Fascism Falsehoods

Why does the Left argue that fascism is a feature of the Right-wing and the Right knows that it’s as Left as all other forms of Socialism?

 Some years ago, in noting the huge growth of the internet I thought (or heard someone else make this comment), that we were now ‘drowning in information but starved for wisdom’. So the challenge at the time was how to help people be discerning in their searching for information, knowledge and wisdom and especially learning the required skill-set to enable critical thinking and appropriate evaluation of the information provided. While schools have been trying to teach some of these critical search skills, I have always found the standard approaches they suggest rather prone to simple manipulation and source errors.

But the issues are much more problematic and challenging now. Big Tech and the MSM have so distorted the access to factual and accurate information that finding it is now much, much harder and requires a much greater awareness of how mis-information and mis-direction are being used to present a false narrative about many topics of significance.

To illustrate the problem, I think the question of where Fascism and Nazism sit on the political spectrum is an excellent case study. Note the question of what a political spectrum should look like is also part of the question here.

So let’s start with assuming nothing and assuming we genuinely don’t know the answer to what Fascism is and where it sits on the political spectrum (of Left-wing vs Right-wing – more on this later).

So an unaware and innocent searcher of the internet might start by asking Wikipedia for the definition of Fascism.

This is the basic initial summary of what they will see:

“Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement, characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy….” Wikipedia

I will show how the terms ‘far-right’ and ‘ultranationalist’ are not correct though the phrase , ‘subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation …’ certainly is accurate as part of a valid definition of Fascism.

And if we search online dictionaries for a definition of Fascism, the Oxford Reference is fairly typical of the responses we get:

An authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization. The term Fascism was first used of the totalitarian right-wing nationalist regime of Mussolini in Italy (1922–43), and the regimes of the Nazis in Germany and Franco in Spain were also Fascist. Fascism tends to include a belief in the supremacy of one national or ethnic group, a contempt for democracy, an insistence on obedience to a powerful leader, and a strong demagogic approach.

Again, note the references to both being ‘right-wing’ and being nationalistic (and racist). I will return to these classifications later.

So then we might check out a couple of AI chatbots and see what they say.

Let’s start with the same search string of ‘define Fascism’ and Chat GPT gives us:

Fascism is a political ideology and system of government characterized by authoritarian power, extreme nationalism, suppression of political dissent, and a dictatorial leader. It emerged in the early 20th century, particularly in Italy under Benito Mussolini, and later in Germany under Adolf Hitler. Fascist regimes are often characterized by strong central control, militarism, emphasis on the unity of the nation, and the belief in the superiority of a particular race or ethnic group.

Key features of fascism include:

Authoritarianism: Fascist governments are characterized by strong centralized authority and often led by a single leader with significant powers.

Nationalism: Fascism emphasizes the importance of the nation or ethnic group, often glorifying it and advocating for its superiority.Totalitarianism: Fascist regimes seek to control and regulate all aspects of public and private life, suppressing opposition and dissent.

Militarism: Fascism often promotes a strong military and aggressive foreign policy as a means of asserting national strength and dominance.

Anti-communism: Fascists typically oppose communism and leftist ideologies, viewing them as threats to the established social order.

Authoritarian corporatism: Fascist governments may collaborate with large corporations and other powerful entities, merging them with the state for the purpose of achieving national unity and economic stability.

It's important to note that the term "fascism" is often used broadly and can be subject to interpretation, as different historical examples of fascist movements have exhibited variations in their ideology and practices.

Having received this response with a number of the same contentions and also the implication that in being opposed to Communism, which ChatGPT acknowledges is Left-wing, the implication here is that Fascism is Right-wing. So I thought I would ‘encourage’ ChatGPT to acknowledge the ‘father’ of Fascism, the Italian philosopher, Giovanni Gentile and see if the response changed at all. See below:

So, now the response is much better except that while acknowledging what Fascism is all about here, ChatGPT calls it ‘Corporatist Socialism’! Nice try at a clever diversion. Define Fascism more accurate historically but give it another name. Great use of semantics!

Then I thought I would try Bing’s AI Chat with the same question. Here’s its response:

The political ideology you are referring to is called state capitalism. It is a system where the government allows private businesses to operate, but it has complete control over how they operate ¹.

