Antonio Gramsci, an Italian Marxist philosopher imprisoned under Mussolini, theorized that ruling classes maintain power through hegemony—the process by which a dominant group's worldview becomes accepted as common sense rather than imposed by force. His analysis, developed in prison notebooks between 1929 and 1935, argues that political power in capitalist societies requires building cultural and intellectual authority through language, institutions, and repeated ideas before state power can be seized.
Mary Beard, a leading classicist and Cambridge professor, argues that while the far right increasingly appropriates classical imagery and imperial ideas, the ancient world belongs to everyone and has historically inspired both revolutionary and conservative movements. She contends that far-right interpretations oversimplify and misrepresent Rome's actual diversity, and that countering these false narratives is essential to reclaiming the classics from ideological capture.
This article explains Antonio Gramsci's concept of hegemony, the process by which a ruling class's worldview becomes treated as common sense and natural reality rather than ideology. Through language, institutions, and cultural practices, dominant groups maintain power by shaping what society considers reasonable and self-evident, operating through consent rather than force. Gramsci developed this theory while imprisoned by Mussolini, analyzing how fascism succeeded in Italy where post-WWI revolutionary movements failed.
Naomi Klein's new book 'End Times Fascism', co-written with Astra Taylor, argues that extreme wealth concentration creates a psychological derangement in the ultra-rich, turning them into supremacists willing an apocalypse to establish a post-democratic world. Klein illustrates this through examples including billionaires' plans for a privatized Gaza and a privatized United Nations, alongside authoritarian movements globally.
David Heinemeier Hansson, creator of Ruby on Rails, launched Omarchy, a custom Arch Linux distribution. The article criticizes this as a power grab, arguing that DHH is using his influence to secure millions in funding for projects aligned with his fascist and racist ideology, including support for developers known for discriminatory views.
David Heinemeier Hansson has published a creed called the Omarchy Doctrine for his Linux distribution, which the author argues contains elements of fascist ultranationalism including themes of ethnic rebirth and remigration. The article applies Robert Paxton's framework of fascism stages, arguing that Hansson's movement meets the definition of stage one—creation of a movement with creed, leader, and followers—and is positioning toward stage two with $18.5 million pledged to an unregistered foundation.
GNOME's co-founder and Code of Conduct Committee chair is promoting an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory that donations to Omarchy are being funneled through DHH to avoid corporate reporting requirements for donations to extremist groups. No evidence has been presented to support the allegation.
A 1945 War Department educational fact sheet on fascism distributed to U.S. soldiers as part of Army orientation training. This public domain document was produced by the Army Orientation Branch to inform military personnel about the ideology.
Donald Trump unveiled Space Force service dress uniforms inspired by the 1997 film Starship Troopers, a satirical critique of fascism that was critically panned. The uniforms feature space gray and midnight black colors, knee-high leather boots, and epaulettes. This marks another instance of Trump drawing sci-fi inspiration for the Space Force, previously using Star Trek-like imagery for its logo.