On fascism

Y.A.,

You may appreciate this interesting mini-essay from Chaos Manor on where fascism comes from, historically, and why it's inaccurate to call it a right-wing philosophy. Perhaps I should be ashamed to not already know this, but I always did wonder just what fascism was exactly, and Jerry is good at historical context.

http://www.jerrypournelle.com/view/view495.html#Friday

'[snip] The theory of Fascism, to the extent that it has a self-consistent political philosophy, accepts the Marxist theory of history as a series of class struggles; but whereas Communism seeks to end class warfare, Fascism believes social classes are inevitable. Mussolini was undoubtedly influenced in this belief by the brilliant work of Vilfredo Pareto, whose work demonstrated that power is always distributed unevenly, there will always be elites, and attempts to destroy class structures only replace one kind of social class with another. (The history of Communist societies and the nomenklatura are instances of successful predictions of Pareto's theories.)

'Since social classes are inevitable, but class warfare cripples the state, the solution to the problem is for the State to stand above the social classes and force them to work together, preferably in equity and fair play. Fair play or no, though, the important thing is to make the classes cease their warfare and stop cancelling each other out, so that there can be social progress and national greatness. Hitler was Mussolini's disciple from the 1920's until the Austrian Anschluss. For a demonstration of the "left wing" nature of his thought, get a copy of Leni Riefenstahl's brilliant propaganda film The Triumph of the Will. In particular see the sequence in which thousands of laborers do a manual of arms with shovels, as the voiceover speaks about the relationship of "the classes and the masses." [snip]'

I recommend the whole thing if you have time.

~B.C.


--
"The presentation or 'gift' of the Holy Ghost simply confers upon a man the right to receive at any time, when he is worthy of it and desires it, the power and light of truth of the Holy Ghost, although he may often be left to his own spirit and judgment." --Joseph F. Smith (manual, p. 69)

Be pretty if you are,
Be witty if you can,
But be cheerful if it kills you.