Facism: “I Don’t Think That Word Means What You Think It Means.”
By Daniel Miessler on August 25th, 2008: Tagged as Language | Politics
Many, especially in the blogsphere, are fond of saying, “This country is becoming fascist.” Or, “We’re on a path to fascism.” That sounds cool, and it certainly will get some attention, but I wonder if most using the word “fascism” actually know what it means.
A Little About Facism
First a test. What’s the difference between Facism and Communism? Not an easy answer for probably 95% of Americans, including me until very recently (hence this post).
Here are the main components of Facism:
- Nationalism (focus on the cohesion and success of the nation)
- Authoritarianism (emphasis on the authority of the state)
- Class Collaboration (classes accept their differences and work together)
- Economic Planning (think Roosevelt’s New Deal)
- Militarism (maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests)
- Integralism (similar to class collaboration; essentially saying all parts work for the same goal)
- Populism (being for the people rather than for a small group of elites)
I’m not an expert on political science so I won’t wade out too deep here, but the short answer (based on my limited research) is that there is relatively little difference between fascism and communism. The primary, most noticeable components are present in both:
- Militarism
- Nationalism
- Authoritarianism
Check out this quote from Hitler and see if it reminds you of anything:
We have endeavored to depart from the external, the superficial, endeavored to forget social origin, class, profession, fortune, education, capital, and everything that separates men, in order to reach that which bind them together. — Adolf Hitler
Sounds pretty communist, right? Pretty much the main difference between it and communism seems to be nationalism, i.e. a main communist concept has been that of just being a worker, and not a worker for any particular place.
Basically, unless I’m missing something, facism is communism with nationalism and controlled capitalism added in. But the main points are the same—you still have a state-run system for the most part, and a focus on the good of a whole.
Much more to explore on this. And if any of you are into poly sci I welcome any input. Political Science has suddenly become very interesting to me.
Operative Questions
When we, the few remaining “aware” citizens of the United States say we are afraid of the government becoming something, what is it specifically that we’re afraid of? Or, to put it another way, what is it that makes America what it is? And how will we know when it’s become something else?
What are the characteristics that we do not want to see in it? What are the names for these things? Do we not want socialism? Do we not want fascism?
Given my newfound knowledge of fascism I’d say there are quite a few people watching (and hosting) FOX News who are actually striving for fascism without knowing it.
Rambling now…must go to bed.
More soon.
Please comment.
