Jonah Goldberg prefaces his book, Liberal Fascism, with a disclaimer – and to ease the pain for all the sensitive, sentimental liberals out there, it’s probably not a bad good idea: “I do not believe liberals are evil, villainous or bigoted … I have not written a book about how all liberals are Nazis or fascists. … Liberals today are not responsible for what their forefathers believed.”
“Nazis,” “Fascists,” and “Brownshirts,” are common insults hurled at conservatives from the left. Goldberg seeks to not only debunk such mythical slander, but toss back the metaphorical labels on those who make such claims.
Liberal Fascism is a political, historical, and economic account of past and modern “Fascist” leaders, covering everyone from Hitler and Mussolini of Europe, to FDR, Woodrow Wilson, and Hillary Clinton of the United States.
Goldberg first reminds us – or for many, reveals to us - that Hitler and his administration were ardent socialists, hence the term “National Socialism.” Hitler believed in free healthcare, implemented high spending on public education, and structured a state-run corporate enterprise system - and the mass majority of Nazis despised free market capitalism. The Nazis supported abortion, opposed smoking, encouraged gun control, and provided lavish benefits to the elderly.
So, in turn, Goldberg poses the question: “Does this all sound familiar?”
Goldberg is careful not to imply that modern liberalism advocates mass genocide – as Hitler and Mussolini did – but that the social and economic attributes of modern liberalism share a striking parallel with the intellectual roots of 20th century European Fascism.
This book is provocative but insightful, and if you enjoy history, along with a right-leaning view of 20th century politics, this book will surely be placed at the front of your book shelf.
Of course, depending on who you have over to your home, you may want to move it to the back.
Rating: 5 Stars
