Fascism = Leftist Policies

Last week I had a debate of sorts on another blog with another poster in the comments section of an article. I don't remember all the issues we argued about (it was a civil argument, by the way, and we wished each other well at the end), but one of the important things was the nature of fascism. He insisted that fascism was a far-right wing belief system and I argued that fascism is, in fact, left wing.

Short version: a command economy; limited personal freedom; government control over manufacturing (at least to some degree and in some areas); oppressive federal government; strict rules of conduct; secret police to enforce those rules...I don't care if you call that communism, Stalinism, Maoism, Nazism, or fascism...it's pretty much all the same thing...totalitarianism! Which is a leftist policy. There are minor differences between the "ism"s I listed above, but just because Hitler was a raving lunatic racist does not mean that he was a right-winger. So, Hitler killed 6 million Jews (and black, gypsies, gays, etc.); Stalin killed 20 million Russians (some of whom were Jews and other minorities) and Mao's policies killed millions of Chinese. How exactly does that make Hitler "right wing" and Stalin "left wing?" The person I was debating simply said: "Read the Wikipedia entry on fascism." That was proof that fascists are right wing...really?

So, it was with no large amount of surprise today that I read this article on American Spectator in which it is alleged that a Green Party activist re-wrote or created over 5,000 articles that referred to global warming, climate change, or some other environ-fascist claim. This activist, it turns out, was made a Wikipedia administrator and basically has felt free, for years, to just overturn anything on the site that he does not agree with. He has also had people's posting privileges suspended when they disagree with him.

It has long been known that Wikipedia is not the most reliable of sources, especially on controversial issues, but this is a new low. Keep this information handy for the next time someone tells you to "read the Wikipedia entry" as a proof to end an argument. That is now shorthand for exposing your opponent's ignorance.

One more thing: If fascism is really a leftist policy, why does everyone consider it to be extreme right-wing? The "right wing" label was applied to fascism by none other than Josef Stalin. Hitler was trolling the scum of Berlin for people to follow his lead and he was attracting the same crowd that Stalin was trying to appeal to. Stalin was a proud left-winger and pronounced Hitler to be "right wing" in order to keep followers from switching to him. Was Hitler "right wing?" Maybe in comparison to Stalin, but in comparison with any other political system, Hitler was solidly and irrefutably a man of the left. If you want to learn much more, I recommend the book: Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning by Jonah Goldberg. Goldberg does have an agenda (as does everyone if you're honest), but he backs up his facts well.