path: root/extremist-view-on-fascism.rst

Couple of extremist notes on fascism
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:date: 2013-11-21T22:58:11
:category: faith
:tags: politics, DanCarlin


(On `Dan Carlin’s`_ discussion board somebody asked about fascism. After
he got reference to some basic texts and Wikipedia, I felt compelled to
write down couple of thoughts which have been busy in my mind for the
last couple of months.) 

.. _`Dan Carlin’s`:
    http://www.dancarlin.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=38857&p=525157

In the mainstream history (and literature) fascism (and Nazism) is
considered to be a right-wing movement. However, there is not
insignificant number of libertarian (non-extremist) thinkers who
consider both of these to be leftist extremist movements. After all,
NSDAP stood for “National Socialist Workers Party of Deutschland” and
Mussolini is on record that his socialism will end with the last breath
of his life (although his socialism was certainly mixed with
ultra-nationalism and was anti-Marxist).  

Another variant of this thinking is linking Franklin Delano Roosvelt's
New Deal as (perhaps a little less virulent) `form of fascism`_ (NOT of
Nazism or Stalinism, which both have its own terrible additions to
Mussolini's philosophy, also see this `definition in a dictionary`_).
See for example these two_ blogposts_ (just first two pages of the web
search for “franklin delano roosevelt diary fascism”). Also see the
Wikipedia page on `Criticism of Franklin D. Roosevelt`_.

.. _`form of fascism`:
    http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2013/11/john_ralston_sa.html
.. _`definition in a dictionary`:
    http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Fascism.html
.. _two:
    http://libertycorner.blogspot.cz/2007/09/fdr-and-fascism.html 
.. _blogposts:
    http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.cz/2013/09/franklin-delano-roosevelt-on-fascism.html
.. _`Criticism of Franklin D. Roosevelt`:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Franklin_D._Roosevelt

Of course, the problem is that history is written by the winners, and of
course these winners tried to put themselves as far as possible from the
defeated. However, if we broaden the definition of fascism to the
extreme, than the idea that “interest of nation/class/community is
always superior to the interest of individual” (shared by all three
dictatorships and unfortunately also FDR) is something which is
unpleasantly dominant in all our current political thinking of almost
all ideological variants. Just a food of thought.

I have to emphasize that I cannot say that I would stand firmly behind
such opinions. It seems a bit too extreme. However, I have for long time
suspected that FDR is less than the saint most of friends from Boston
believed (I am especially unhappy with his government being very clear
moment when the United States left traditions of federalism, strict
constitutionalism, constitutional amendments). Certainly, it is a good
food for thoughts.