Monday, May 05, 2008
“Liberal Fascism…” The Not So Secret History of The American Left
...If I had the time, energy, and intelligence to do so, this is the book I would liked to have written.
If the average leftist were to merely read the title of Jonah Goldberg’s new best selling book they’d likely think it was just another “right-wing rant” that seeks to point out what is obvious to so many conservatives and libertarians; Leftists (“liberals” or “progressives”) are Fascists (!). Assuming from the title that Goldberg’s book deals with this issue simply and without supporting historical facts would be a mistake.
The Term "Fascism" is, of course, tossed around a lot when leftists seek to brand anyone's ideas they disagree with as unworthy of acknowledgment. But, can the right legitimately use the "F" word when describing the left...? Yes, they can and should because, as Goldberg thoroughly proves, they'd be correct in doing so.
Although the author does not intend his book to be taken as scholarly or academic, it is indeed just that. A rich array of facts from the French Revolution and America’s so-called “Progressive Era” through the present, that details and proves beyond a reasonable doubt that today’s “liberalism” is a kindred spirit to fascism (and no, it is not hyperbole to say this).
People like myself have known for some time now that Mussolini was a follower of Marx to his dying days. We know too that NAZI stood for National Socialist German Worker’s Party. We've looked with warranted suspicion upon the philosophies articulated under the label "post-modern" and have realized that the philosophers who most influenced Nazis and Fascists are the same ones with the same ideals that have influenced and motivated the "revolutions" of the left.
Those who have some genuine knowledge of the left and its beliefs know that Fascism, Nazism, Communism, and a wide variety of socialisms have a great deal in common with each other. No matter how heretical they may see each other, their common enemy has first and foremost always been free, open, pluralistic, non-utopian, capitalist society.
As a former secondary school history teacher I can testify to the skewed themes and “information” that classrooms and textbooks have sought to inculcate in youth. So it is that the very words “progressive” or “liberal” have come to mean good, caring, loving, kind, and humanistic. An accurate inquiry into the history of leftism however finds it all too often to mean, racist, nationalistic, militaristic, authoritarian, and anti-individualistic -- fascist. The average high school student is told to read Upton Sinclair's, "The Jungle" and is told of the wonderful things "Progressives" did to "protect us" from ourselves...but, how often is the term eugenics associated with "progressivism," as it should be?
Goldberg's book is not a pedestrian conservative attack on the left, it's a very informative, interesting, and richly discerning inquiry into the history of authoritarian political movements and the psychological motivations that drive them. If one seeks a good overview of the philosophy of various "isms" that have sought to wrest control of the individual from his or herself for the glories of collectivist and state power, this is the best book I've seen on the subject.
Goldberg's, "Liberal Fascism" is long overdue and provides depth and honesty to the issues of history, political philosophy, and culture.
