[MCN] Who gains most from demonizing socialism? Polarization on steroids in America today

[Lance Olsen]

Fascisti. n.plural. A body of Italian nationalists, organized March 1919, to oppose Bolshevism in Italy. Under the leadership of Benito Mussolini, it assumed control of the government in October 1922. Fascism. n. The policy and practices of the fascisti. The doctrine imposes centralized authority, national registration, paternalism for industry and commerce, and press censorship; it opposes feminism, parliamentary government and democratic institutions.
Fascist. n. One of the fascisti.

Funk & Wagnalls New Standard Dictionary of the English Language. 1938

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“The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself,” Roosevelt said in 1938. “That, in its essence, is Fascism—ownership of Government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power.”

To FDR and Wallace, the domestic fascist threat in the United States was a grave concern and it came primarily from “monopolists” and “cartelists,” who to protect their privileges “would sacrifice democracy itself.” “If we define an American fascist as one who in case of conflict puts money and power ahead of human beings, then there are undoubtedly several million fascists in the United States,” Wallace wrote. 

He explained that “the American fascist would prefer not to use violence. His method is to poison the channels of public information.” In the view of FDR and Wallace, a fascist power grab would not require a violent rupture so much as a quiet takeover orchestrated by elements of the capitalist class. The United States would experience its own home-grown All-American fascism. 

“They claim to be super-patriots, but they would destroy every liberty guaranteed by the constitution,” Wallace wrote. “Their final objective toward which all their deceit is directed is to capture political power so that, using the power of the state and the power of the market simultaneously, they may keep the common man in eternal subjection.”

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