True, I maybe didn't totally think that through - I was mostly basing it on Latin American régimes, which never seemed to talk about external threats. I'd still say that, in general, communist régimes appear to worry more about outsiders: the USSR's obsession with the US, China and Yugoslavia for example. And the communist oppression of internal "enemies" is perhaps a lot quieter: see Cuba's fairly subtle oppresion of gays, whilst fascist Paraguay was very vocal about how they were a threat to society.Malcolm Armsteen wrote: Yes they do, to a great extent, but communism in Russia and China both identified internal 'enemies' kulaks, royalists, bourgeoisie, intellectuals and so on and the Russians also scapegoated national minorities and Jews. Does this one work as a fascist identifier? I'm not convinced myself. I think that may be another one where totalitarian regimes look for fictitious enemies to get the support of frightened people.
