Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg seems to give the best explanation of it.
My Father’s outfit first met up with the Russians in May 1945 outside Berlin. After Berlin was divided up they went into the city and began rebuilding efforts.
One thing which struck me was he said that for the first few weeks, every time they would meet a Russian, he would say “death to fascism”. I guess the Americans sort of gave them a blank stare and they quit after then.
I once read that Mussolini himself said he could not define fascism.
A better term for the type of government Oceania, and for that matter Eastasia and Eurasia had:
to·tal·i·tar·i·an
n/
adjective
1.
relating to a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state.
Fascism is a means to an end. This is what the Democrats want. Who is using fascist tactics? Do you remember angry conservatives and Republicans attacking Democrats and rioting in 2012? Neither do I.
I remember reading in an old 1950’s dictionary that Facism is a form of socialism where government controls private property not by ownership but by regulation.
Sounds like Bammy doesn’t it?
Bfl
Save for later.
A Fascist is anyone who disagrees with a Communist.
There’s a reason that the Communists always called Nazis “Fascists”, it was a way to avoid admitting that the Nazis were fellow Socialists.
To the left, if you are not a Marxist or, now, an Islamist, you are a “fascist.” The Marxists recognize communism, and they recognize anything close to communism that will lead to communism. The Marxists appreciate Islam because it threatens the West. So to the Marxists, anything else is fascism.
In general usage, if you are a liberal it is someone more conservative than you.
If you are a conservative it is a militant liberal.
Fascism is Communism Lite!
I decided quite some time ago that it no longer mattered what definition was associated with what label.
Discussing various government labels without a clear understanding or agreement to the meaning is pointless.
If a government's first obligation is not to protect the rights of the citizens then I don’t want any association with it regardless of its label or definition.
Fascism is government control of industrial output. Nothing more.
Ping
The average leftist liberal would not know a fascist if hit over the head with a bundle of bound sticks.
The type of overarching government is irrelevant. The ability to administer punishment is personal, it is immediate, and it is meant to effect the dominance of its administrator in any situation.
Pontius Pilate was one such administrator. One would suppose that Reinhard Heydrich was another outstanding example. Any sworn law enforcement officer has, in certain circumstances, this unquestioned authority.
This was approximately how it was defined in the 1920 version of Webster's College dictionary. A later version added “...especially from the right.”
By the 1920 definition, when progressives shriek against fascism, they shriek primarily against their own leftist progressive policy.
There is nothing new under the sun.