From: Scribe1865-AT-aol.com Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 22:52:22 EDT Subject: Re: Defining Islamism Heliogab writes 'but right-wing facsists were in complete control - meaning they used 'socialism' much like Eric uses the term, as a mask and a straw-person." ------------------- I was using "socialism" as a political theory. Socialists believe in government ownership of all economic entities and land. That's the defining characteristic in my nonconservative opinion. (Sure he disbanded trade unions, but he maintained the distinguishing characteristic of statist control.) The innovation of national socialist fascism was to realize that central government did not have to OWN all economic entities in order to have total power over them. Thus, fascists tend to be extremely authoritarian and also comprehensive regulators. (Consider Hitler's fastidious rules about how to kill lobsters.) Both ideologies -- and this is where leftism comes in by definition -- are based on the subjugation of individual liberty and free markets by the agents of the state. Now, was Hitler a "true" leftist? Not in the utopian (let's-all-hold-hands) sense bruited about on this List, but by the definition of government control and exercise of power, he certainly was. Eric NYC --- from list nietzsche-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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