A new video essay published on YouTube and Substack argues that America exhibits all ten defining traits of fascism. The historian behind the piece, who previously resisted applying the label, changed his position after witnessing January 6th, 2021 — a day that convinced Robert Paxton, the world's leading scholar on fascism, that the term was now "not just acceptable but necessary."

The essay uses Wittgenstein's concept of "family resemblances" to identify fascism's overlapping characteristics across different contexts. These include: invoking a mythic past for national rebirth ("Make America Great Again" fits this structure exactly); narratives of victimhood and humiliation demanding revenge; hierarchical dehumanization of outgroups; contempt for weakness paired with worship of strength; a cult of action that rejects deliberation; treating the leader as a mystical savior; and the purification of institutions to prioritize loyalty over expertise.

Paxton, who spent sixty years cautioning against loose use of the term, described post-January 6th dynamics as "bubbling up from below in very worrisome ways" and "the real thing." The historian argues that applying the fascist label isn't about hyperbole but about clear-eyed recognition of what's happening — a necessary step toward developing a positive alternative vision.