History UsefulNotes / PoliticalIdeologies

* ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' due to its treatment of institutions in a post-apocaliptyc America

* Music/KanyeWest has been [[https://www.outlookindia.com/art-entertainment/kanye-west-has-been-praising-adolf-hitler-since-20-years-news-245469 weirdly]] [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/kanye-wests-love-of-hitler-and-nazis-allegedly-goes-back-20-years-1234647700/ infatuated]] with Hitler and Nazism since the start of his career, even incorporating Nazi propaganda techniques into his own public image, though he only went fully public about these views in The NewTwenties. Ironically he grew up in a ''left''-wing family, reflected in his earlier career when he argued that "[[UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush George Bush]] doesn't care about Black people" in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and expressed support for UsefulNotes/BarackObama, though starting in TheNewTens he became better known for right-wing views such as support for UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump.

Film:
* ''Film/ThreeHundred'' has been [[https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2019/11/03/debunking-the-movie-300/ described]] as fascist propaganda given the xenophobic {{orientalism}} of a plot about militaristic Europeans defending their homeland against darker-skinned HordesFromTheEast--even though, as the article points out, "there is no consistent significant difference in skin color between Greek people and Iranian people," not to mention that a lot of UsefulNotes/TheAchaemenidEmpire's troops opposing Sparta at Thermopylae weren't even of Iranian extraction anyway (and some were even Greek themselves). Doesn't help that infanticide of disabled children is presented in a ''positive'' light (and a hunchback who escaped this fate is depicted as an EvilCripple), nor that the macho Spartans are contrasted against both Athenian "boy-lovers" and the SissyVillain Xerxes (ignoring that the historical Sparta had plenty of homosexuality, and that even the movie itself is pretty homoerotic in its depiction of scantily clad male warriors and their camaraderie with each other).
* Many have accused ''Film/DirtyHarry'' of carrying a fascist, or at least authoritarian, undertone. After the controversy surrounding the first film, the sequels tried to balance out the ideology, having Harry's bad guys span the length of the political morality spectrum.
* ''Film/GabrielOverTheWhiteHouse''
* ''Film/InglouriousBasterds'' interestingly flips the usual representation of ThoseWackyNazis in modern culture. Here, the AffablyEvil Nazis are diverse (with distinct regional accents), individualized, and WickedCultured, while the Jewish title characters are depicted as brutal monoethnic invaders against whom the Nazis feel they must defend their homes. Creator/QuentinTarantino intended this as a meditation on how media frames "good guys" and "bad guys" (describing the Basterds as "not your normal hero types that are thrown into a big deal in [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the Second World War]]"), though many audience members misinterpreted the movie as framing the Basterds as uncomplicatedly heroic badasses, or conversely as arguing that maybe the Nazis weren't so bad after all.
* ''Film/JojoRabbit'' satirizes Nazism from the point of view of a ten-year-old Hitler Youth member who finds out his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home. He deprograms his indoctrination over the course of the movie, a process represented by him beginning to argue with his ImaginaryFriend, namely his own childlike vision of UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler. Writer-director Creator/TaikaWaititi, himself Jewish, expressly decided ''not'' to do any research on Hitler before [[CreatorCameo playing him]], as he felt the guy didn't deserve that dignity.
* ''Film/TheProducers''--written and directed by Creator/MelBrooks, also Jewish--has another [[AdolfHitlarious deliberately absurd example]] in the form of the ShowWithinAShow ''SpringtimeForHitler'', a Broadway musical that plays the Nazi imagery to the hilt. In-universe, an unrepentant Nazi wrote the script, but the two title characters choose to produce this of all plays as a FailureGambit, so they can oversell shares and then RunForTheBorder with the rest of their investment once the show flops (which it doesn't).
* ''Film/TriumphOfTheWill'', and any number of other {{propaganda piece}}s by ThoseWackyNazis themselves.

* [[ThoseWackyNazis National Socialist]] BlackMetal, obviously.
* Nazi Punk [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin also kinda speaks for itself]].

* Anything labeled "White Power music" tends to be this.

