A Nazi Behind Every Tree

Are terms like Fascist and Nazi overused? Before we begin, as Socrates would say, let's define our terms:

Fascism (From The Free Dictionary)
a. A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.

b. A political philosophy or movement based on or advocating such a system of government.

2. Oppressive, dictatorial control.

Adolf and Benito
German national socialism and Italian fascism were kissing cousins, both growing out of Socialism and violently opposing classical liberalism and traditional aristocratic conservatism. Nazism just happened to have the additional component of virulent racism.

Mussolini was a prolific writer and thinker for the socialist cause before he came to power. Both movements hated communism because of its international flavor and Russian roots. To appeal to the masses, Mussolini and Hitler adopted much of the Communist agenda, threw the international stuff overboard, and added in conservative nationalistic elements.

Fascism includes:

* Grab the corporations by the throat and challenge them: You're either with the state or you're against us!
* No more collective bargaining--The state is looking after the worker now. Unions only march on companies the state has declared evil
* Central control by the state of everything, from schools, to commerce to public health.
* Manipulation of societal institutions such as church, family and community

An excellent short history on the intersection of fascism, communism and conservatism can be found here: Mises - Liberalism vs Fascism

Is Obama a Fascist?
While I wholeheartedly agree that the term Nazi has been completely overused, I agree with libertarian professor Tibor Machan, who draws parallels between that hated German regime and our current Obama administration. The connection is not Jew hatred, death camps or the other odious aspects of Hitler's reign.

The connection Machan makes is the belief in Keynesianism: That government can stimulate the economy by "priming the pump," and generally run the economy best by centralizing control (aggregated production).

“It is interesting that so many Obama supporters are invoking the name of John Maynard Keynes as they promote the current official approach to dealing with the economy because of a little known fact about Keynes. He wrote an introduction to the German translation of his famous book, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, in which he said that his ideas were especially applicable to the way a dictatorship is supposed to be governed!

As Keynes wrote there, ‘the theory of aggregated production, which is the point of the following book, nevertheless can be much easier adapted to the conditions of a totalitarian state [einestotalen Staates] than the theory of production and distribution of a given production put forth under conditions of free competition and a large degree of laissez-faire.’

Yes, Fascist and Nazi are Overused Words (but so are Love, Hero, and Ironic)
I do think terms like fascist and Nazi are overused, but what are we to conclude upon looking at where our government is headed: Ownership or dragooning of private companies, picking winners and losers, worming its way into the family, mobilizing private citizens in the cause of supporting the leader (acorn, americorps). And now, a health care industry takeover.

This didn’t start with Obama, but I think we’ve finally hit the point where too many issues have converged. For the first time, we can see it all at once, and we don’t like it.

Fascism is here, it is real, and both parties indulge in it. Congress could pass a few simple laws to protect the chronically uninsured and pay for it with tort reform. Instead, they chose to tack on more hideous mechanical claws to the clanking government monstrosity.