However, it is important to note that state capitalism is not the same as socialism or fascism. Socialism is an economic system where the means of production are owned and controlled by the state or the community as a whole ². Fascism is a political ideology that is characterized by extreme authoritarianism, nationalism, and often racism ³.

Giovanni Gentile was an Italian philosopher who was associated with fascism. He believed that fascism was the best form of socialism because it combined the benefits of socialism with the efficiency of capitalism ⁴. However, this view is not widely accepted and is considered controversial by many scholars.

So Bing’s Chat is even worse! It renames Fascism, ‘State Capitalism’ and then rejects the ‘father’ of Fascism’s opinion that it was a form of Socialism!  

But it is interesting to test these AI Chat systems by re-wording the questions as sometimes the deliberate bias that is clearly ‘pre-programmed’ into them is sometimes exposed in subtle ways.

For example, I also asked: ‘What was it that Giovanni Gentile called the best form of Socialism?’

And ChatGPT responded:

Giovanni Gentile, an Italian philosopher and politician, is often associated with the concept of "totalitarian socialism." He was a key intellectual figure in the development of Italian Fascism and had a significant influence on Benito Mussolini, the founder of the Italian Fascist movement. Gentile believed in a form of socialism that would be integrated into a totalitarian state, where the government would have complete control over all aspects of society, including the economy. This idea was reflected in his writings and philosophical contributions to the development of fascist ideology in Italy.

So again, ChatGPT tries it seems to rename Fascism here with a different title (‘totalitarian socialism’) as if Socialism was not normally totalitarian, but at the same time it still accepts the reality that Fascism is a form of Socialism.

Next I asked: ‘Does Fascism include the government control of private business?’

And ChatGPT responded:

Yes, fascism typically involves a significant degree of government control over private businesses and the economy. In fascist ideologies, the state is seen as the ultimate authority, and it plays a central role in directing and coordinating economic activities. While private ownership may technically exist, the government often exerts influence and control through regulations, directives, and collaboration with business leaders. The goal is to align economic interests with the state's political and national objectives.

In fascist regimes, such as Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, the government intervened heavily in the economy, forming corporatist structures where various interest groups, including businesses, were organized under the control of the state. This allowed the government to regulate and manipulate economic activities to serve the overarching goals of the fascist state, such as militarization, nationalism, and the consolidation of power. While the rhetoric might include terms like "corporatism" or "nationalization," the precise implementation can vary, and the emphasis is on the coordination of economic activities in service to the state's vision.

Here, ChatGPT is acknowledging that Fascism does indeed include ‘a significant degree of government control over private businesses and the economy’, and thus is clearly totalitarian. Here it even downplays the term ‘corporatism’ which seems to be often associated with Capitalism rather than Socialism.  

So, let’s assume you didn’t know any better (and had not heard of Gentile or even perhaps Mussolini), then the internet would convince you that Fascism was a Right-wing political ideology that included a strong component of Nationalism as well as Racism. But then you heard Right-wing people arguing that it was a form of Socialism (as per its founder, Gentile) and you were confused. It would be easy to dismiss the Right-wingers are deluded as everywhere you looked (at least in a cursory manner) you saw this basic agreement on what Fascism was. This is not helped by a poor grasp of what a rational and logical political spectrum looks like either (again as I will demonstrate).

So, if you are a critical thinker and not so easily convinced (perhaps because you have discovered that Big Tech and the MSM have an extremely Leftist agenda and are quick to produce ‘revisionist’ history), how might you investigate the matter more carefully and thoughtfully?

I would suggest in two ways. First, look to when Fascism was first proposed and where it was implemented. Who were its most significant proponents/adherents and how did they, themselves view it in terms of its political ideology. Did they see it as Right-wing, as a form of Capitalism with a strong Individualistic flavour, or did they see it as another Collectivist ideology under the umbrella of Socialism?

Clearly, as I have already noted the philosophical ‘father’ of Fascism, Giovanni Gentile saw it as a Socialistic ideology and it fact the ‘best form of Socialism’. What about other proponents of fascism when it was first promoted and implemented around a century ago?

