Today's Bad Guys Truly are Fascists

Self-described "progressives" seldom respond well to being labeled fascists. They usually consider themselves to be the very antithesis.

But, as I wrote in my column last weekend, "The real political spectrum 101," they really are not so different. In fact, I'd be hard-pressed to find any substantive difference.

Even moderate Democrats today, people like Pat Caddell, are calling today's American "progressives" — people like Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid — "statists." Can any reasonable observer deny they are just that? Don't they believe the state has the answer to all problems? Don't their actions suggest they think government can pretty much always do a better job than the private sector? Are they the folks pushing the "public-private partnerships"? Heck, didn't they facilitate the public takeover of General Motors?

Not to put too fine a point on it, but those are the very definitions of "fascism." The political ideology of fascism has nothing to do with killing Jews or even imperialistic ambitions. It has to do with government controlling corporations, doling out favors to some and punishing others, and harnessing the power of success by corporations for the benefit of the state.

Again, it's a tiny step short of communism, which calls for state ownership of the means of production. Fascists like Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler recognized the inefficiency and foolishness of that utopian notion.

Mussolini put it this way: "Fascism should rightly be called corporatism as it is a merger of state and corporate power."

Here's another key quote: "State intervention in economic production arises only when private initiative is lacking or insufficient, or when the political interests of the state are involved. This intervention may take the form of control, assistance or direct management."

Sound familiar yet? The state was God in both fascist Italy and fascist Germany. And it is rapidly becoming God in the United States.

Again, listen to Mussolini: "It is the state which educates citizens in civic virtue, gives them a consciousness of their mission, and welds them into unity."

And if you don't believe me when I say that fascism is simply another form of left-wing socialism, read Mussolini's history.

I don't suppose I have to remind this sophisticated audience that's how the Nazis got their name — "national socialism."

Once again, the take-away is this: What is right now strangling the historical framework of individual rights and self-government in America today is not communism. It's fascism. That's the proper term for what Obama and Pelosi and Reid are all about.

They may like to call themselves "progressives." So did Mussolini. So did Hitler. They may publicly reject the notion that they are socialists. Mussolini and Hitler were a little more candid.

This is not to suggest that Obama and Pelosi and Reid are setting up America for death camps. But fascism certainly means less freedom. Fascism certainly means the state comes first. Fascism certainly places little emphasis on the rights of individuals.

Again, communism and fascism are ideological kissing cousins. They are not, as many "progressives" like to suggest, opposite ends of the political spectrum. They couldn't be any closer. All forms of socialism, collectivism and state tyranny are on the left side of the political spectrum. On the opposite end is no government — anarchy.

What's the center of the political spectrum? Limited self-government under the rule of law and accountable to the will of the people — just the unique formula invented by America's founders.

Therefore, I can proudly and accurately say, "I'm a centrist — just like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and James Madison."

To find out more about Joseph Farah and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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