Once and for all: Fascism is not right-wing

There is a constant harangue from left-wing politicians and complicit media that Trump and his administration are fascists and that MAGA, ICE, and anyone else they don’t like are Nazis.

When you ask Gemini A.I., Duck A.I., and Wikipedia, “Is fascism right-wing?”, the answer is yes; fascism is considered right-wing. Co-pilot says yes, it is right-wing, and then says it has left-wing aspects as well, and then concludes that it is right-wing. What?

A Wikipedia Overview via A.I. comes up with this: “Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology ...”

Dinesh D’Souza said on a PragerU video that the Nazi regime was redefined after WWII from left-wing to right-wing. His reasoning, summarized, is that political and academic leaders wanted to ensure that their collectivist (socialist) beliefs were separated from the horrors of Hitler’s regime. It appears the redefining was successful.

Emmanuel Rincón wrote “There’s No Denying the Socialist Roots of Fascism” in 2021. This article looks at fascism not as a list of words, but through the actions of the fathers of fascism: Benito Mussolini and Giovanni Gentile. Together they wrote the “doctrine of fascism.” Gentile said, “Fascism is a form of socialism; in fact, it is its most viable form.” The Fascist Party broke with the Italian Socialist Party, but mainly in rhetoric. They moved steadily toward the collective. The fascist Italian government first nationalized the arms industry. Private property in practice was eliminated. They did not own the means of production or fully control the economy, but they dominated it. Businesses were run by individuals, but to keep that business, the business had to serve the state.

The point being that only someone completely ignorant of history and political ideology would label Francisco Franco "left wing."

You seem to agree with me that Franco and his allies in Spain were right wing and allied with traditional conservative factions in Spain. That being the case, why would Mussolini and Hitler back Franco if (according to you and the author of this article) Hitler and Mussolinu were allegedly "left wing"?

Similarly, in 1933 the Nazis had a plurality but not a majority in the Reichstag. The only way Hitler could become chancellor was to make a coalition. The coalition he made was with conservatives, not with communists or Democratic-socialists. Similarly, conservatives like Hindenburg (along with industrialists and bankers, at least those who weren't Jewish) much preferred the Nazis to Democratic socialists. Again, that would make no sense if Nazis were "left wing". The same thing applies to the alliances and coalitions that Italian Fascists made early on.

You seem very confused about history. The terms "left wing" and "right wing" originated at the time of the French Revolution, when supporters of the monarchy sat on the right side of the French National Assembly (parliament) while the Anti-Monarchist Revolutionaries sat on the Left. Anyone who says that the Monarchists were "left wing" is so confused about history and political ideology as to not be worth bothering with.

By definition, the Right defended traditional institutions (Monarchy, aristocracy, and Church) while the Left undermined them. That's basically the dictionary definition of Left and Right. Your definition of "Left Wing" seems to be "anything I don't like" and Right wing as "anything I like".

Similarly, anyone who thinks that Francisco Franco was a Leftist is terribly confused. Both his supporters (including most US conservatives at the time) and his enemies (leftists) correctly recognized him as the defender of traditional institutions and private property rights in Spain against various left wing factions.

You seem to have difficulty reading. Fascism is a collectivist ideology, therefor BY DEFINITION "left wing". Franco being anticommunist does not make him "right wing". "Left wing" ideologues frequently fought not over ideology but over power.

In 1920s and 1930s Europe, Fascists were nationalists (as opposed to internationalists); this made them seem the lesser of two evils to those you label as "conservatives". Monarchists and industrialists thought (wrongly) that they had a chance of controlling the likes of Mussolini and Hitler.

You seem to have fallen for the communist propaganda canard that fascism is the diametrical opposite of communism. It is not. It is barely distinguishable from communism. LIBERTY is the diametrical opposite of communism.

I did not know that. But I'll bet that 99.9% of Americans do not know the origin of the left right axis, so that definition is meaningless in the 19th century and after in America. I might also remind you of some history. The American Revolution predated the French revolution by 13 years and was in large part the inspiration for the French Revolution which you identify as the origin of the right/left axis. By the time the French revolution was underway, American Monarchists and aristocrats had either retreated to Europe or moved to the Canadian colonies. Thus applying the French right/left axis to American politics as you suggest is a category error.

Right wing in America in the 20th century until today refers to individual freedom, God given rights, and limited government which is antithetical to monarchies and the early 20th century Catholic church, so equating the early 20th century right in Europe to today's American right is impossible. It is a leftist trick used to try to absolve themselves of the their political affinity to the two great evils of the 20th century, communism and fascism, by claiming 20th century European fascism is akin to conservatism in today's America.

You seem to have difficulty reading. Fascism is a collectivist ideology, therefor BY DEFINITION "left wing...You seem to have fallen for the communist propaganda canard that fascism is the diametrical opposite of communism.

I haven't fallen for anything, I simply use words as they are defined rather than making up definitions as I go along, rather than just making words and definitions up as I go along because they suit me.

Why not look up the definition of conservative or right wing in any dictionary? It will say something to the effect that right wing ideologies are committed to conserving traditional institutions and hierarchy. Similarly, if you look up the definitions of left wing, you'll see that it means dedication to destroying traditional culture and institutions. There's nothing about liberty or the size of government in those definitions, which go back to the days of the French Revolution, where the Right wing of the National Assembly backed the monarchy while the Left wing of the national assembly was waging a class war, just as the Left always has (or do you believe that the French Revolution, with its slogan of equality and fraternity, was waged by "right wingers" ).

Fascist movements not only protected private property rights, they restored to private ownership industries and lands that were confiscated by socialist predecessors. Furthermore, while socialists and communists preached "equality", the essence of Fascist and Nazi ideology is rejection of social, economic, and (in the case of Nazis) racial equality.

The reason industrialists, bankers, and the aristocracy supported Mussolini and Hitler over socialists and communists was that Mussolini and Hitler did not confiscate or nationalize private property (except for political enemies or Jews, for the latter), and in fact they even privatized lands and industries that had been nationalized by their predecessors. That's quite different from Communists who abolished private property and put wealthy bankers, industrialists, and aristocrats in front of firing squads.

I did not know that. But I'll bet that 99.9% of Americans do not know the origin of the left right axis, so that definition is meaningless in the 19th century and after in America.

I think it's something that I learned in high school, so it really isn't such an obscure fact. More importantly, it is quite relevant today because the definitions of Left and Right during the French Revolution have their counterparts now.

During the French Revolution, the middle classes waged a class war against the landed aristocracy and the Royals/Nobility. By definition, any political movement that subverts established social order and hierarchy is Leftist, while those that defend it are Rightist. The French Revolution was by definition a Leftist movement, even though it was waged by people from different backgrounds than those who waged Communist revolutions in the 20th century. Different content, same form.

It is a leftist trick used to try to absolve themselves of the their political affinity to the two great evils of the 20th century, communism and fascism, by claiming 20th century European fascism is akin to conservatism in today's America.

It isn't a trick, it's just using the definitions of Right Wing as defenders of traditional property rights and institutions vs. Left Wing as destroyers of those traditional property rights and institutions. By this dictionary definition, of course Francisco Franco was on the political Right, and of course his Republican (as they were called) opponents were the Left Wing in 1930s Spain - Franco defended private property rights, the Left wanted to nationalize private property along Soviet lines. The fact that Francisco Franco didn't seem to have much in common with Barry Goldwater is irrelevant, the American Left is quite different from revolutionary movements in Latin America, Africa, or southeast Asia too.

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