Is there a limit to how much bullshit neo-con pundits can throw at us? Evidently not. I’m of the opinion they believe that if they hurl enough, some of it may stick to the wall. Rich Lowry has displayed his blissful ignorance, in touting the new book Liberal Fascism, written by his crony at the National Review, Jonah Goldberg. The book contends that Hitler and Mussolini were Liberal left-wingers and that today’s Progressives have intellectually inherited their Fascism. Of course, Goldberg substantiates his allegations with his usual Because I said so resources. This would be laughable, if not for the mindless sheeple who blindly accept the ranting of these lunatics as gospel.
Let’s now examine the idiocy of Goldberg’s phrase Liberal Fascism. It’s one of most egregious oxymorons I have ever heard, which in my opinion far surpasses such pairings as Virtual Reality and Tax Return. The words Liberal and Fascism could not be more diametrically opposed.
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a Liberal is defined as one who is open-minded or not strict in the observance of orthodox, traditional, or established forms or ways. To the contrary; Fascism is described as a political philosophy which stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition. and a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control . Does this sound familiar?
Most people would deem Liberals as those on the Left; and Conservatives as those on the Right. The question remains: Is Fascism an extreme-right or extreme-left philosophy?
The Oxford English Dictionary describes Fascism as an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government.. There are countless other references to Fascism as being on the extreme right; such as the book The Radical Right in Central & Eastern Europe since 1989, written by Sabrina P. Ramet. This is also addressed in Geoff Boucher’s 2006 article Postmodern Neofascism: Contemporary Rightwing Extremism in the Metropolitan Countries, and in the March 2004 article Roads to Fascism: Sixty Years Later by Roderick T. Long, Associate Professor of Philosophy at (Conservative) Auburn University.
I have not found one reference to Fascism as being Liberal or left-wing. However, in Lowry’s and Goldberg’s cases, when do facts ever enter into the equation?