenously speak german, Italy (especially in the south) had very low rates of italian literacy, and the country was strongly divided culturally in many pockets of different languages and cultures. And that’s why a huge number of italians never really subscribed to the idea of “italian supremacy” because many of them didn’t even consider themselves italian and honestly didn’t even cared to consider themselves one (especially in the South). Fascists tried to “italianize” Italy but they didn’t really succeed because of scholastic dispertion, poverty and overall a lack of care by huge swats of the population, and they managed to rise to power only because said poor, illiterate people (because of their situation) didn’t participate at all in the political life. I’m going to tell you an anecdote to clear this thing. When Hitler came and visited Italy in the late 30s, he visited Naples (my city, third largest in Italy and the most important military port in the country). During the parade, in total silence, Hitler and Mussolini greeted from a car with the fascit salute. In the total silence a voice from a old man rang out, saying “ma ch stann facienn? Vern si afora chiove?” (In neapolitan: “what are they doing? They’re checking if it’s raining?”) which gives you a very good portray of how the poor people saw fascism as a whole, and they were too concerned with their poor situation. Great video, keep it up!

Like those who arrived from Tipito enojado's video

Are you going to be putting your audio/videos on Spotify? I want my husband to watch/listen to this so we can discuss but he won't from KZfaq due to the data usage youtube takes while at work.

This is perfect journalism. No bias, just good analysis of literature and world history.

670 thousand views are not nearly enough for the importance of this particular history lesson. What you have created here is extraordinary in it's comprehensive simplicity. Thank you.

Really enjoyed listening. Thank you for your work.

Wow! You went from captivating to personal in a heartbeat. 😢

Your definition of fascism goes a long way toward explaining why Italian fascism never really jelled. The people of Italy did not, at least in that era, think of themselves primarily as Italians. They thought of themselves as Romans, or Venetians, or Sicilians. The idea of Italian nationalism, of thinking with the blood of a single nation, did not come naturally to the majority of Italians. Their concept of blood and of nationality was much smaller in scope.

Dude! You are so good at this. I started watching your videos to "learn a bit" but I think I'm now addicted. I can tell that you love talking about this stuff, and it's causing me to love learning about this stuff as a result. Thanks for the premium content, it is much appreciated!

I just found your page. This is very well done. I have to share it with a few friends. Thanks.

Wow, well done. I appreciate your work.

I'm only at 4:09 and I noticed others commented the same way I'm about to; The in depth exploration of why historic figures did what they did is something a lot of people lose out on. I also love the fact you explained in detail the philosophy that drove those people. I will definitely be subscribing and sharing! Thank you!

I hope you believe me on how much gratitude I have for content like this. Made with such thoughtfulness and careful attention to detail to make it understandable. This one video taught me concepts that otherwise had been confusing or muddied through time/intentional misdirection/or through the regurgitation of misinformation perpetuated as fact. I'm really grateful for all the work and care you've clearly put forward to help other people understand such important pieces of our shared history. ❤️

Simply awesome! Well done and kudos!

I got to know you because of TipitoEnojado, splendid and objective. Greetings from Argentina!

The crowd mentality is an amazing phenomenon.in the early 70’s I attended a festival in golden gate park during a Hari Krishna celebration. The parade of practitioners danced and chanted while strolling down one of the roads in the park.i found myself dancing and chanting without realizing I had started following the mass of people. I noticed how it just took over my mind. Effortlessly.

Wow, what a well-thought-out, researched video. Well done! You took a difficult subject, defined it, explained it, and gave us a very useable definition.

Absolutely fantastic, Ryan, thanks.

You are really getting us enlightened.

I don't normally get into much of this kind of content. I haven't seen many other videos to rate it against. All I know is this really got me thinking, kept me fully and aptly engaged, taught me a lot of things and gave me a new appreciation for that time period and scarily a lot of things that have taken place in our own current time period.

Damnit Ryan, you ruined my picnic plans for today! Another great video as always. Thank you for all the effort put in these videos

Brilliant. Just brilliant. What a clear and comprehensive explanation of fascism.

Thank you for making this video! You have a new subscribe.

I have watched every single video on your channel and just want to say your approach to teaching is refreshing. Often times these kinds of subject are taught in a sort of academic language that can be hard to follow or on the other end of the spectrum without depth or research (and often with some level of contemporary political colorization). I think you strike a perfect balance between these two method and I feel like I have learned a lot from your works. I joined Patreon for the first time just to support your channel, keep up the good work.

Thanks Ryan tip top stuff. Your presentation gives me a better idea of what is fascism and it's origins. Also thanks for the list of books you used, very useful.. Also considering the period we are in, it helps to identify the enemies of democracy.

Excellent explanation. Thanks for taking a balanced view rather than the usual people trying to align facsim with the opposite of their own political view.

Great Work. Your conclusions are thought provoking. "The Crowd" is next on my reading list. There is a lot to be learned here. Thanks Ryan!

I'm so happy I happened upon this channel, this is absolutely fascinating. Thank you for all the reading and research you clearly put into this. It's so refreshing to see a smart, young person doing work like this.

Great content, well spoken, thank you .

Thankyou for the long form information.

I have to say: your videos are incredibly clear. Thank you for working so diligently to do that.

