Crypto-fascism is the secret support or admiration of fascism or of associated trends. The term is used to imply that an individual or a group keeps this support or admiration hidden in an attempt to avoid political persecution or political suicide. A person, an organization or an idea which possesses this tendency would be described as "crypto-fascist". Alternatively, the definition can be used in reference to individuals or organizations which operate in a democratic framework but espouse fascist beliefs or ideologies which are politically close to fascism.
Origin
In an ABC television debate during the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Gore Vidal described William F. Buckley Jr. as a "sort of pro or crypto-Nazi". Vidal later clarified in an essay published in Esquire in 1969, "I had not intended to use the phrase 'pro crypto Nazi.' 'Fascist-minded' was more my intended meaning". In later reporting on this event, the term Vidal used to describe Buckley was sometimes misquoted as "crypto-fascist".
The term "crypto-fascist" had first appeared in print five years earlier in a German-language book by the sociologist Theodor W. Adorno, .
With alternative meaning of the prefix "crypto", similar to its use in "crypto-anarchy", the term "crypto-fascism" has also been used to refer to the embracing of cryptocurrency by overt fascists and the association of cryptocurrency with its use by the far right.
See also
- Para-fascism
- Post-fascism
- Clerical fascism
- Neo-fascism
- Crypto-communism
- Fellow traveller
- Nippon Kaigi
- Ecofascism
- Ghost skin
- National Party – Greeks