If ever the term "Nailed It" held more water...this bucket of truth makes that cake with icing on top. Mr. Smith. I can only say ; "Thank God for You". Brilliant.
“Fascism is the melding of corporate & political power” in the words of its founder, former communist Benito Mussolini, “Everything within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state". It is totalitarian & differs from its close sibling communism in that it has a thin veneer of capitalism in it; under communism The State owns both means of production & distribution & dictates the outcome. Under fascism The State allows large corporations to take control of both means of production & distribution yet dictates the outcome. They are/have always been/will always be two sides of the same coin. The “fascism!” charge anymore has morphed into a cheap & overused insult against one who is disagreed with politically.
The label came about after the launch of Operation Barbarossa (Germany’s attack on the Soviet Union) June 22, 1941 when the Soviets started referring to the Germans as “fascist invaders”. Democrats first instituted the charge against GOP candidate Thomas E. Dewey in 1948 & have leveled it against every GOP politician since.
And Mussolini himself was a socialist and held socialist principles and values, and publicly said so. In my opinion, he was ejected from the official socialist party because he differed on the "how," but not the "what" or "why." He agreed the government should exercise centralized control over the economy and means of production; he differed by proposing the "public/private partnership" rather than the government simply owning it all. The end result was the same, as was the totalitarianism and complete control over the civilian population.
Considering the goals and methods of the five "fascist" governments of the twentieth century, that is, Germany under Hitler, Italy under Mussolini (who adopted the name "Fascist"), Spain under Franco (who were called "Falangists"), Portugal, under Salazar, and Argentina, under Peron, there are certain shared characteristics that may legitimately be called "fascism". Not one of those characteristics derives from capitalist economics or conservative political theory. The commonality derives from statism, the commanding principle that places the power of the state above all other considerations.
It is the primary structure of modern socialism, communism, and marxism, as well. The very accusations made against conservatives are fascistic in nature, that is to say, denying any legitimacy to the various conservative opinions, and demonizing the holders of those opinions as, not misled, mistaken, or ignorant, but as indubitably and irremediably evil. The truth is not to be found in discourse, by this measure, but only in the pronouncements of the statists, without compromise or question. I leave it to each person to decide where fascism lies, but be careful who you tell your decision to. You may be incriminating yourself in their eyes.
Light and Ristig, DSA wants to tear the Constitution up and then put it in a shredder. They are the most authoritarian Marxist party that has ever come close to power in the United States. They must be stopped, or it is the end of our republic as we know it. Feel free to become a free subscriber to my Substack Common Sense. We are kindred spirits, and we need to stick together, or else we will surely hang separately.
It is tiring isn’t it. And it never seems to stop. It’s as though this country has to go through a natural disaster before anyone even attempts to
lower the temperature.
I’m worried it’s not going to stop. Not at least until the shooting starts( I hope I’m long gone). Our political systems seem to be seated on two opposing roller coasters and headed towards each other at 100 mph. It’s deliberate. And is being orchestrated by those who have no idea what they’re doing. Not a problem though. They’ll just blame it on America.
"We have turned political analysis into a game of psychological interpretation. Trump’s words are examined for evidence of what he secretly intends to do tomorrow...."
And meanwhile, any of us who have actually studied psychology -- or paid attention to when an actual psychologist speaks -- knows the reality: The best predictor of future behavior, is past behavior.
People can "examine [Trump's words] for evidence of what he secretly intends to do tomorrow," but the best predictor of what he intends to do tomorrow is what he did yesterday. And the day before that. And the day before that.
You'll never find a more reliable indicator hidden in his words than what you've already seen in his prior actions. And that's generally true for all of humanity, not just Trump. (Almost like he's human. Imagine that. *smh*)
The Left is also populated with humans, and so I predict that in the future they will:
- Riot over political outcomes they don't like.
- Call everyone they disagree with "Nazis" and "fascists" without understanding what the words actually mean (e.g. the term "Nazi" is short for "Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei," or "National Socialist German Workers' Party").
- Exercise their 1st Amendment right to criticize Trump for allegedly being a Nazi or fascist or some other flavor of authoritarian without seeing the disconnect between current events and actual authoritarianism.
- Accuse anyone who fails to sufficiently criticize Trump of being a "MAGA idiot" or something similar.
- Attempt to excuse actual crimes on the basis of DEI-based identity politics.
- Engage in extraordinary amounts of doublethink -- defined by Orwell as holding two conflicting beliefs at the same time without mental stress or "cognitive dissonance" -- to accuse their opponents of wrongthink (do I need to define that, too?).
The Left doesn't *say* they'll do these things, so why do I predict they will in the future? Because they're all things the Left has done in the past.
And the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.
Been saying this recently and you wrote it in this article. So many are failing to learn the definition of words and butchering the English language. The word “gay” meant something very specific 100 years ago. No longer. Fascism is, as you note, simply what the “other side” is. Failing to comprehend our Constitution severely limits “authoritarianism” (although significantly failed us just a few years ago).
If ever the term "Nailed It" held more water...this bucket of truth makes that cake with icing on top. Mr. Smith. I can only say ; "Thank God for You". Brilliant.
Thank you. That was a bit of a rant.
It was perfect. Keep writing. We need your words to counter the rage bait, and stupidity on the left.
