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[–] 133 points 11 months ago (12 children)

I've never heard of Iran being called fascist. It is a militant theocracy.

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  • [+] -10 points 11 months ago (10 children)

    "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.

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  • [–] 4 points 11 months ago

    I wish people would read into Mussolinis own words on this. The asshole invented fascism and wanted to call it Corporatism. The US is essentially fascist. Iran is authoritarian.

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  • [–] 6 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (7 children)

    "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.

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  • [–] 10 points 11 months ago

    fascism is always seeking enemies internal and external and "punishing" them

    1. Morality police definitely not hurting anyone. /s
    2. 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.

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  • [–] 6 points 11 months ago (5 children)

    Uh, doesn't Iran's government obsess over Israel and the USA, and people at home who don't follow Sharia?

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  • [–] 4 points 11 months ago (4 children)

    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.

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  • [–] 5 points 11 months ago (3 children)

    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...

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  • [–] 4 points 11 months ago* (2 children)

    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.

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  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago (1 child)

    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".

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