I read Jonah Goldberg's book "
Liberal Fascism" twice. Why twice? The first time I forgot to highlight significant passages for future reference. It was worth a second read to understand what Fascism is and is not.
Fascism is a totalitarian form of government wherein the the thoughts and opinions of the masses are heavily regulated, with severe punishments for dissenters. The underlying economic system is somewhat capitalistic, but crony capitalism reigns supreme, with the government granting monopolies to major industries, so long as those industries are amenable and supportive of government programs and propaganda.
Fascism seeks to seize the minds of the population early on, by requiring children to be indoctrinated in government-run schools, often requiring them to live apart from their parents' influence. This was seen in both Jacobin France and later on in more modern fascist societies.
Goldberg discusses several variants of fascism; yes, the well-known kind under Mussolini and Hitler, but other forms like the Jacobins of the French Revolution, who micro-managed French society with mad obsession, executing thousands of people at whim, based on the victims' social class but also based on rumor and slander from neighbors. The French Revolution was a disgusting descent into madness and mass murder by the revolutionary government. "Fascist" is a term that justly fits that epoch and its movement.
In American history, both Abraham Lincoln and Woodrow Wilson come closest to fascist rule, displaying the same policies: crony capitalism, an enforced political viewpoint, punishment and imprisonment of dissenters, and government force.
Today we see fascism boldly reasserting itself in the American and European Left. There are unofficial policies, practices and dogmas that must not be questioned and must be vigorously supported....
or else. Some of these are:
1.
Near-worship of the sacred non-white "other." You may not make jokes, references or comments that in any way might be considered flippant, disrespectful or in any way "iffy" of any member of a leftist "protected group," with blacks being the foremost example. The Lawrence Auster Rule on Protected Groups is “The more troublesome, unassimilable, or dangerous a designated minority or non-Western group actually is, the more favorably it is treated.”
2.
Extreme Intolerance of Dissent and Differing Beliefs. Fascism is marked by extreme intolerance for dissenting beliefs. Either tow the party line and support the Official Narrative or suffer the consequences.
The most recent example of this is the Fascist Greek Olympics Committee, who abruptly ended the Olympics career of 24 year old Voula Papachristou for tweeting a mild and harmless joke involving blacks in Greece. Her mild joke denigrated no one, but could be considered "iffy" by a man on horseback riding by in a snowstorm, so the fascist ax fell quickly. Voula Papachristou, who had been training for many hours over several years to compete in the Olympics, was kicked off the Greek Olympics team without hearing or appeal. The Greek Olympics Committee, like any official fascist body, acted as judge, jury and executioner, in what can only be viewed as an over-the-top, totalitarian act, a punishment completely out of proportion to the alleged "crime" of free speech.
This is group-think, intolerance for independent thought, with a need to publicly punish and humiliate the miscreants. Before you can regiment society, you must train the minds of the masses. Instill knee-jerk reactions so that alternative views are unthinkable.
Another example is Chick-Fil-A restaurant chain, whose owners have publicly opposed the legalization of gay marriage (putting them in agreement with the vast majority of the American public). To punish the thought crime of the owners, mayors of San Francisco and Chicago have vowed to prevent Chick-Fil-A from doing business in their cities. Its owners are being punished for thought crimes, because fascism allows no diversity of thought or belief.
Fascists generally do not tolerate dissent and will go to extreme measures to prevent it. Like under the German and Italian fascists, like the Woodrow Wilson Administration, industry is only supported by the government when business is subservient and supportive of government policies, programs and propaganda.
3.
Extreme Bias Against a Specific Ethnic Group. The German fascists had the Jews, and the Jacobins had the Nobility for use as sacrificial lambs and scapegoats. The modern "progressive" movement, our latest incarnation of fascism, detests white, Christian males. Being white is viewed as a mortal sin and a white skin is your uniform in the enemy army, making you a convenient target. Groups that are very intolerant, hateful and violent, like fundamentalist Muslims and the black underclass, are feted and celebrated in an orgy of inclusiveness, though these groups do not support inclusion or tolerance themselves. They are not white, and therefore friends and allies of the neo-fascists, irrespective of all other considerations. The bias against whites goes hand in hand with the near-worship of the non-white "other" described in point 1 above.
4.
The Slander and Physical Destruction of Dissenters and Political Opponents. Fascist movements in the recent past have used street thugs, protests and violence to intimidate the opposition and blackmail society in granting them what they want. The fairly recent beating of a black Tea Party member by government union (SEIU) thugs is a case in point. He was merely handing out small "Don't Tread on Me" flags at a political rally when set upon by union members, who closely resemble fascists no matter how you look at it. The "Occupy" Movement also bears an uncanny resemblance to fascism. They occupied public property, created disruption and destruction, all in an attempt to blackmail society into supporting them without the necessity of work. Fascism is blackmail, and the Occupy Movement was both. More recently, we see Hollywood "stars" tweeting extreme insults and slander towards conservatives, often involving filthy and extreme language. See
Roseanne Barr,
Ellen Barkin, and
Cher (who has become increasingly unhinged).
5.
A Searing Hypocrisy. Fascists believe that they can be ruthless, arrogant, profane and hateful, all the while accusing their opponents of what they are themselves. Hypocrisy is one of the most obvious traits of the modern-day fascist.
These are not the only characteristics that modern-day "progressives" share with fascism, but they are probably the most prominent.
