Because libertarians and right wingers, on average, don't know what words mean, I thought that the following definitions might be useful:
1. Socialism means that the means of production are publicly, not privately, owned. Socialists believe that workers (whether or not through the intermediacy of the State) should seize the means of production. If the means of production either have not been seized, or else, are not in the process of being seized, we are simply not talking about socialism. It should be further be noted that limited areas of socialization (e.g., the UK's NHS) are compatible with a general market economy.
2. Fascism signifies the authoritarianism of the State, and should best be understood, as Benito Mussolini sums it up, as "Everything within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state." This should be distinguished from communism (the authoritarianism of the proletariat) and Nazism (the authoritarianism of the race). What unites all three of these things is that they are authoritarian, and, thus, collectivist. The individual is completely subordinated to some greater whole; the individual doesn't matter; the collective, and only the collective, matters.
Authoritarianism is NOT simply having a State, laws, social spending, etc. State authority/action/intervention is compatible with individual civil liberties.
Indeed, the fact that these things are not authoritarian can be displayed clearly by asking a single question: "To what end, and to whose benefit, do we have, say, food stamps? Is it for the good of the collective? Of the State?"
And the answer is no. It's for the benefit of the individual.
But, of course, this thread is pointless, because libertarians and right wingers likely already know this. The reason that they prefer to use these terms is, not because they feel it is an accurate description of views opposed to theirs, but because of the strong negative connotations that these words have.
Libertarians and right wingers are fundamentally dishonest actors/liars.
1. Socialism means that the means of production are publicly, not privately, owned. Socialists believe that workers (whether or not through the intermediacy of the State) should seize the means of production. If the means of production either have not been seized, or else, are not in the process of being seized, we are simply not talking about socialism. It should be further be noted that limited areas of socialization (e.g., the UK's NHS) are compatible with a general market economy.
2. Fascism signifies the authoritarianism of the State, and should best be understood, as Benito Mussolini sums it up, as "Everything within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state." This should be distinguished from communism (the authoritarianism of the proletariat) and Nazism (the authoritarianism of the race). What unites all three of these things is that they are authoritarian, and, thus, collectivist. The individual is completely subordinated to some greater whole; the individual doesn't matter; the collective, and only the collective, matters.
Authoritarianism is NOT simply having a State, laws, social spending, etc. State authority/action/intervention is compatible with individual civil liberties.
Indeed, the fact that these things are not authoritarian can be displayed clearly by asking a single question: "To what end, and to whose benefit, do we have, say, food stamps? Is it for the good of the collective? Of the State?"
And the answer is no. It's for the benefit of the individual.
But, of course, this thread is pointless, because libertarians and right wingers likely already know this. The reason that they prefer to use these terms is, not because they feel it is an accurate description of views opposed to theirs, but because of the strong negative connotations that these words have.
Libertarians and right wingers are fundamentally dishonest actors/liars.
