I'm so confused. Are Democrats still the real racists? Was Franco a leftist?
The Iraning government is fascist.
The governing leftists in the US are fascist.
Whether they are left-wing or right wing is irrelevant.
They are all socialists battling to see which version will lead to communism the fastest. The author is a European socialist with an axe to grind. (”Yet they are chained to the diktats of a fascist, clerical regime”). Its a must to identify any opposition as fascist. This is where some people see Iran’s government as fascist, but they are not really; they are an extreme Islamic theocracy (a branch of the Shia 12ers): the koran and the other 5 ‘holy’ Islamic books are their guides. Any resemblance to fascism is purely in someone’s head.
Franco was a socialist whose brand did not appeal to Hitler. The Russians liked the rebels and supplied them with aid and arms as I recall.
Fascism is an Italian invention and it died with Mussolini. Hitler’s version was all mixed up with Germanic pseudo-history and was closer to Islam than ‘traditional’ socialism, which is why so many Islamic countries flocked to his banned and Mein Kampf remains a best seller in the ME.
All you need to know about Socialism, in all its varieties, is summed up by V.I. Lenin: The goal of Socialism is Communism.
Half the Freepers here likely got their history from the History Channel or historical novels.
What prey tell is a boomwercon?
“The essayist claims that Iran’s govt is fascist. But they are rightwing and the boomercons on FR have assured me that fascism is leftwing.”
Yes, you ARE confused. First, forget about the left and right stuff. It can lead you down the rabbit hole.
Second, determine if Iran’s system is about powerful control by a centralized power, as evidenced by schools of thought such as Marxism, or if they prefer a system of government that recognizes pre-existing rights that are not to be infringed on by government.
That will give you your answer. BTW, Fascism, as practiced by WWII Italy & Germany and current day China is Marxism that permits some private ownership of business so long as it benefits the State.
The Ayatollahs are economically left wing and big government
Why are they right wing?
The concept of rightwing and leftwing are shorthand descriptions of a person’s relationship to his government. Right wing is an individualist belief system and left wing is a subjugation of the individual to the government.
Another way to describe it is individualism vs statism. All political beliefs are a continuum between those two extremes. On the right, you have anarchy, which is no government. Then you have libertarianism, which is only just enough government to keep us from killing each other. Then you have conservatism which is small and local government. Then you have finally have Republicanism, which is a central conservatism belief system.
On the left, starting with a central liberalism, which is a bit bigger than Republicanism. 70’s Democrat party. Then you have socialism. Then you have fascism, which is a cooperative of big government and industry to control the people. Then you have communism, where the government controls all.