* ''Film/GabrielOverTheWhiteHouse''

* ''ComicBook/TheSagaOfWhiteWill''

* ''Film/TriumphOfTheWill''

* Many have accused ''Film/DirtyHarry'' of carrying a fascist, or at least authoritarian, undertone. As a result of the controversy surrounding the first film, the sequels tried to balance out the ideology, having Harry's bad guys span the length of the political morality spectrum.

* ''Film/DirtyHarry'' It has caused many to accuse the film of carrying a fascist, or at least authoritarian, undertone. As a result of the controversy surrounding the first film, the sequels tried to balance out the ideology, having Harry's bad guys span the length of the political morality spectrum.

* ''Film/InglouriousBasterds'' interestingly inverts the usual representation of ThoseWackyNazis in modern culture. Here, the AffablyEvil Nazis are diverse (with distinct regional accents), individualized, and WickedCultured, while the Jewish title characters are depicted as brutal monoethnic invaders against whom the Nazis feel they must defend their homes. Creator/QuentinTarantino intended this as a meditation on how media frames "good guys" and "bad guys" (describing the Basterds as "not your normal hero types that are thrown into a big deal in [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the Second World War]]"), though many audience members misinterpreted the movie as framing the Basterds as uncomplicatedly heroic badasses, or as arguing that maybe the Nazis weren't so bad after all.

{{Literature}}:

{{Film}}:

{{Music}}:
* Music/{{Burzum}}, though Varg Vikernes's political views rarely make their way into his lyrics
* [[ThoseWackyNazis National Socialist]] BlackMetal, obviously
* Nazi Punk [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin also kinda speaks for itself]]

* Anything labeled "White Power music" tends to be this

TabletopGames:

VideoGames:

Fiction:

* ''Film/DirtyHarry''

* ''[[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer40000}} Warhammer 40000]]''. As discussed in the Analysis page, the [[TheEmpire Imperium of Man]] which rules over the vast majority of humanity fits the [[http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4113.htm 14 characteristics of fascism]] perfectly. However, in a rare example of fiction, not only is the application of such oppressive and brutal policies justified, it is in fact absolutely required for the mere continued survival of humanity. Although the Imperium of Man also draws from other brutal human regimes like Stalin's Russia and Cyberpunk fiction. In practice, it is so ridiculously vast that huge parts of the "Empire" resemble more a FeudalFuture.

Film:

Music:

Video Games:
* Fascist regimes tend to show up frequently in video games to fill the role of obviously-evil antagonists. They have a high probability of being an [[TheEmpire empire]] of some kind.

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'' has been noted by some [[https://youtu.be/g4TEtalsISY as having views sympathetic to Libertarianism]].

* Most of Creator/MichaelMoore's films fit in here, though his most commercially successful endeavor, ''Film/Fahrenheit911'', treads more into being modern liberal, as does ''Film/BowlingForColumbine'' with its advocating gun control, a position more common among (American) liberals than socialists. [[WeAllLiveInAmerica Outside the US]] the opinion on [[UsefulNotes/AmericanGunPolitics gun control]] does not really correlate with any political ideology, though some hunters and shooting club members tend conservative in e.g. Germany.

* All

[[folder:Fascism — For Our Nation, Our Leader, and ''Victory''!]]

-> ''The nation has not disappeared. We used to believe that the concept was totally without substance. Instead we see the nation arise as a palpitating reality before us! ... Class cannot destroy the nation. Class reveals itself as a collection of interests—but the nation is a history of sentiments, traditions, language, culture, and race. Class can become an integral part of the nation, but the one cannot eclipse the other.''
-->-- '''UsefulNotes/BenitoMussolini'''


The chief objective of Fascism is strengthening the nation and increasing its prestige through warfare — i.e. Type 2 PatrioticFervor taken to its extreme. Fascism shares Nationalism's belief that only 'nations' matter (and individual/actual people don’t) but completely rejects Liberalism and so hates individuality and ''all'' other non-national senses of identity. Fascism opposes equality between nations as it wants its own to either be the only one in existence or merely (the most) powerful, but has no set opinion on equality within its nation (let alone other nations). Fascism has no opinion on capitalism or economics and [[WarIsGlorious loves war]] because Fascism is about passion and national honor, [[MeasuringTheMarigolds not numbers and planning]]. Fascism may overlap with 'race' and 'racial theory' insofar as it defines who belongs to the nation, but not necessarily.