Ryan you have nailed it yet again with ONE SMALL FLAW. When you use the word "NATION" you are using it like an American as a synonym for "COUNTRY". In the context Mussolini and Europeans of the early 20th century used it it is actually more of a synonym for "NATIONALITY". I refers to "A PEOPLE" who identify as sharing a cultural/linguistic/ethnic heritage. It can expand to encompass the country and government but Italy and Germany had just gone through NATIONALIST struggles for unity the prior century working to unite the Italian and German Nations/People into one Nation-State. The cultural/linguistic/ethnic is what identifies the Nation. That is why Fascism so easily becomes a racist philosophy rather than an economic/class philosophy like Marxism. THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR GREAT WORK! 😀

great video thank you i'm trying to educate myself this was really helpful

Thank you for crystalizing what this idea/movement is. It's been a popular word-grenade tossed by both political parties at the other.

“Never underestimate stupid people in a crowd.” George Carlin

I found this video quite compelling. The timeline of influence and action lends itself to the understanding of reason, or the why. Will definitely be checking out your other works and sharing with others to help dissect the world we live in presently.

Very good explanation. Best I have seen.

Yes!!! Love it! We need more of this!

Congratulations, Ryan, this is a great explanation. Thorough, well researched and far from the common oversimplifications and stereotypes. Thank you for your work.

I do feel that you should mention Francoist spain as a semi-fascist nation, partially to pinpoint something which is not totally fascist (which does help outline the parts that create it) and partially to raise awareness of the fact that Spain did sorta go through over forty years of something beyond simple hardship under Francisco Franco, and not many people seem to know about it.

I feel like I just took a ideological "23 and me" test and found out I'm 22% fascist.

Brilliant just brilliant. I am mostly never interested in the events but what led to those events. What philosophy, what ideology, what mentality be it collective or individualistic. Thanks a lot. It was just brilliant.

I've never been so sure in a subscription. The video is well divided into easy to understand chapters while preserving the level of exactness and the use of the right terminology throughout, which is necessary for every serious topic. Cherry on top for me was the humble ending. Not buying into algorithm and asking for a subscription from viewers, only a simple "Thank you", radiating the confidence of someone worth learning from.

"You will own nothing and be happy." -Klaus Schwab [WEF 2020]

Wow! You explain things so clearly

To be completely honest, I’m just gonna come out and say it: Fascism in its original conception was simply a form of Nationalism that was designed to strengthen its respective nation and ideals from foreign interests with nefarious and treasonous intent: I draw the line when it’s used to further Racial Supremacy (such as the Nazi regime, etc.), but have no issue when it’s used strictly for preservation of a Republic and Free Market, for example. It can be a very effective tool to combat all forms of Marxism, especially Communism and can be utilized in a benevolent manner by and large, if handled responsibly. A single arrow can be snapped in two very easily, but a bundle of arrows bound together will remain strong as long as the ties that bind remain strong.

Very well done and thought out. It's so easy to get caught up in the "crowd" and get convinced to do horrible things all while feeling righteous. Especially if you are already looking for acceptance or somewhere you can belong.

This is a really great topic. I was curious about this and really appreciate your clarity.

Your videos are absolutely incredible. Thank you.

Great content! Kudos.

This is the best in depth explanation of fascism I’ve ever seen on KZfaq and you succeeded in giving me a phrase I can walk away with. Great work!

always amazes me when youtube brings up new channels among my recommendations but I'm glad to have found yours and this was an interesting video to watch... I am currently a third year history and political science student at the University of Western Ontario so I found the explanation very thorough and I appreciate it.. cheers

Thank you this was very helpful

Thank you, that was very helpful

i think this guy nails it the best.... Historian Ian Kershaw once wrote that "trying to define 'fascism' is like trying to nail jelly to the wall."

This was excellent. I know I’ll be watching everything you make because of your level headedness and commitment to academic research. Thanks so much.

So glad you touched on how Fascism is inherently rooted in the collectivist side of Socialism. Too many people forget that tidbit.

Very interesting and well explained.

Absolutely incredible video. Your neutral, in-depth take backed up by solid literature and examples is extremely informative and refreshing. Instant sub.

Thank you for clarifying this to the masses.

Exceptionally considerate analysis. Methodical but human. Superb. Thanks!

"We think with the blood of our nation" is effectively synonymous with "Socialism based on national and/or racial identity". Or "National Socialism", it was all there in the name all along.

"Blut und Boden", blood and soil was probably not what I would have thought of, so I'd like to thank Ryan Chapman for doing so because....well, he already said it. Will anyone remember? It's a start

I just wanna say thank you for this video! I'm an Italian and honestly your explanation was so clear and concise! Thanks for this video so that everyone can acknowledge what fascism really means. In Italy we didn't really made peace of what happened during the ventennio fascista

I would like to see TIK history and Ryan Chapman Discuss this Question with each other. I wonder if they could make an even more robust definition.

This is truly educational. I love all the research put into this exceptional exploration of Fascism. Well done!

“Please take to heart the lesson of history and what happens when you vote on the basis of symbolism and rhetoric. It doesn’t matter how smart you are, unless you stop and think.” ~T. Sowell

Informative thank you for this video.

EXCELLENT presentation, thank you!!!!

Your channel is a literal goldmine. Major congratulations man. I’m speechless. Thank you.

In my experience, the word "fascist" and accusations of fascism are used to make audiences emotional and get scared of being controlled or oppressed by the government. Honestly the truth of the word and the ideology behind it is much more unsettling.