Communism v fascism v nazism PDF

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Communism v. Facism...

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_________________________________________________________________________________________________ Communism

Liberal democracies

Fascism

Fascism is a kind of government or political system that is all about the state. The growth and stability of the state is the most important thing under a fascist regime. Politically, fascists fall on the far right of the political spectrum, making them in many ways the opposite of communism. Liberal democratic governments would fall between communism and fascism. Communism purports to believe that the people are most important and everyone is equal and the state will eventually whither away once full equality is established; fascists think the state is the only mechanism that can provide stability and order and therefore benefit the people. And since the state is most important, individuals and their rights and liberties become less important. So fascists are also not liberals in that way, they are not strong supporters of civil rights. Fascism also is different from communism or socialism when it comes to the economy. Under communism, theoretically, all land and industry is supposedly held in common, and decisions about that land and industry is made in committees. Under fascism, however, there are still owners of land and businesses and there are still workers. There is still capitalism of a kind, with profits to be made. but workers and employers are subject to authority from the state. The state CAN make decisions when it comes to disputes between the two groups. So there is freedom to own businesses and make money, but final decisions rest with the state. In a fascist society, since the state is all-important, society is geared towards promoting and supporting the state in whatever way possible. People glorify the leaders of the state, the strength of the state is illustrated through the military. Women are supposed to have many children for the state and raise them to be good, patriotic members of the state. Under theoretical communism all people, whether formerly owner or worker, are equal. As such, since all are equal, no one owns more than any other. Indeed, no one owns anything since land and property and industry are held communally. All decisions regarding land and industry are made collectively in committees. Since all are equal and all are owners and workers together, there is no need for a government or state. Eventually, the state withers away. This is the end goal. Of course, communism must start with a revolution, a revolt of the proletariat against the bourgeoisie. Since all are equal, distinguishing between people (including men/women, etc.) becomes unacceptable. Lenin, faced with much dissent, had to retreat from full-on communism. Under his NEP, he allowed peasants to manage their own lands rather than committees to dictate to the peasants, he allowed some small business ownership to continue. Thus, there remained distinctions between owners and workers and some people were wealthier than others. The one area where Lenin managed to live up to theoretical communism in a way was with equality between men and women. Women gained legal and professional equality, but many still had the mindset that childrearing and homemaking was “women’s work”, so these women were legally equal but still did more work in the long run. In addition, the state did not “wither away” under Lenin. In fact, the Communist Party became more and more powerful, more and more dictatorial. Stalin, after coming to power, set up a series of Five Year Plans. Through these plans, Stalin wanted to industrialize Russia to catch up with and compete with the rest of the world. The communist government regulated all aspects of the economy, both industry and agriculture, rather than committees of workers like Marx had envisioned. To move peasants off the land so that more people could work in industry, Stalin collectivized the farms, meaning he created huge farms and used big machinery to farm them. Money made from agriculture was pumped into industry. So the government, rather than committees of workers, is making all the decisions. It might not be the traditional bourgeoisie making the decision, but it is not the workers themselves like Marx had envisioned. The government ends up becoming the owner and the people the workers (versus in the past the people were divided between owners and workers). Also divisions between sexes return.

Nazism, despite having names like “socialism” and “workers” in its political party name, was a fascist, rightwing ideology. The state, rather than individuals or people as a whole, was the most important thing under Nazism. Those on the left like communists and socialists as well as moderate liberal democrats were considered the enemy by Nazis. Nazi Germany thus shared similarities with fascist Italy under Mussolini. Although Nazism was definitely a fascist ideology, some similarities existed between Nazi German and communist Russia under Stalin. Nazism differed from both, however, in its focus on biological racism and anti-Semitism. Similarities with fascist Italy: • Paramilitary gangs (SA, brown shirts), focus on military strength • Society best served by strong, dictatorial state • Appealed to veterans, young men, lower middle-classes, land and factory owners • Family and women as mothers glorified, women in home • Capitalism remained in place, although more government regulation than in a liberal democracy Similarities with communist Russia: • Purges of party • Control of culture, propaganda, symbolism - Nazi art and Soviet realism • Secret police forces...