Umberto Eco: Ur-Fascism
24 comments
·September 22, 2025lovich
saubeidl
Digital brownshirts censoring undesirable speech.
lurk2
Almost all of your submissions to this forum have pertained to Donald Trump or issues adjacent to his administration, and most of your comments appear to be low-effort Reddit-style commentary on American politics. The forum isn't meant for this kind of content.
> Please don't use Hacker News for political or ideological battle. It tramples curiosity.
saubeidl
I'm not sure why you think a post about the signs of fascism is about Trump or American politics?
computerthings
[dead]
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lawlessone
As ludicrous as i may sound, would contrived anger over companies/sports teams refreshing logos/mascots etc fall under this umbrella?
Back when Pepsi refreshed their logo, the reaction was mostly just people making fun of it. If they did the same now it seems like there would be anger.
conn10mfan
https://www.unpopularfront.news/p/the-cracker-barrel-hyperre...
this may be of interest to you
lawlessone
thanks, was a good read.
uncletaco
The reaction to most companies changing logos now is just making fun of it. Look at cracker barrel.
kubb
Weren't people going around saying that the new logo is woke or some nonsense like that?
thomassmith65
It's obvious why they changed their logo. It's not the mascot's ethnicity and gender; it's that he looks like he's straight out of a 1990s "100,000 Pieces of Vector Clip Art" CD.
uncletaco
Some, sure, but most people were upset that it was bland and followed the trend of other companies that have been removing texture or uniqueness from their brand logos in favor of simple branding.
I sincerely doubt Steak 'n Shake tweeting "fire the CEO" was a serious call to action so much as it was jumping on the hate train for fun.
dfxm12
https://x.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1958279379408372204
The framing isn't just that it is "woke", but, more to the essay, that they're destroying a classic American aesthetic.
They're very much making this out to be: it's us vs them, and mythologizing tradition. Equating corporate identity as American history does well to push corporate capitalism, but funnily enough, the logo only goes back to 1977. It's only as old as Don Jr!
dfxm12
I don't think it is ludicrous. The mainstream media hammers home that change is bad (without really reflecting on why), even meaningless aesthetic changes. They equate these logo and mascot changes are a threat to your way of life. Manufacturing small controversies like this conditions their viewers that they must always prefer the previous status quo, i.e. the cult of tradition.
bigswede
HN!? Isn’t this fascist checklist so broad it could label a vegan potluck as Ur-Fascism?
pixl97
If this list feels that broad then you might be in the middle of a culture with huge amount of fascist behaviors and think they are normal.
saubeidl
Please elaborate how it would apply to a vegan potluck.
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bigtex88
No. Please try to be more intellectually honest.
Barrin92
Almost all of Eco's points are salient but I think the most important one today (omitted in this shortened version), is the point he makes about a kind of mass elitism:
" Since the group is hierarchically organized (according to a military model), every subordinate leader despises his own underlings, and each of them despises his inferiors."
What's unique about fascist ideologies compared to many other forms of authoritarianism is its petty sadism, where people will accept getting kicked as long as they can kick down themselves, akin to a school yard bully or prison system. Rather than exercise solidarity with people even worse off, it's a kind of of mutual abuse. Elitism with an inferiority complex. Which is I think what makes it so attractive on the internet.
full text: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/umberto-eco-ur-fasci...
dfxm12
LBJ recognized this: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/9150190-if-you-can-convince...
null
Well this was flagged off the front page quickly