Crypto-fascism is the secret support for, or admiration of,fascism or trends close to the ideology. The term is used to imply that an individual or group keeps this support or admiration hidden to avoidpolitical persecution or political suicide. A person, organization or idea possessing this tendency would be described by the adjective "crypto-fascist". Alternatively, the definition could refer to an individual or organization that is politically close to fascism or has fascist beliefs, while operating in a democratic framework.
In anABC television debate during the1968 Democratic National Convention,Gore Vidal describedWilliam F. Buckley, Jr. as a "sort of pro or crypto-Nazi".[1][2][3] Buckley responded, "Now listen youqueer, stop calling me a crypto-Nazi or I’ll sock you in the goddamn face, and you'll stay plastered."[4] Vidal later clarified in an essay published inEsquire in 1969, "I had not intended to use the phrase 'pro crypto Nazi.' 'Fascist-minded' was more my intended meaning".[5] In later reporting on this event, the term Vidal used to describe Buckley was sometimes misquoted as "crypto-fascist".[6]
The term "crypto-fascist" had first appeared in print five years earlier in a German-language book by the sociologistTheodor W. Adorno,German:Der getreue Korrepetitor,lit. 'The Faithful Répétiteur'.[7] Adorno had used "crypto-fascism" as early as 1937 in a letter written toWalter Benjamin. In this document, the term is not linked to secret support or admiration of fascism but it is used to refer to someone who is insufficiently conscious when displaying such regressive tendencies.[8]: 212
The term was used by German Nobel laureateHeinrich Böll in a 1972 essay titled "Will Ulrike Gnade oder freies Geleit?"[9] ("DoesUlrike want mercy or safe passage?") that was sharply critical of the tabloid newspaperBild's coverage of theBaader-Meinhof Gang left-wing terrorist organization. In the essay, Böll stated that whatBild does "is no longer crypto-fascist, no longer fascistoid, that is naked fascism. Incitement, lies, filth."[9]
In the 1989Red Dwarf episode "Timeslides", the lead character Lister goes back in time to meet up with his younger self in order to make himself rich. His younger self calls his older self a Crypto-Fascist.
In a 2011 article forThe Guardian, Rick Moody suggested that "mainstream Hollywood cinema" and specifically comic book artist and film directorFrank Miller are "crypto-fascist" because they promote the view that "war against a ruthless enemy is good, and military service is good, that killing makes you a man, thatcapitalism must prevail."[10]
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 ofcryptocurrency by overt fascists and the association of cryptocurrency with its use by thefar right.[11][12]
On a night of riots at the Democratic convention in Chicago, Buckley and Vidal had their own climactic on-air clash. Vidal called Buckley a "crypto-Nazi," prompting a reaction that still stuns. "Now listen, you queer," Buckley replied, "stop calling me a crypto-Nazi or I'll sock you in the goddamn face and you'll stay plastered."
Namely, that the anti-historical, and indeed crypto-fascistic, faith in nature which is hostile to all social analysis, which eventually leads him towards a kind of 'national community' [Volksgemeinschaft] based on biology and imagination.
Das ist nicht mehr kryptofaschistisch. nicht mehr faschistoid, das ist nackter Faschismus. Verhetzung, Lüge, Dreck.[That is no longer crypto-fascist. no longer fascistoid, that is naked fascism. Incitement, lies, filth.]
