“a populist political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual, that is associated with a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, and that is characterized by severe economic and social regimentation and by forcible suppression of opposition”- merriam webster.
Autocratic-check
Dictatorship-check
Economic and social regimentation-check
Suppression of opposition-check
The only thing missing is nation/race above the individual and arguably their extremist theism could be considered sufficient for this as well.
I’m all for splitting hairs over semantics, and I’ll agree with you that “fascist” probably isn’t the best label for Iran
But if you take a step back and look at the big picture, it does look a hell of a lot like fascism.
Extreme right wing, militaristic government, social and economic regimentation, charismatic, authoritarian dictators, focusing a whole lot of hatred and blame on people in the nation who don’t conform and towards external enemies, etc.
I don’t know that they’re exactly nationalistic, but they do have religion filling pretty much that same role, and let’s be real, the line’s pretty damn blurry between religion and government there.
And they don’t exactly make racial/ethnic superiority a centerpiece of their identity, but they’re certainly not exactly sitting around singing “Kumbaya” with their minorities either, and again we have religion filling a pretty similar role in other ways.
You can get into the weeds about the specific philosophies at play here and about the history that led them to their current situation, and there’s certainly merit in doing that, but as far as the casual observer is concerned, they do look and quack a hell of a lot like fascists, and while it’s not the best label for what they have going on it’s certainly not the worst either. I’d maybe prefer to slap a qualifier on it- something like pseudo-fascist, islamo-fascist, maybe something like “Farscism” if we want to get a little cutesy with the wordplay to separate it from “classic” fascism.
And similarly I’d probably want to slap a few qualifiers onto the term “theocracy” as well before applying it to Iran, I don’t think that just that one word really points the whole picture.
And now that I’m looking at it, “fascist theocracy” might be a contender for how I’d label them.
“a populist political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual, that is associated with a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, and that is characterized by severe economic and social regimentation and by forcible suppression of opposition”- merriam webster.
Well Merriam Webster is wrong. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism#Definitions. Fascism is a pretty complicated class of ideologies, but a characteristic attribute of fascism is always seeking enemies internal and external and “punishing” them and that is simply not present in Iran.
Iran doesn’t “obsess” about the US and Israel; they’re geopolitical rivals with the US and Israel. This is like saying Russia or China obsess about the West. As for Sharia, I don’t know shit about the Iranian justice system, but theocracy does not equal fascism. These are two completely different things.
Which of those refers to their geopolitical rivals as “great satan”?
If someone does to you what America did to Iran you’d call them Satan too. There’s still no basis for the fascism accusation; countries under fascism will do more than call their rivals bad words.
Modern Russia has many fascist traits.
Yes, and it’s not because they hate America. Russia has everything from violence against minorities and expansionism to literal genocide. Contrast to Iran’s somewhat aggressive but restrained foreign policy.
Mmm, Iran isn’t the only country fucked by the USA, but they are an outstanding example of one that, decades later, still scapegoats the USA for all sorts.
Yes, and it’s not because they hate America.
I don’t think Russia/Russians hate America. I do think they hate Ukrainians. But this conversation didn’t start about hatred; it started about “enemies”.
fascism is always seeking enemies internal and external and “punishing” them
Morality police definitely not hurting anyone. /s
Iran is not in opposition to western imperialism at all, actually, they are surrounded by friends. /s
That being said, I don’t think I would characterize Iran as fascist.
If you really want to define fascism, you need to understand how it appears:
Fascism is a counter-revolutionary reactionary movement led by finance capital and a form of dictatorship of the bourgeoisie which emerged during periods of economic crisis in imperialist countries. In other words, fascism is capitalism in decay.
Thus many of its characteristics becomes an aesthetic dependant on the specific material conditions and social superstructure of its origins.
I’ve never heard of Iran being called fascist. It is a militant theocracy.
I’ve only ever heard it called fascist by people at both a) have no idea what iran is or b) have no idea what a fascist is.
