These terms describe tendencies in left-wing politics that contradict the espoused “progressive” ideals that the Left is usually associated with... and it makes them crazy. If you call a liberal, a Liberal-Fascist, you'll get a 30 minute diatribe on how stupid you are because you don't know the definition of either Liberal or Fascist. They will argue that this seemingly oxy-moronic term is in fact ...moronic. But of course name calling and denigration are the hallmarks of a liberal-fascist.
Well the true definition of fascism has always been far more nebulous than the standard Wikipedia entry and over the last century, it has undergone changing meanings and inferences. Of course the generally accepted classification of fascism is that of being an ideology of the far right; however the most common of denominators between the far left and the far right seems to be the use of power and/or political terrorism.
Although lacking any real scientific accuracy, Leftist-Fascism or Liberal-Fascism provides a handy label to describe the seemingly inevitable tendency of the left to embrace authoritarian, top down control in order to pursue its ends.
It never ceases to amaze me how the left/liberals/progressives are able to somehow ignore and explain away their own blatant totalitarianism. I suppose this is why it so rankles any free thinking citizen who is paying attention. The risk of totalitarianism was foreseen by the Founders and the Bill of Rights was written in order to stave off exactly what is happening today. For those words to hold true power though is that enough of the people must be there to support them. How many is enough? For starters I would argue at least III%...
H.G. Wells; Early American Views
Fascism in the modern era can be said to have been spawned in Italy the early 20th century and arguably, there is far more to fascism than bigotry and genocide. Those characteristics were not so much a feature of Italian fascism, but rather of German Nazism, which was allegedly forced upon the Italian fascists after the Nazis had invaded northern Italy and turned Italy into a vassal state.
In the late 1920’s into the 1930s a bulwark of the early socialist movement, H.G. Wells, articulated his thinking centered on a concept of ‘liberal fascism.’ What became known as “the Wellsian liberal utopia” would be achieved by an authoritarian élite. Wells expressed early on that socialism, progressivism, communism and other ideologies of the left, have in common an assumption that some very wise people — like themselves — need to take decisions out of the hands of the proletariat, people like the rest of us, and impose those decisions by government fiat or by force.’ To further reinforce the idea that liberal fascism was a potential option in this country, Rex Tugwell, a prominent member of Roosevelt's Brain Trust, said "I find Italy doing many of the things which seem to me, necessary.”
Wells gave a speech at Oxford in 1932 where he elucidated his vision and how he wanted to "assist in a kind of phoenix rebirth" of liberalism as an "enlightened Nazism" and communicated a call for "Liberal Fascism.” He went on to say “…Mussolini certainly has the same people opposed to him as FDR has. But he has the press controlled so that they cannot scream lies at him daily."
Both communist and fascist movements, particularly in the forms present in the early 20th century, clearly show some of the desired qualities of a Wellsian style vanguard. But it was fascism rather than communism which came closest to Wells true ideal. Taking inspiration from the militarized political movements of the 1930s marked a development of the Wellsian theory of revolution.
Wells and others of his time did not see the static view of fascism that is in line with those who usually count it as a movement of the Right. In fact, during the early to mid 1930’s many leftists viewed Mussolini and his fascismo with sympathy. In the end however, it was the disparity between Wells theory and the realities of fascism that still echo the unresolved tension between the ends and the means that lay at the heart of the concept of liberal fascism.”
Left-wing Fascism/Liberal Fascism
The most prominent early user of the term left-fascism was Jürgen Habermas, a sociologist and philosopher who used the term in the 1960s to distance his neo-Marxist political view from the violence and authoritarianism of left-wing terrorists. Habermas emphasizes the importance of rational discourse, democratic institutions and an opposition to violence.
Habermas was followed by John Patrick Diggins, a harsh critic of the left who wrote a book in 1972 entitled Mussolini and Fascism: The View from America. It was a study of that leader’s surprising popularity in the United States before World War II and the early fawning of the liberal left intelligentsia. The view from America has clearly changed a bit, clarified if you will. The willingness to give the left a pass when it comes to accusations of fascist tendencies, no longer exists.
