Do you know what I’ve been doing since morning? Explaining to my students why “Communism” and “Fascism” are not interchangeable terms. The stupid mass media throw around words like “fascism,” “Communism” and “socialism” all over the place to the point where they become emptied of all meaning. I keep explaining and explaining, yet the students keep saying, “But Communism and fascism are both against free enterprise, so they’ve got to be the same” and “fascists and communists are all leftists.”
5 responses to “Terminology Confusion”
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You could always try pointing out that in Nazi Germany, people suspected of communism were killed.
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And vice versa!
OK, good idea, I will do that right now since the discussion still rages on.
I’m glad, though, that students want to discuss.
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Fascism is emotional authoritarianism. Communism is rational authoritarianism.
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Fascism is bad, … ergo, ‘leftist’. QED. IMO, it’s more about tribal identification than analytic thinking. ‘Explaining’ the differences to them is talking to the wrong part of their brains.
If you haven’t done so, you might try listening to Rush Limbaugh and/or the Fox News talk shows. I suspect that is the sea your students swim in.
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Yes, I’ve watched Fox news a few times. Still have nightmares.
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
Clarissa's Blog 
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