Here, Major James Strachey Barnes (1890-1955) provides some great evidence. He was seduced by the lure of fascist ideology and became a strong supporter and advocate of fascist doctrine, both in its original Italian form and in its wider application.  This ItaIophile Englishman greatly admired Benito Mussolini and the doctrine of Fascism, and did everything possible to try to promote the creed as a ‘universal’ ideology, viewing it as a model with political prescriptions for all nations.

In turn Italian Fascist dictator Mussolini, endorsed his work and even wrote the Preface to one of his books. His key books were: The Universal Aspects of Fascism (1928), & Fascism (1931), the first being a detailed synthesis of Fascist doctrine. He also worked for Italian Fascist radio during World War 2, making English-language broadcasts in defence of both Fascism and Nazism.

He saw Fascism as a repudiation of what he called the ‘individualist mentality’. Thus he clearly saw it as moe Collectivist than Individualistic, which is a defining feature of all Right-wing ideologies.

Barnes was also convinced that Fascism, in general, was an ‘anti-materialist revolution’. Again, being anti-materialist is to reject Capitalism. He claimed that Fascism ‘is more universal than nationalist…’, which also rejects today’s Left-wing arguments as discussed above that Fascism is a ‘nationalistic’ movement. This false claim seems to be part and parcel of the attempt to associate Fascism with Right-wing movements such as the Trump MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement.

In his book ‘The Universal Aspects of Fascism’ he writes:

“… The corporative State considers that initiative in the field of production is the most efficacious and most useful instrument in the interests of Nation. The private organisation of production being function however of national interest the organiser of any economic undertaking shall be responsible to State for the direction given to production.” – pg 217

“… Intervention by the State in economic production should take place only when private initiative is lacking or is insufficient or when the political interests of the State are involved Such intervention may assume the form of supervision assistance or direct management.” – pg 218

“… The State shall ascertain and control the phenomenon of employment and unemployment of workers, the figures for which form an index of the conditions of production and of labour.” – pg 222

It should thus be clear that Fascism, as first introduced in Italy. was very much about control of the economy by the government (the State), while still in some sense being in private hands. This is the main distinction between this form of Socialism and Communism, where there is no ‘private’ business as the State owns and controls everything. Also, the historical evidence of Hitler’s Germany and the policies of his National Socialist party is clear that they also like Mussolini’s Italy practiced State control of private business.

That is, Hitler’s form of Socialism was also Fascist, and clearly given his ‘Final Solution’ (plan to exterminate all Jews) his form of Socialism was also extremely racist.

More quotes from Barnes on Fascism:

“Fascism may be described as the repudiation of that individualist mentality that found expression first in the Pagan Renaissance, then in the Reformation and later in the French Revolution, not to speak of the Industrial Revolution, which issued in " Capitalism” itself the product of the Reformation.”

Note: As a strong Roman Catholic, Barnes saw Fascism as very much in line with his religion where the Pope and the Church hierarchy have considerable power and sway over the church members. This is not a feature of most Protestant denominations which are much more in step with Right-wing ideologies of Individualism and freedom of expression in all aspects of life.

On his argument that Fascism was not just ‘Nationalistic’ or ‘Ultra-nationalistic’:

“… there is a universal aspect of Fascism independent, in a certain sense, of the Roman tradition. What I mean to say is simply this: that, although Japan, for instance, is in no sense an heir to Rome, nevertheless Japan, while maintaining her own traditions, might yet be, in a certain sense, a fascist State…

Sufficient has, however, already been said to explain what was meant by my allusion in Chapter I to the possibility of some country, like Japan, for instance-in no sense an heir to the Roman tradition, conforming its institutions to the fascist conception of the State. If the complete theory of the State which I have propounded is the product of European thought and civilisation, the greater part of it is applicable to all States indiscriminately, even though its full application and development may be impossible outside Christendom, or, in the last resort, outside Catholicism.

