Madeleine Albright's new book Fascism: A Warning is a call to arms which teaches us the lessons we must understand if we are to save ourselves from repeating the horrible errors of the past.
Fascism didn't end with the fall of Hitler and Mussolini and democracies are fragile, the former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright emphasizes in her new book Fascism: A Warning.
On Tuesday, April 10, the Community Bookstore in conjunction with Congregation Beth Elohim will welcome Albright to an intimate conversation during which she will further expand on the premise that fascism not only survived through the twentieth century but now presents a more virulent threat to peace than at any time since the end of World War II.
"A Fascist," says Albright, "is someone who claims to speak for a whole nation or group, is utterly unconcerned with the rights of others, and is willing to use violence and whatever other means are necessary to achieve the goals he or she might have."
Albright was U.S. secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. Her distinguished career of public service includes positions in the National Security Council, as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and on Capitol Hill. She is also the author of numerous New York Times bestsellers including Madam Secretary, The Mighty and the Almighty, Memo to the President and Read My Pins.
In her most recent release, Fascism: A Warning, she recounts the twentieth century, which was defined by the clash between democracy and fascism, a struggle that left millions dead. Given the horrors of that experience, one might expect the world to reject the spiritual successors to Hitler and Mussolini should they arise in our era.
Yet, the momentum toward democracy that swept the world when the Berlin Wall fell has gone into reverse, Albright assesses. Today, the United States, historically the champion of the free world, is led by a president who deepens division and attacks democratic institutions. But also in many other countries around the world, economic, technological and cultural factors are weakening the political center and empowering the extreme forces of the right and left.
Fascism: A Warning is Albright's call to arms which teaches us the lessons we must understand and the questions we must answer if we are to save ourselves from repeating the horrible errors of the past.
Madeleine Albright Presents Fascism: A Warning
When: Tuesday, April 10, 7:30 pm
Where: Congregation Beth Elohim, 271 Garfield Place, Brooklyn, NY 11215
How much: Tickets are $32 ($28 for CBE Members) and include one copy of Fascism: A Warning in hardcover. Books will be distributed at the event. To purchase tickets, go here.
