Ur-Fascism
Ur-Fascism by Umberto Ecoby Umberto Eco
Hacker ApprovedRanked 2 of 60 articles by recommenders
Recommended as a serious, rigorous definition of fascism and a good starting point for understanding it. Critics find the essay meandering and say its list of traits is broad.
Recommended as a serious, rigorous definition of fascism and a good starting point for understanding it. Critics find the essay meandering and say its list of traits is broad.
20 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 18
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 90%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 18 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 9 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Good starting point on fascism
“I recommend Umberto Ecco's essay "Ur-Fascism" if you want to get a more accurate picture of what fascism is.”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Mozilla: The state of open source AI” “Umberto Eco's ur-fascism is a good starting point for a more serious definition”
Comment from 29 Aug 2026 in “U.S. sanctions against the A/I Collective” “You can read Umberto Eco's essay "Ur-Fascism" to have a more informed view.”
Comment from 10 Mar 2026 in “Ad-tech is fascist tech” - Comment from 26 Mar 2026 in “The Military Failures of Fascism”
- Comment from 27 Jan 2026 in “Celebrities say they are being censored by TikTok after speaking out against ICE”
Rigorous definition beyond vague labels
“Umberto Eco's ur-fascism is a good starting point for a more serious definition”
Comment from 29 Aug 2026 in “U.S. sanctions against the A/I Collective” “a more rigorous definition than “things I don’t like””
Comment from 27 Nov 2025 in “The Nerd Reich – Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy” Lists fourteen tenets to read
“you have seriously got to read and understand Eco's 14 tenets of Ur-Fascism”
Comment from 5 Feb 2026 in “Flock CEO calls Deflock a "terrorist organization" [video]” “I personally favor the features of "Ur-Fascism" by Umberto Eco”
Comment from 5 Feb 2026 in “Professors Are Being Watched: 'We've Never Seen This Much Surveillance'” Short, stunning, worthwhile read
“An additional short read which is really worth it”
Comment from 25 Jan 2026 in “Yes, It's Fascism” “It makes for a stunning read”
Comment from 27 Nov 2025 in “The Nerd Reich – Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Meandering, loses reader's interest
“I found this essay a bit meandering and I lost interest in reading the whole thing”
Comment from 26 Jan 2026 in “Yes, It's Fascism”
Other articles people recommend
The four most recommended other articles, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Programming as Theory Buildingby Peter Naur | 32 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Ur-Fascismby Umberto EcoThis page | 18 | 2 | 90% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Politics and the English Languageby George Orwell | 14 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
| The Grug Brained Developer by Carson Gross | 13 | 1 | 93% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Right to Read by Richard Stallman | 12 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
What people said
16 of the 20 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I always come back to this”
“Here's a particularly relevant one”
“Read Eco on the subject or even D'Annunzio, for that matter.”
“Umberto Eco's ur-fascism is a good starting point for a more serious definition”
“I recommend Umberto Ecco's essay "Ur-Fascism" if you want to get a more accurate picture of what fascism is.”
“It's usually better to look at Umberto Eco's "Ur-Fascism"”
“I was going to share that myself.”
“it's so broad it even applies to many brands of commies and anarchists”
“You can read Umberto Eco's essay "Ur-Fascism" to have a more informed view.”
“you have seriously got to read and understand Eco's 14 tenets of Ur-Fascism”
“I personally favor the features of "Ur-Fascism" by Umberto Eco”
“Umberto Ecos Ur-Fascism might be worth a read.”
“I found this essay a bit meandering and I lost interest in reading the whole thing”
“An additional short read which is really worth it”
“It makes for a stunning read”
“a more rigorous definition than “things I don’t like””
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.