In his 1984 book Winners and Losers, Irving Horowitz argues that there was a burgeoning political strain in the United States and Europe in the 1980s, which he characterizes as "left-wing fascism." Horowitz goes on to argue the risks of assuming that distinctions between left, centre and right. He says that various combinations of these ideologies are possible, and in particular he warned of a "left fascism."
And of course Europe was rife with terrorist groups such as the German Baader-Meinhof Group and the Italian Red Brigades, both of which had mixed left-right wing influences. Horowitz argued that "left-wing fascism in the United States, as in Europe, is capable of combining very different ideological strains into a political formula that has the potential for mass appeal.” He discussed how that mass appeal was operationalized through “mystified language” and visionary rhetoric. Frighteningly similar to what we are seeing now in this era of “Hope and Change.”
Horowitz position was that a tenet of left-wing fascism in the United States is the rejection of American ideals and the democratic system. Take a look at the Obama administrations total disregard for the Bill of Rights. In particular; the 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 10th amendments, the dismissal of the Posse Comitatus Act and rule by decree. Along with this have been assertions that socialism and the threat of tyranny are some sort of abstraction lurking just around the corner. Left-wing fascists uniquely pursue the gist of authoritarian socialism without naming it and denying the obvious.
In Jonah Goldberg’s 2008 book Liberal Fascism; The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning, he discusses how fascist movements were and are of the left and that it is what follows along when socialism, progressivism and communism has proven to be the illusion that they truly are. Goldberg goes on to discuss modern liberalism and fascism and their lineage from progressivism. He reminds the reader that prior to World War II, "fascism was widely viewed as a progressive social movement with many liberal and left-wing adherents in Europe and the United States.”
Modern Views
Over time, particularly in the wake of WWII, the term fascism basically lost its original meaning and descended into the level of being a modern word for 'heretic.' As early as 1946, the socialist and anti-fascist writer George Orwell described the word as no longer having any meaning except to signify "something not desirable.”
Now in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the term left-fascism is being used to describe unusual hybrid political alliances of the left who seem to have become infatuated with cult-like, irrational, anti-democratic positions that combine characteristics of the Left with those of fascism. Author Bernard-Henri Lévy calls this political hybrid neo-progressivism. Lévy argues that it is anti-liberal, anti-American, anti-empire, and clearly fascist.
Let’s face it; most academics have willfully ignored modern liberalism's progressive-fascist roots ...and with liberal-fascism, clearly the connection between modern liberalism and its statist ancestors are a more prominent factor in America's political battles and debates today.
"We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force.” ~Ayn Rand
"One of the most disturbing things about the IRS targeting Obama's political enemies is that many liberals seem to be perfectly fine with the illegitimate use of the power of government to hurt their political enemies. Certainly, no one in the upper echelons of the Obama Administration had a problem with doing exactly that since no one in the upper echelons of the Obama Administration has been punished. It is an utter disregard for the Constitution, the rule of law and even for democracy itself.
When you arrive at the conclusion that it's permissible to ignore the law, break the rules and defeat your political enemies by any means necessary, you're veering into dangerous territory. It's dangerous because a republic can't function over the long haul when one side of the political debate is treated as above the law. Either the law applies equally to both sides of the political debate or good people will begin to feel that they have no choice other than to operate outside the law in order to get justice.
That's not a country any American should want to live in and if you do, there’s a word for people like you: fascist. There have been countless liberals who applauded this sort of behavior online and in comment sections all over the Internet, and many of these Liberal-Fascists are just fine with using the IRS, FBI, CIA, NSA, SEC, FCC and so on to target their political enemies." To them, it is not the means, it is the ends that matter.
George Carlin was right when he said that "when fascism comes to America, it will not be in brown and black shirts. It will not be with jackboots. It will be Nike sneakers and smiley shirts. Smiley-smiley."
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