“a populist political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual, that is associated with a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, and that is characterized by severe economic and social regimentation and by forcible suppression of opposition”- merriam webster.
Autocratic-check Dictatorship-check Economic and social regimentation-check Suppression of opposition-check The only thing missing is nation/race above the individual and arguably their extremist theism could be considered sufficient for this as well.
Your “checks” apply to every dictatorship.
There is still a difference between fascism and theocracy. Words have meanings.
The world in 2025:
Is a theocratic dictatorship and better than a fascist dictatorship?
The oppressed women and any non-Muslim (or even just non-strict-adherents) wouldn’t feel a difference.
No it’s not better, and I didn’t say it was.
But “bad” =/= “fascism”.
Wait, when isn’t Fascism bad?
Work on your reading comprehension.
I’m all for splitting hairs over semantics, and I’ll agree with you that “fascist” probably isn’t the best label for Iran
But if you take a step back and look at the big picture, it does look a hell of a lot like fascism.
Extreme right wing, militaristic government, social and economic regimentation, charismatic, authoritarian dictators, focusing a whole lot of hatred and blame on people in the nation who don’t conform and towards external enemies, etc.
I don’t know that they’re exactly nationalistic, but they do have religion filling pretty much that same role, and let’s be real, the line’s pretty damn blurry between religion and government there.
And they don’t exactly make racial/ethnic superiority a centerpiece of their identity, but they’re certainly not exactly sitting around singing “Kumbaya” with their minorities either, and again we have religion filling a pretty similar role in other ways.
You can get into the weeds about the specific philosophies at play here and about the history that led them to their current situation, and there’s certainly merit in doing that, but as far as the casual observer is concerned, they do look and quack a hell of a lot like fascists, and while it’s not the best label for what they have going on it’s certainly not the worst either. I’d maybe prefer to slap a qualifier on it- something like pseudo-fascist, islamo-fascist, maybe something like “Farscism” if we want to get a little cutesy with the wordplay to separate it from “classic” fascism.
And similarly I’d probably want to slap a few qualifiers onto the term “theocracy” as well before applying it to Iran, I don’t think that just that one word really points the whole picture.
And now that I’m looking at it, “fascist theocracy” might be a contender for how I’d label them.
Not for idiots they don’t!
Populist… It’s the second word in your quoted definition probably because it’s important
Well Merriam Webster is wrong. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism#Definitions. Fascism is a pretty complicated class of ideologies, but a characteristic attribute of fascism is always seeking enemies internal and external and “punishing” them and that is simply not present in Iran.
Uh, doesn’t Iran’s government obsess over Israel and the USA, and people at home who don’t follow Sharia?
Iran doesn’t “obsess” about the US and Israel; they’re geopolitical rivals with the US and Israel. This is like saying Russia or China obsess about the West. As for Sharia, I don’t know shit about the Iranian justice system, but theocracy does not equal fascism. These are two completely different things.
Which of those refers to their geopolitical rivals as “great satan”?
But bringing in Russia is somewhat ironic here. Modern Russia has many fascist traits. Fascism is on the rise…
If someone does to you what America did to Iran you’d call them Satan too. There’s still no basis for the fascism accusation; countries under fascism will do more than call their rivals bad words.
Yes, and it’s not because they hate America. Russia has everything from violence against minorities and expansionism to literal genocide. Contrast to Iran’s somewhat aggressive but restrained foreign policy.
Mmm, Iran isn’t the only country fucked by the USA, but they are an outstanding example of one that, decades later, still scapegoats the USA for all sorts.
I don’t think Russia/Russians hate America. I do think they hate Ukrainians. But this conversation didn’t start about hatred; it started about “enemies”.
Okay you’re either being disingenuous or you have no idea what you’re talking about, and I don’t care which it is. Educate yourself.
That being said, I don’t think I would characterize Iran as fascist.
If you really want to define fascism, you need to understand how it appears:
Thus many of its characteristics becomes an aesthetic dependant on the specific material conditions and social superstructure of its origins.