On his rejection of the (much later applied) label of Militarism, which he saw as a feature of Imperialism not Fascism:

Unfortunately many of those who are proud to call themselves Imperialists are of the very type which merits our reprobation, Militarists and adventurers, men without an idea in their heads beyond themselves, men without religion, greedy financiers, hunters of wealth for wealth's sake, men with the eyes of fish. But there are some, many of whom are or have been simple soldiers and sailor …”

Similarly Giovanni Gentile argued against Individualism and for Socialism’s Collectivist approach when he stated that only when the individual fully identifies with the community and its expression in the State is true freedom and democracy possible. Like Marxists-Leninists, Gentile held that the individual is unreal, restricted and unfree, outside the multiple relationships established in community with others.

For a very short and concise explanation of all this I recommend PragerU’s video clip here: https://www.prageru.com/video/is-fascism-right-or-left

So in reality, there is nothing socially Right wing about Fascism. The Right-wing opposes collectivism. Socialists, Nazis, Fascists, & Marxists are all collectivists. Bigots, racists, xenophobes are all, by definition Collectivists as well. Every fascist in history has been Left-wing.

As already referred to, Giovanni Gentile, a neo-Hegelian philosopher, was the intellectual author of the “doctrine of fascism,” which he wrote in conjunction with Benito Mussolini. Gentile’s sources of inspiration were thinkers such as Hegel, Nietzsche, and also Karl Marx. To repeat, he wrote: “Fascism is a form of socialism, in fact, it is its most viable form.”

Both Nazism and Fascism are socialist doctrines with minor differences (Socialism for example is not built on racism like Nazism). Again, under Fascism, the State, while allowing ‘private business’, controls all aspects of manufacturing, commerce, finance, and agriculture. It is a form of collectivism.

On the other-hand, the Right-wing is about Individualism and thus opposes Fascism. Hitler was a dedicated socialist, he stated: “We are socialists. We are the enemies of today’s system of capitalist exploitation … and we are determined to destroy this system under all conditions.”

Jordan Peterson points out that Collectivism does not actually care who you are but what your group identity is. It argues that the ‘Common Good’ outweighs the right’s of the individual.  This approach actually fails ethically and morally and has repeatedly been shown to fail politically.

With Individualism, Western society has historical traditions that place a very high value on individual freedom, on personal rights, and on allowing each person to "do her own thing". Western culture historically viewed society as comprised of separate independent individuals who are free to pursue their own individual goals and interests without interference from others.

Alternatively, when a nation or society starts with the principle of the ‘common good’, they most closely resemble Fascism or Statism. That is, a society where the government does not totally own everything (Communism), but a society where the government controls almost everything and especially the production of wealth. When the government controls major businesses or corporations, the vision of Fascism of Benito Mussolini is fulfilled.   Mussolini stated that “Fascism should more appropriately be called corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power.”

Jordan Peterson convincingly  argues that Collectivism Is tyranny under the guise of benevolence - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ze7J5FmUGR4

Finally, the ‘nail in the coffin’ to the argument that Fascism is Right-wing is to first appreciate that the most rational and logical political spectrum is one which goes from all forms of Total Government on the Left to No Government (i.e. anarchy) on the Right. An appreciation of this version of the political spectrum dates back at least some 50 years (it was presented In the 1971 book ‘None Dare Call It Conspiracy’ by Gary Allen and Larry Abraham). See chart below:

When viewed in this manner, it becomes abundantly clear that Fascism, while not quite as far Left as Communism, is most definitely very much a Leftist (State control) ideology, while the USA’s Limited Federal Government was originally designed to be as close to no government as practically possible, and thus very much on the Right and a strong form of Individualism. These few quotes from Thomas Jefferson, one of its founders, should also help illustrate that this ‘limited federal government’ was in no way Fascist, neither was it totalitarian (or racist).

Thomas Jefferson:

“Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add ‘within the limits of the law’ because the law is often but the tyrant’s will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual.”

“Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government, that whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights.”

“It is error alone which needs the support of the government. Truth can stand by itself.”

“Experience hath shown that even under the best forms of government, those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.”.

So it should be clear that Fascism and Nazism are Left-wing ideologies and in no way Right-wing or ‘Far-right’ (i.e. even closer to anarchy) as argued by the Left, Big Tech and the MSM.  

And the answer to the opening question that I posed is that it clearly suits the Left to distort reality as they recognize that having Fascism and Nazism included in their Leftist ideologies is rather unsettling and exposes their totalitarian policies to public scrutiny and rejection.