<![CDATA[Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Change]]>

false <![CDATA[Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Change]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255684955m/6314731.jpg 88634 8 “Fascists,” “Brownshirts,” “jackbooted stormtroopers”—such are the insults typically hurled at conservatives by their liberal opponents. Calling someone a fascist is the fastest way to shut them up, defining their views as beyond the political pale. But who are the real fascists in our midst? Liberal Fascism offers a startling new perspective on the theories and practices that define fascist politics. Replacing conveniently manufactured myths with surprising and enlightening research, Jonah Goldberg reminds us that the original fascists were really on the left, and that liberals from Woodrow Wilson to FDR to Hillary Clinton have advocated policies and principles remarkably similar to those of Hitler's National Socialism and Mussolini's Fascism. Contrary to what most people think, the Nazis were ardent socialists (hence the term “National socialism”). They believed in free health care and guaranteed jobs. They confiscated inherited wealth and spent vast sums on public education. They purged the church from public policy, promoted a new form of pagan spirituality, and inserted the authority of the state into every nook and cranny of daily life. The Nazis declared war on smoking, supported abortion, euthanasia, and gun control. They loathed the free market, provided generous pensions for the elderly, and maintained a strict racial quota system in their universities—where campus speech codes were all the rage. The Nazis led the world in organic farming and alternative medicine. Hitler was a strict vegetarian, and Himmler was an animal rights activist. Do these striking parallels mean that today’s liberals are genocidal maniacs, intent on conquering the world and imposing a new racial order? Not at all. Yet it is hard to deny that modern progressivism and classical fascism shared the same intellectual roots. We often forget, for example, that Mussolini and Hitler had many admirers in the United States. W.E.B. Du Bois was inspired by Hitler's Germany, and Irving Berlin praised Mussolini in song. Many fascist tenets were espoused by American progressives like John Dewey and Woodrow Wilson, and FDR incorporated fascist policies in the New Deal. Fascism was an international movement that appeared in different forms in different countries, depending on the vagaries of national culture and temperament. In Germany, fascism appeared as genocidal racist nationalism. In America, it took a “friendlier,” more liberal form. The modern heirs of this “friendly fascist” tradition include the New York Times, the Democratic Party, the Ivy League professoriate, and the liberals of Hollywood. The quintessential Liberal Fascist isn't an SS storm trooper; it is a female grade school teacher with an education degree from Brown or Swarthmore. These assertions may sound strange to modern ears, but that is because we have forgotten what fascism is. In this angry, funny, smart, contentious book, Jonah Goldberg turns our preconceptions inside out and shows us the true meaning of Liberal Fascism. 85536 8 1 2007 Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left from Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning total:529|5:200|4:190|3:91|2:27|1:21| 529 2108 1257 201 5 9 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 19 20:37:06 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 20 12:11:47 -0800 2008
Much of liberalism confused the hell out of me. From F.D.R.'s internment of the japanese, to enviromentali...more...]]> 3 6 true false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 20 11:03:59 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 31 12:36:11 -0700 2008 I gave Mr. Goldberg's book 3 stars for creativity and inventiveness. PLEASE this is not an academic work but an attempt to show parallels between Hitler's Nazism, Mussolini's Fascism and the administrations of Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, John F.Kennedy, Bill Cl...more...]]> 3 3 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Apr 28 09:08:28 -0700 2008 Mon May 05 08:37:18 -0700 2008
The main thing I learned from this book: The political spectrum can not easily be divided into Christian vs. atheist or intellectual vs. uneducated or rich vs. poor. Fascism is about using government to create an ideal or evolved state, at the co...more...]]> 5 5 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 06 13:28:16 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 06 13:28:16 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 3 false false Wed Sep 03 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 01 21:44:15 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 19 11:06:00 -0700 2008 1
Entertainment: +.5 Stars
Education: +1 Star
Readability: +.5 star
Innovation: +.5 Stars
Inspiration: +.5 Stars

Good points made by the author.

1. Fascism is a misused term that is often unfairly applied to conservatives. ...more...]]> 5 3 false false Tue Apr 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 15 21:31:53 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 15 22:16:53 -0700 2008
This is a fascinating book. Jonah Goldberg traces the history of "Fascism", from Rousseau through Bismarck, the ...more...]]> 5 2 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Thu Jan 10 12:04:03 -0800 2008 Sun Apr 13 20:11:27 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Sun Aug 03 20:22:33 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 05 20:43:12 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 03 20:22:33 -0700 2008
Way back in high school government class, I was taught that communism was on the extreme left of "the political spectrum," whereas fascism was on the extreme right. This always threw me for a loop; ...more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Jun 17 22:05:30 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 18 17:41:46 -0700 2008 This is an incredible book. Some people will be turned off by the provocative title and cover, but don't be fooled: this isn't some Ann Coulterish to...more...]]> 5 2 false false Sun Apr 27 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 08 12:48:38 -0700 2008 Thu May 15 08:58:44 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 2 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 01 08:35:21 -0700 2008 Sat Mar 07 08:40:44 -0800 2009 more...]]> 0 1 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Mar 31 09:32:38 -0700 2008 Fri Apr 11 16:11:46 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Tue Apr 08 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Mar 19 19:08:51 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 08 20:07:35 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Fri Aug 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 09 10:18:10 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 15 21:49:34 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Jul 06 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 05 13:51:58 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 06 14:29:08 -0700 2008
A few years ago, Goldberg's got into a tizzy about left-wing (read: liberal) writers calling G.W. Bush a "fascis...more...]]> 4 1 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 15 13:07:06 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 15 13:22:25 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Mar 09 12:58:30 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 09 13:09:32 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Mar 06 14:45:19 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 06 15:06:43 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Feb 22 12:13:37 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 22 12:13:55 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jan 16 08:53:58 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 16 19:00:00 -0800 2009
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