it's more of a state ideology than a style of government - I don't think fascism has any defining economic positions, for instance, except opposition to socialism.
> often capitalized : a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition
the first part of that is the defining part of fascism - the state ideology. There's also common co-features like authoritarianism, a cult of personality and anti-democratic tendencies but neither are especially universal (for instance with Pinochet and Franco).
It is pretty commonly used to describe just authoritarianism in general though.
That definition is deficient. Fascism also includes state involvement in private industry.
I dislike the usage of "fascism" to mean "authoritarianism I disapprove of" (I used to use the word that way). It's an unhelpful word, because people use it in so many ways. Now, I only use it to refer to the Italian state under Mussolini. For other uses, I try to say what I mean.
Pinochet was a free market fascist, so state intervention is not really inherent to fascism, and of course all states intervene in the economy in various ways. If there's an essence of fascism that makes it unique, it's the narrative element. "we" are under threat, we need a national rebirth to purify our culture, that sort of thing.