Associated UsefulNotes/EconomicTheories (if any):
* Keynesian, Neoclassical, Corporatism, Herrenvolk Democracy

Philosophically, it arises from a Continental Counter-Enlightenment philosophical context, influenced by such thinkers as J.G. Fichte, Martin Heidegger, and Georg Hegel. It originated as a response and reaction to the October Revolution and the gains of the socialist movement after the first world-war. Benito Mussolini (the proverbial father of fascism politically) was a member of the Italian Socialist Party but was kicked out for supporting Italian intervention in the war on national irredentist grounds, arguing that socialism was inadequate to the real national interests of the Italian people and seeking a nationalism that united all classes and ended class conflict altogether. Historically, its roots can be searched for in the ethos of stormtrooper formations of late UsefulNotes/WorldWarI; many ex-soldiers carried on this spirit of aggression and elitism as they went on to dabble in extreme politics, among them Mussolini himself. They were organized to stop radical workers in the wake of the war during the "two red years" of 1919-20. Whereas Marx replaced Hegel's "Zeitgeist" (or "spirit of the age") with the ''prevailing economic system'', fascists replace the zeitgeist with the ''spirit of the nation''. Fascism argues for an organic conception of a nation with the State seen as the embodiment of the national spirit: as such, fascist regimes feature strong central governments which are authoritarian in nature. Individuals are seen, fundamentally, as products of the nation (similar to how Marxian "methodological collectivism" views individuals as products of their economic class) — hence, fascism requires a strong identification with nationality and national identity on the part of the people, rejecting all individualism or identification with economic class. Fascism often claims to represent the entire nation, subservient to the State and unified behind the Leader, undivided e.g. by class struggles; in the eyes of a fascist, a popular autocrat is a better representation of the people’s interests and desires than an elected parliament, which is viewed contemptuously as a den of [[SleazyPolitician immorality]] and ineffectual bickering. Given this stance, fascism is inherently undemocratic and autocratic.

Strong national identification involves a veneration of not just the nation in abstract, but of practices seen as fundamental to national identity: this results in a reverence for tradition. Traditions are seen as important rituals that connect people to the national spirit. Furthermore, fascism tends to support social policy positions which are regarded as conservative or right-wing. However, these policy positions are conservative in the ''Oakeshottean'' sense of the term: they are considered the right policies because they are consistent with national traditions, rather than because of any preexisting moral commitments. Indeed, to a fascist, a moral commitment that 'preexists' inside an individual's mind independently of said individual's nationality is a ridiculous notion, as they believe individuals are 'socially constructed' by their nationality as was stated before. Many argue that ethical relativism (i.e. what is good for Nation X may not be good for Nation Y) is thus an integral part of fascism and a logical consequence of fascism’s belief in 'national spirits.' It should also be [[GodwinsLaw kept in mind]], however, that while fascists do use reverence for tradition and national identity, those in themselves are not fascist. That does not mean that fascism doesn't have a system of ethics and values, however — instead, that system of ethics is rooted in concepts of struggle, power, and obedience. Typically this is expressed in the form of an extreme cultural militarism, with the military being an expression of the power and might of the State, and the mentality of eagerness and action for action's sake.

The most infamous element of fascism is its support for [[TheSocialDarwinist Social Darwinism]] of various sorts. In Mussolini's and Hitler's regimes, a level of internal "creative tension" within the components of the nation was seen as beneficial in directing competitive desires towards the service of the State. Furthermore, Hitler's version of fascism (National Socialism, a.k.a. Nazism) combined this Social Darwinist ethos with an institutional belief in white supremacy to posit an evolutionary struggle between various races. [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII We all know where this led]], so further elaboration is not necessary. Things get more complicated when outlining fascist economics. Since fascism is used as an epithet and it is popularly believed that [[HitlerAteSugar if Fascists did it, then it is bad]], a long intellectual battle has been waged over how to characterize the economics of Fascism.

