Quote:
Originally Posted by Nihilist_santa
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If you have read any Giovanni Gentile then you would begin to understand that fascism is not an "idea". Fascism is an actualism. It can come in any form. Its a swift and singleminded action for the good of a collective. It rose during the 20s and 30s because the cultures where it was embraced were threatened by international communism(jewry).
Some have called fascism an extreme form of propertarianism. Not sure if I agree with that but I guess its used to distinguish fascism from other forms of "collectivism". I think the difference in the fascist form of collectivism as opposed to the communist variety is that fascism recognizes the role of the individual in the overall health of the society and its institutions where as communism stamps out individuality to erase "class" distinctions. Fascism recognizes class distinctions. Take the role of women for example. USSR women = cogs in a machine/NSDAP women = vital aspect of the culture and recognized for that role.
Your description of Fascism is really just an oligarchy. You also say that fascism is an extreme form of capitalism but if you have ever actually studied the writings of actual fascist then you would see that they hold capitalism in contempt as well. Thats why they feel the need for a strong centralized authority to protect the citizens from capitalism(among other things) while maintaining property rights hence the earlier nod to propertarianism. The Nazis saw how the ((((money interest)))) were overwhelmingly led by one faction of society *cough*47% of the 1% these people comprise*cough* and how that system they controlled and used to enslave other nations. They outlawed usury which is how capitalism is corrupted. It bothers me when people try to say that Fascism is extreme capitalism.
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A more sober view than the post you quoted.
Facist and communist regimes are similar in their methods of control. In practical reality there isn't a lot of difference between the two (Hitler once said Stalinism was just "red facism"). But the theory behind the two are completely different. One is about achieving the closest thing to real equality. The other is about state strength, empowering the country at the expense of others.
Facism is closely related to racism. I had a libertarian professor once said the main difference between facism and communism was that facism also had racism. Ultimately I don't agree with him, but in practical reality there is something to it.
Ultimately this kind of stuff usually devolves into some BS semantic argument though.
Edit: The reason american liberals and conservatives always fuck up there understanding of facism -- is because they don't understand that there isn't a big "goverment vs free market" dichomity in the German intellectual tradition. They never really bought into that "the economy" (which exists independent of society) in mass as much as they have here. To Hitler, the economy wasn't a big theater of ideological warfare. Most Germans agree some government and some market is good.