political systems

The author argues that American society is leaning toward despotism and totalitarianism and looks back at the 20th century for examples of how totalitarianism has taken over before. With Twenty Lessons, Snyder draws from the darkest hours of the twentieth century to provide hope for the twenty-first. As he writes, ?Americans are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism and communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience.? Twenty Lessons is a call to arms and a guide to resistance, with invaluable ideas for how we can preserve our freedoms in the uncertain years to come.

"As a scholor of philosophy and propaganda and the child of refugees of World War II Europe, Jason Stanley has a deep understanding that democratic societies, including the United States, can be vulnerable to fascism. In 'How Fascism Works', he focuses on fascist politics--the language and beliefs that separate people into an 'us' and a 'them.' Stanley knits together reflections on history, philosophy, sociology, and critical race theory with stories from contemporary Hungary, Poland, India, Myanmar, and the United States, among other nations, making clear the immense dangers of what he identifies as the ten pillars of fascist politics. By uncovering disturbing patterns that are as prevalent today as ever, Stanley reveals that the stuff of politics--rhetoric and myth--can become policy and reality all too quickly. Only by recognizing them, he argues, can we begin to resist their most harmful effects and return to democratic ideals."--Back cover.