Breve historia de la mentira fascista

Explaining why his predecessor lied so much, US President Joe Biden stated that "Trump lies like Goebbels". Was the comparison adequate? A Brief History of the Fascist Lie shows that yes, well, indeed, today we are witnessing around the world a remarkable and sustained wave of new right-wing populist leaders who, like the fascist leaders of the past, derive much of their political power from question reality, support myths, promote anger and paranoia, and spread lies. Federico Finchelstein explains why the fascists considered that their lies -"simple truths" full of hatred- were true and why, throughout the 20th century, many followers of their postulates, seeing them embodied in those same leaders, assumed them as TRUE. If, from Hitler to Mussolini, the leaders of fascism capitalized on falsehood as the basis of their power, that story continues in the present: now true news is presented as fake news and false news becomes government actions. Post-truth, as this essay demonstrates, has a long history among politicians and a well-defined intellectual lineage. A vital compendium of the dark time in contemporary politics, this is not just a lucid intellectual history of fascism, but an urgent reminder of the powerful source of hate that underlies our age of denial.