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Monday, October 20, 2008

6. How dare anyone call liberals fascists? Liberals and progressives are good people!

First, the term "liberal fascism" was not invented by Jonah Goldberg. It was first coined by science fiction writer and science popularizer H.G. Wells, who thought it a splendid term - for a splendid idea. Goldberg explains,
Nor did Wells coin the phrase as an indictment, but as a badge of honor. Progressives must become "liberal fascists" and "enlightened Nazis," he told the Young Liberals at Oxford in a speech in July 1932." (p. 21)
Yes, enlightened Nazis ....
I am asking for a Liberal Fascisti, for enlightened Nazis (p. 135)
Wells himself was a devout liberal fascist, and as Goldberg notes,
"Wells's fiction was so thinly veiled in its praise for fascism that the attentive reader can only squirm." (p. 135)
In any event, liberal fascists might very well be good people, provided that your definition of "good" does not require respect for the civil liberties of others. They neither respect them nor believe they should respect them.

Next: 7. Do liberal fascists single out specific people as targets to attack?

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