"In brief, to arouse, to guide, and to use emotionalism in its crudest and its most refined forms is the essence of the fascist technique for which movement and emotion are not only linguistically identical" 1/ "It is a peculiar feature of the emotional technique that those who are brought into play as the instruments, i.e., the masses, should not be aware of the rational calculations by which the wire-pullers direct it. Fascism is the true child of the age of ... of the emotional masses." 2/ "This technique could be victorious only under the extraordinary conditions offered by democratic institutions. Its success is based on its perfect adjustment to democracy. Democracy and democratic tolerance have been used for their own destruction." 3/ "They exploit the tolerant confidence of democratic ideology that in the long run truth is stronger than falsehood, that the spirit asserts itself against force. Democracy was unable to forbid the enemies of its very existence the use of democratic instrumentalities." 3/ "Until very recently, democratic fundamentalism and legalistic blindness were unwilling to realize that the mechanism of democracy is the Trojan horse by which the enemy enters the city." 4/ "To fascism in the guise of a legally recognized political party were accorded all the opportunities of democratic institutions." 5/ Quoted from Karl Loewenstein, "Militant Democracy and Fundamental Rights", The American Political Science Review, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Jun., 1937), pp. 417-432. "In former ages, revolutionary movements operated cautiously and in secrecy. They were dangerous because of their underground nature. They could strike without warning. In most states, legislation was passed against secret societies" 6/ "In the age of the emotional masses, the situation is reversed. Revolutionary fascism needs the spotlight of the utmost publicity. It could never unfold itself in the dark. Thus fascism forces itself into the foreground, where its emotional spell can be cast upon the masses." 7/ "Its technique is relentless self-advertisement and propaganda. Democracy could not reckon with the effects of open propaganda ... no legislative devices existed for offsetting revolutionary emotionalism in the garb of legality, propaganda, and military symbolism." 8/ "Fascism shrewdly capitalized this situation and won its most notable victories by boring into the weakness of the democratic system." 10/ Ganzer Text zugänglich hier:
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