That word

fas·cism n. often Fascism
A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.

(from Dictionary.com)

I've been avoiding this word. I don't like it, and back when I was in college, in the late 70s/early 80s, I used to think that people were prone to throw it around much too lightly.

But it's been coming up a lot online lately. It was first called to my attention, I think, on Utopia with Cheese a while back (except I haven't figured out what thread it was in). It's been on my mind ever since, really. And then today Patrick Nielsen Hayden linked to this piece by journalist David Neiwert. From there I found a link to this much longer Neiwert piece. I still haven't finished reading it, but if you're interested in the subject, it's definitely worth reading.