Is the Far Left Fascist?

Is the far left fascist?  

No. Fascism is a reaction against the Left, it is far right by definition.

Fascism is not a synonym for “authoritarianism”. A far left regime can be extremely authoritarian but it cannot be fascist any more than a hard core capitalist economy can be communist.

This is one of those times when the much abused term “oxymoron” can be legitimately invoked. A “far right regime of the far left” is evidently an oxymoron.

Actually, …

Fascism is almost always authoritarian.

So is Communism.

The political terms “Left” and “Right” have become so abused as to become meaningless!

In times long past, when most regimes were hereditary monarchies, legislators who supported the established rulers were seated to the Right side (when facing the presiding officer) and those who opposed the establishment were seated to the Left side. Typically, ruling monarchs were autocratic, so those (radicals) on the “Left” fought against rules that constrained individual liberty (and were thus called “liberals”) while those on the “Right” sought to CONSERVE the powers of the “rightful” ruler (and were thus called “conservatives”).

Nowadays, when established governments may have varying degrees of authoritarianism, those who support a tyrannical regime that is fascist are (correctly) considered to be “Rightists” since they seek to CONSERVE its powers, while those who support a tyrannical socialist or communist regime are (wrongly) called “Leftists” or “liberals” — even tho they obviously seek to restrict liberty by increasing the power of the state over the individual.

Unfortunately, this reversal of terminology has become so engraved and enshrined that words “liberal” and “conservative” (and the notions of and “Right” and “Left”) have entirely lost their meaning — and no longer have anything whatsoever to do with the degree of authoritarianism in the established government.

The late David Nolan brilliantly observed that some authoritarian regimes primarily suppress personal liberty but allow economic liberty to the individual, whereas some primarily suppress economic liberty while permitting more individual liberty (and other regimes, sadly, suppress both!) Nolan dealt with this linear confusion by creating the 2-dimensional Nolan Chart (Nolan Chart - Wikipedia) that represents the two types of liberty with two orthogonal axes, each ranging from zero to 100 percent in the degree to which individual choices are dictated by the government.

Rather than using a meaningless a Left-Right spectrum (as shown by the horizontal green line), with Fascism on the “Left” and Communism on the “Right”, the Nolan chart places both near the bottom — where government controls most individual choices. This link World's Smallest Political Quiz - Advocates for Self-Government leads to a simple quiz (designed by Marshall Fritz) to determine where one fits in this 2-dimensional spectrum.

Audrey Taggart
Hobe Sound

This is commentary from our members, it is not the offiical position of the Martin County Republican Executive Committee.