Section 5 : Tipping Point: When It Manifests & Cultural Politics and Why It’s Fascist

Identifying the precise moment when basic populism crosses into unmistakably fascist territory involves navigating a grey area within political movements. However, certain shifts in the character and rhetoric of these movements provide clear indicators of this transition. A key moment is when the conspiratorial elements of a populist ideology become less thinly veiled, moving from ideological to biological definitions of the 'in-group'.

This transition is evident when the concept of the 'in-group' in a populist movement shifts from being something transferrable, such as citizenship status or wealth, to something immutable, like race or ethnicity. This change marks a definitive step towards fascism, as it redefines group membership based on inherent, unchangeable characteristics rather than on shared ideals or societal roles. Such a shift not only solidifies internal cohesion but also significantly heightens the exclusion of those not fitting the narrow biological criteria.