REPOST: Cue Card Libertarianism - Fascism

It's been said that when somebody says "Smith is a fascist," what he really means is "I hate Smith." But "fascist" really does mean something ...

The defining characteristics of Fascism do not include jackboots, smart uniforms and violent racism. Fascism is simply Socialism/Communism with a cosmetic difference: whereas Socialism/ Communism nationalises and abolishes private property and the 'commanding heights' of the economy, fascism permits the façade of private ownership of property to remain, while nationalising instead the people who own them.

Under fascism, the illusion of ownership remains but the government assumes power of use and disposal over the property – that is to say: under Socialism/Communism the state becomes the de jure owner, whereas under Fascism the state becomes the de facto owner. “Let them own land or factories as much as they please,' declared Adolph Hitler: "The decisive factor is that the State, through the party, is supreme over them, regardless of whether they are owners or workers. All that, you see, is unessential. Our Socialism goes far deeper… Why need we trouble to socialise banks and factories? We socialise human beings.”

Hitler’s published utterances are an instructive testimony to the essential unity of Socialism and Fascism. His National Socialist Party’s 25-point political programme reads in part like a Green Party wish-list, which, when first implemented, won plaudits from many collectivist politicians in freer countries. Unemployment was artificially eliminated, grandiose welfare programmes were enacted, onerous taxes, regulations and controls imposed.

For too long, people have allowed themselves to be diverted by a phoney dichotomy between Communism and Fascism, whereas careful analysis shows that both are forms of collectivism, treating the individual as a means to an end: the “common good.” Neither in theory nor in practice is there any essential difference between the core utterances of Marx and Hitler: between Marx's “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need,” and Hitler's “Each activity and each need of the individual will be regulated by the party as the representative of the general good.” 

 The real dichotomy is not between Communism and Fascism, but between freedom and dictatorship. The 'dichotomy' between Fascism and Communism is merely between two competing forms of dictatorship.

* * * * *

A HELPFUL SHORT GUIDE TO THE ~ISMS:

Under Communism: You have two cows. The government takes both, and gives you a chit for vodka. 

Under Socialism: You have two cows. The government takes both, and gives them to your neighbour. 
Under Fascism: You have two cows. The government takes your milk and sells it back to you. Under New Dealism: You have two cows. The government takes both, shoots one, buys milk from the other cow, then pours the milk down the drain. 
Under Nazism: You have two cows. The government gives both to your neighbour and shoots you. 
Under Capitalism: you have two cows. You sell one, and buy a bull.

More reading: 

• Nazism = socialism = totalitarianism - George Reisman
• 'The Fascist New Frontier' - Ayn Rand; published in The Ayn Rand Column
• The Cause of Hitler's Germany - Leonard Peikoff

* * * * *

This was part of a continuing series explaining the concepts and terms used by libertarians, originally published in The Free Radical in 1993. The 'Introduction' to the series is here. The list so far can be found down there on the sidebar.

TAGS: Cue_Card_Libertarianism