“Fascism is the melding of corporate & political power” in the words of its founder, former communist Benito Mussolini, “Everything within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state". It is totalitarian & differs from its close sibling communism in that it has a thin veneer of capitalism in it; under communism The State owns both means of production & distribution & dictates the outcome. Under fascism The State allows large corporations to take control of both means of production & distribution yet dictates the outcome. They are/have always been/will always be two sides of the same coin. The “fascism!” charge anymore has morphed into a cheap & overused insult against one who is disagreed with politically.
The label came about after the launch of Operation Barbarossa (Germany’s attack on the Soviet Union) June 22, 1941 when the Soviets started referring to the Germans as “fascist invaders”. Democrats first instituted the charge against GOP candidate Thomas E. Dewey in 1948 & have leveled it against every GOP politician since.
And Mussolini himself was a socialist and held socialist principles and values, and publicly said so. In my opinion, he was ejected from the official socialist party because he differed on the "how," but not the "what" or "why." He agreed the government should exercise centralized control over the economy and means of production; he differed by proposing the "public/private partnership" rather than the government simply owning it all. The end result was the same, as was the totalitarianism and complete control over the civilian population.
It’s only a matter of degrees.
Considering the goals and methods of the five "fascist" governments of the twentieth century, that is, Germany under Hitler, Italy under Mussolini (who adopted the name "Fascist"), Spain under Franco (who were called "Falangists"), Portugal, under Salazar, and Argentina, under Peron, there are certain shared characteristics that may legitimately be called "fascism". Not one of those characteristics derives from capitalist economics or conservative political theory. The commonality derives from statism, the commanding principle that places the power of the state above all other considerations.
It is the primary structure of modern socialism, communism, and marxism, as well. The very accusations made against conservatives are fascistic in nature, that is to say, denying any legitimacy to the various conservative opinions, and demonizing the holders of those opinions as, not misled, mistaken, or ignorant, but as indubitably and irremediably evil. The truth is not to be found in discourse, by this measure, but only in the pronouncements of the statists, without compromise or question. I leave it to each person to decide where fascism lies, but be careful who you tell your decision to. You may be incriminating yourself in their eyes.
Light and Ristig, DSA wants to tear the Constitution up and then put it in a shredder. They are the most authoritarian Marxist party that has ever come close to power in the United States. They must be stopped, or it is the end of our republic as we know it. Feel free to become a free subscriber to my Substack Common Sense. We are kindred spirits, and we need to stick together, or else we will surely hang separately.
Clear and concise and brilliant! Great start to my day. Our founding fathers were a true gift!!
To many Americans, fascism is simply a word meaning "bad." I doubt that many have any idea as to what it actually means.
It is tiring isn’t it. And it never seems to stop. It’s as though this country has to go through a natural disaster before anyone even attempts to
lower the temperature.
I’m worried it’s not going to stop. Not at least until the shooting starts( I hope I’m long gone). Our political systems seem to be seated on two opposing roller coasters and headed towards each other at 100 mph. It’s deliberate. And is being orchestrated by those who have no idea what they’re doing. Not a problem though. They’ll just blame it on America.
"We have turned political analysis into a game of psychological interpretation. Trump’s words are examined for evidence of what he secretly intends to do tomorrow...."
And meanwhile, any of us who have actually studied psychology -- or paid attention to when an actual psychologist speaks -- knows the reality: The best predictor of future behavior, is past behavior.
People can "examine [Trump's words] for evidence of what he secretly intends to do tomorrow," but the best predictor of what he intends to do tomorrow is what he did yesterday. And the day before that. And the day before that.
You'll never find a more reliable indicator hidden in his words than what you've already seen in his prior actions. And that's generally true for all of humanity, not just Trump. (Almost like he's human. Imagine that. *smh*)
The Left is also populated with humans, and so I predict that in the future they will:
- Riot over political outcomes they don't like.
- Call everyone they disagree with "Nazis" and "fascists" without understanding what the words actually mean (e.g. the term "Nazi" is short for "Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei," or "National Socialist German Workers' Party").
- Exercise their 1st Amendment right to criticize Trump for allegedly being a Nazi or fascist or some other flavor of authoritarian without seeing the disconnect between current events and actual authoritarianism.
- Accuse anyone who fails to sufficiently criticize Trump of being a "MAGA idiot" or something similar.
- Attempt to excuse actual crimes on the basis of DEI-based identity politics.
- Engage in extraordinary amounts of doublethink -- defined by Orwell as holding two conflicting beliefs at the same time without mental stress or "cognitive dissonance" -- to accuse their opponents of wrongthink (do I need to define that, too?).
The Left doesn't *say* they'll do these things, so why do I predict they will in the future? Because they're all things the Left has done in the past.
And the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.
Almost like that is the point. And wghen real fascism comes, people will roll their eyes and not recognize it.
https://sjsu.edu/faculty/wooda/2B-HUM/Readings/The-Doctrine-of-Fascism.pdf
Been saying this recently and you wrote it in this article. So many are failing to learn the definition of words and butchering the English language. The word “gay” meant something very specific 100 years ago. No longer. Fascism is, as you note, simply what the “other side” is. Failing to comprehend our Constitution severely limits “authoritarianism” (although significantly failed us just a few years ago).