In his best-selling book, Liberal Fascism, Jonah Goldberg wrote, “properly understood, fascism is not a phenomenon of the right at all. Instead, it is, and always has been, a phenomenon of the left.”
Goldberg, who is no fan of President Donald Trump, wrote those words in 2009. In the years since the book’s release, the term “fascist” has increasingly become a common insult lobbed at Trump, the Republican Party, and Trump supporters in general.
Over the past eight years, mainstream media, Democratic leaders, leftist activists, and radical professors have relentlessly called Trump a “fascist” in a reckless attempt to gaslight the American people.
Tragically, the “Trump is a fascist” propaganda campaign has been successful in indoctrinating countless Americans into believing that the Trump administration is actually imposing fascist policies and embracing fascist ideology.
The truth is that Trump’s political philosophy is the antithesis of fascism.
In “The Doctrine of Fascism,” Bennito Mussolini declared, “the Fascist conception of life stresses the importance of the State and accepts the individual only in so far as his interests coincide with those of the State.”
Under Mussolini, the first fascist ruler in Europe, core American values like individual freedom were cast aside. Free-market capitalism was deemed a cancer. The solution was an all-empowering State.
Monsters like Adolf Hitler in Germany and Francisco Franco in Spain used fascist ideology to the same ends. The common theme was simple: individual liberty and “the invisible hand” were outdated and outmoded. The future was consolidated and centralized power.
In Nazi Germany, for example, the archetype of fascist evil, national socialism meant that the German government controlled all aspects of life.
As Goldberg notes, “Contrary to what most people think, the Nazis were ardent socialists … [who] believed in free health care and guaranteed jobs. They confiscated inherited wealth and spent vast sums on public education. They purged the church from public policy, promoted a new form of pagan spirituality, and inserted the authority of the state into every nook and cranny of daily life. The Nazis declared war on smoking, supported abortion, euthanasia, and gun control. They loathed the free market, provided generous pensions for the elderly, and maintained a strict racial quota system in their universities—where campus speech codes were all the rage.”
The point is that fascism, like Goldberg correctly stated, rejects essential conservative and libertarian values. By its very nature, it is a creature of the left.
At its core, fascism also misaligns with classical liberalism because of its adherently undemocratic nature.
I hate to say it, but if there is any semblance of fascism in America, it is mostly coming from far-left radical anarchists.
Take Antifa for instance. What a genius idea! Call yourselves anti-fascists while you espouse and employ fascist ideology and tactics on a nearly daily basis.
The degree of projectionism on display is truly epic.
After the appalling assassination of Charlie Kirk by a lunatic who had no clue about fascism, one would assume our nation’s leaders would tone down the rhetoric.
However, in the week since that tragic event, leftist cretins continue to wantonly shout the F word at their opponents.
Behold this exchange between Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL).
This week, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten is on a tour promoting her new book, Why Fascists Fear Teachers. Weingarten, a very powerful figure in the country’s public education system, shamelessly calls Trump a fascist, intentionally misleads the public, and outright lies about GOP positions on education and other issues in the book.
I hope cooler and calmer heads prevail in this tinder-box moment. The last thing we need is for people to fan the flames.
The overwhelming majority of Americans, both left and right, categorically reject fascism. Likewise, the overwhelming majority of our elected officials, both Republican and Democratic, at all levels, abhor fascism.
A small, but vocal and influential group of radicals, coupled with the witting and unwitting help of powerful institutions, has perpetuated a highly dangerous myth that the current iteration of the Republican Party under the leadership of President Trump embraces fascism.
When despicable lies like these seep deep into the culture, they incubate hatred and violence.
This is not about free speech, it is an appeal to common decency, unity, and truth.
Most of all, it is a calling to exercise personal agency. Do not allow oneself to fall victim to propaganda.
Seek facts and truth to overcome indoctrination. Learn about history. Do not use social media as a societal gauge because the algorithm is programmed to keep you engaged and outraged.
In the immediate wake of Charlie’s death, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox made a plea to the better angels of our nature. He focused on the need to put down the screens, go outside, form human connections, and dialogue with others.
In America, we don’t have a fascism problem; we have a toxic culture that has created the perilous fable that fascism has been resurrected on the right.
Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is editorial director at The Heartland Institute.
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