Typically, the term "corporatism" is used to describe fascist economics. It describes a situation wherein all the large privately-owned economic institutions ([[MegaCorp corporations, industry cartels and the like]]) are brought into collusion with the government and become part of the apparatus of the State's economic planning via associations which are called "corporations" in fascist parliance, which are essentially modernized versions of the medieval guild system and of which there is only one per economic sector. Additionally, private ownership and ability to do business become contingent on service to the State. Thus, while ''ownership'' of the means of production (the stuff used to produce other stuff) remains in private hands and continues to be operated with a for-profit objective, ultimate ''control'' is exercised by the State. Fascist governments also exercise further control over the economy via methods such as price-fixing. The fascist economic system is in keeping with the ideology's totalitarian nature, where no other institution can be allowed to rival the State in power and influence. This quality also leads to a hostility toward labor unions and other organised worker groups, with such institutions typically being repressed and dissolved. Mussolini's Italy did in fact see the creation of new trade unions following the dissolution of the old ones: these new unions were owned and operated by the State, with very little advocacy on workers' behalf. Ultimately [[PragmaticVillainy economics in fascism is usually a secondary concern]]; they claim the "Third Position" on the issue between capitalist and communist. Under said "corporations" there is also no competition among businesses, as they could exclude businesses from dealing in said sector.

This system [[CommieNazis invites comparisons]], among conservative and liberal critics, with many forms of state socialism, as both ideologies involve a centrally-planned economy with the State in control of the means of production. Although ownership remains private in the fascist system, many classical-liberal critiques of fascism have argued that "ownership without control" is a senseless, inherently illogical notion, and that fascism is economically indistinguishable from state socialism and therefore ''is'' a variant of state socialism. Some observers do note the presence of state subsidies and intervention and provisions for citizens in fascism, but they see this not as socialism but an example of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herrenvolk_democracy herrenvolk democracy]], a system where a form of equality among an in-group exists with the acceptance of inequality of all other groups in relation to itself. The word herrenvolk is German for MasterRace. Members of the master race are equal among their ethno-national identity and as such worthy of benefits and state support, but only if they accept that those who are not members of the MasterRace are second-class citizens at best, or subhuman at worst (untermenschen). Socialism in this context is an aristocratic privilege for the chosen few and not any universal right for all people.

[[/folder]]

* ''Literature/{{Hunter}}''

Ideological thinking is inevitable because the human mind is structured to think in terms of Tropes. Memories of personal experiences, Real Life events, and fictional events are all processed and remembered in the same way (activating the same areas of the brain during MRI scans). This is why Wiki/TVTropes is so absorbing, and why we had to purge the Troper Tales and "This Troper" sections in the "Real Life" folders of every page -- some already had more personal tales than all the fictional ones put together.

* ''Film/ThePeopleUnderTheStairs'' is described by Wiki/Wikipedia as having been "analyzed for its satirical depiction of gentrification, class warfare, and capitalism" since it features the protagonists' landlords as the horror film's villains and it ends with their money being redistributed.

In terms of influence outside general Marxism, Social Democracy tends to draw heavily from the Enlightenment. Social Democratic parties tend to push the platform of secularism, progress and a technocratic/democratic approach to governing more so than other political parties in nations they are found in (thus making it Enlightenment liberalism turned UpToEleven).

* Music/{{Burzum}}, though his political views rarely make their way into his lyrics

* Music/{{Skyclad}}

* Music/PinkFloyd in the Roger Waters era, especially ''Music/{{Animals}}'', ''Music/TheFinalCut'', and ''Music/TheWall''[[note]]In addition to Music/RogerWaters and David Gilmour both self-identifying as socialists, it’s also worth pointing out that ''Animals'' is basically a retelling of ''Literature/AnimalFarm'' set in 1970s Britain instead of a Soviet Union analogue.[[/note]]

* ''America'', ''{{Literature/Howl}}'', and other works by Creator/AllenGinsberg

Social democracy is [[TakeAThirdOption basically a kind of compromise]] between capitalism and democratic socialism. While socialism proposes that all industries come under state or cooperative ownership and control, social democracy instead proposes the nationalizing of only certain essential services while still allowing private enterprise for the rest. The rationale is that certain services do not operate in the interests of the public good in a for-profit environment and inevitably result in inequality, but free enterprise is still necessary for innovation and competition (and indeed, social-democratic systems can and do involve private enterprises acting in direct competition with the nationalized services). Essentially, it's democratic socialism within a capitalistic framework. As a result, some of the more radical socialist ideologies tend to be highly critical of social democracy, feeling that it at best only offers a temporary delay, not a solution to the corrosive effects capital has on society.