Read the article to which I linked.
The essence is that the problem involves more than one variable. One variable will get you left and right, for example, with varying degrees in between.
The whole left-right model came out of France a couple of hundred years ago, and has little applicability today.
Pournelle changed that variable, and added a second. His model contrasts the two variables of rationality vs. trust in the state. This two-dimensional model gives a significantly larger universe within which to array the various factions.
Thanks Coyoteman and all. I am sincerely indebted to you for references that I will read re: the actual nature of Nazism/Fascism. But what I am really interested in understanding it why the POPULAR PERCEPTION is that Nazis (who apparently considered themselves socialists) are almost uniformly labeled “right-wing” by those in the United States. Were liberals that effective in changing the labels? What is it that makes people associates “Socialists” with the “right wing?”