Fascism means horror. An impulse to resort to fists instead of speaking, to hate instead of discussing. It awakens some of the darkest instincts of human nature: hatred for the different, a craving for control, the submission of the individual to the collective, the intoxication of violence. History shows us what happens when these instincts take over entire nations.

In the book, Ian Dunt and Dorian Lynskey outline the history of fascism with simple and straightforward words: what happened, how, and why.

Only by understanding where fascism came from will we be able to understand what it means today—and to protect ourselves from those seeking its return.

The best response to the history we have recounted is to personally commit to cultivating virtues that oppose the ideas of fascism. That is, to nurture individual freedom, our commitment to reason and independent thought, the rejection of uniformity, the refusal to elevate our rulers to gods, and the recognition that all people are equal regardless of their origin and nationality. Above all, to reject political policies based on Us versus Them. We must become the living opposition to fascism.

Excerpt from the book

I wish we could include in the school curriculum the work of Dunt and Lynskey.

Sathnam Sanghera, journalist, author