[freeforall]

"Only someone without any knowledge of political philosophy could make such a claim."

Thanks a logical argument their.

"The Nazis lay on the far right of the traditional political spectrum,"

Perhaps the traditional spectrum is misleading especially if they only include socialists.How pray tell did the nazis raise the traditional institutions of the dominant culture to a level of worship when you arrest and imprison the people running them.

"On the contrary, socialism lay at the far left of the traditional spectrum, where the traditional institutions of the dominant culture are intentionally weakened in an effort to strike against institutionalized racism and sexism"

I think you are talking policy differences not General principles.They both believe in the subordination of the individual to the state.Whether you call it the proletariat the nation the state the german people it is still collectivism.Perhaps some defintions are in order

Main Entry: Na·zism Pronunciation: 'nät-"si-z&m, 'nat- Variant(s): or Na·zi·ism /-sE-"i-z&m/ Function: noun Etymology: Nazi + -ism Date: 1934 : the body of political and economic doctrines held and put into effect by the National Socialist German Workers' party in the Third German Reich including the totalitarian principle of government, state control of all industry, predominance of groups assumed to be racially superior, and supremacy of the führer.

Main Entry: fas·cism Pronunciation: 'fa-"shi-z&m also 'fa-"si- Function: noun Etymology: Italian fascismo, from fascio bundle, fasces, group, from Latin fascis bundle & fasces fasces Date: 1921 1 often capitalized : a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition 2 : a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control

Main Entry: so·cial·ism Pronunciation: 'sO-sh&-"li-z&m Function: noun Date: 1837 1 : any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods 2 a : a system of society or group living in which there is no private property b : a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state 3 : a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done

Main Entry: col·lec·tiv·ism Pronunciation: k&-'lek-ti-"vi-z&m Function: noun Date: 1857 : a political or economic theory advocating collective control especially over production and distribution; also : a system marked by such control

They are competing gangs for control of the state with minor policy differences.If theses political ideas were opposites one be for and one against control.

[stryker]

The ultimate aim of socialism is the abolition of the state by reaching the stage of communism, when the state withers away to a mere administrative body, there being so much surplus production and so little class distinction that no organized force is necessary and therefore no state in the classical sense. Fascism on the other hand, raises the state, as the epitome of the character of its' people to the level of a God, to be worshipped, as was Hitler in his role as the Fuhrer, or leader. The state is associated with various religious symbols that take on mystical proportions such as the swastika and the devil’s head of the SS. Class distinctions are not only maintained, but are emphasized to the point of open classism and racism. To understand the difference you must go back to the writings of Edmund Burke and start with an understanding of the difference between classical conservativism and classical liberalism (Locke and Rousseau). You can argue all you want, but walk into any university in the United States and ask any professor of political philosophy whether German national socialism was in any way socialism and leftist and you will hear the same answer I am giving you.

As an aside, I do not think the traditional left/right political spectrum has much use in the modern world since no country has ever passed from socialism into communism to see the state dissolve, but rather we have found that both ends of the political spectrum end in human enslavement. I therefore find myself a libertarian, struggling against the drug warriors on the right and the politically correct nanny state advocates on the other.