u/WeWantTheFunk120 - originally from r/GenZhou
Just to make things clear before I start, this is NOT because I want to give Liberals the benefit of the doubt. Liberals are useless idiots for Imperialism and Western Chauvinist that must be opposed all the same. Why I dislike calling them Fascist is more pedantic.
It's pretty common for MLs to say "Scratch a Liberal, a Fascist bleeds" or the famous Stalin quote "Social Democracy is objectively the moderate form of Fascism". Here's why I disagree with these assessments and don't think this is the case" Fascism as an ideology is inherently ANTI-liberalism and ANTI-democracy, therefore they are completely incompatible and opposite to Western Liberalism.
When I was 18/19, I was curious about what Fascism actually was and delved deep into researching its ideology. This was because I found out the American school system and MSM lied to me about America being the beacon of Freedom and Democracy^(tm) and doing everything overseas out of altruism, thus I began to wonder what else they were lying to me about. I began wondering if they were also lying to me about Fascism and Hitler, so I read the Doctrine of Fascism by Mussolini and Gentile and parts of Mein Kampf (before I got bored and dropped it). Now, obviously I was not convinced at all by them, as the ideas espoused in them are incredibly easy to debunk, but I was surprised to find out Fascism actually had a defined ideology behind it.
What Fascism, as outlined by Mussolini and Gentile themselves, advocated for is total and complete authoritarianism within a mixed, Corporatist economy. Fascism is fundamentally opposed to Communism, Anarchism, Liberalism (here in the Classical sense), and Democracy. Fascism believes absolute Statism and the state controlling all sectors of society as well as openly advocating for Cults of Personality. Basically, real Fascism is unironically what Liberal propaganda thinks North Korea is. Fascism entirely rejects Classical Liberalism (what we in the US today call Libertarianism) and free-market capitalism, as well as Social Liberalism (What makes up todays so-called "American Left"):
"Fascism is definitely and absolutely opposed to the doctrines of liberalism, both in the political and the economic sphere. The importance of liberalism in the 19th century should not be exaggerated for present day polemical purposes, nor should we make of one of the many doctrines which flourished in that century a religion for mankind for the present and for all time to come. " - Page 5.
Fascists were clearly opposed to the Laissez-faire capitalism advocated for by todays US Conservatives and Libertarians. And this was shown in practice by the fact that by 1939, 4/5 of Italy's economy was State-owned and Nazi Germany had incredible power over its private corporations.
Fascists advocated for Corporatism/National Syndicalism. A sort of highly-regulated State Capitalism in which the Bourgeoisie and Proletariat would cooperate with each other through the Fascist state rather than abolish class altogether:
" No individuals or groups (political parties, cultural associations, economic unions, social classes) outside the State. Fascism is therefore opposed to Socialism to which unity within the State (which amalgamates classes into a single economic and ethical reality) is unknown, and which sees in history nothing but the class struggle. Fascism is likewise opposed to trade unionism as a class weapon. But when brought within the orbit of the State, Fascism recognizes the real needs which gave rise to socialism and trade unionism, giving them due weight in the guild or corporative system in which divergent interests are coordinated and harmonized in the unity of the State." - Page 2
So this is why I don't believe in calling Western Liberals, Conservatives and Libertarians "Fascists", because the ideology is fundamentally incompatible and opposed to them. There is a reason why after murdering all the Communist and Socialists, Fascists then went on to ruthlessly persecute the Liberals. And the reason I am making a big deal out of this is because we can all agree that Fascist has been obscenely overused as an insult to the point of meaning absolutely nothing today. It's bad enough we have Anarcunts (such as the dumbshits on r/tankiejerk) calling everyone and everything under the sun fascist, or Conservative grifters like Ben Shapiro and Steven Crowder saying that Communism is Fascist, I don't think we should further contribute to its misuse. This does not mean Liberals are still not the enemy, but I wouldn't call them Fascists. I believe we should only reserve the term for people who are actually Fascists by every definition of the word.
If you disagree, please let me know why. I am interested to hear your opinion.