Tom Luxsox Coins

Fascism Coin

The Battle Of The Ages -- Words And Language Versus Thoughts And Ideas

Thoughts and ideas are expressed with words and language but there is too much meaning placed on the words and not enough exploration of the ideas that the words represent. If the words sound good, if they are soothing words that make people feel good about themselves then people are unlikely to explore the real meaning. Call it intellectual laziness; this conflict is the dictator's best friend.

Joseph Goebbels is known for having said "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." The rest of that quote is lesser known. He continued "The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."

The propaganda methods that Goebbels spoke of have been used throughout history. Whether as a citizen, a consumer, a student, an employee, or a spouse (especially as a spouse!) people should be aware of words designed to manipulate, rather than inform. Ayn Rand once said "Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong." Too often, the consumer of information assumes that he SHOULD accept the information at face value and is afraid to question it for fear of seeming an outcast, or worse, he may fear being scorned for being too stupid to understand the greater good of the propaganda that is being spoon fed to him. This fear is the propagandist's best friend.

A good example is the current health care debate in the US. This debate has taken many turns but the basic premise doesn't go challenged. Is it about reducing costs? Whose costs? Is each individual responsible for the medical costs of others? It's the government's job to budget for the government; it's my job to budget for myself. Once it becomes the responsibility of one person to pay for the care of another, then everyone else has an incentive to get involved in the way we each live our lives. No one has the right to tell me how to spend money -- or worse - take it away from me to force me to buy a product that I don't want. We all need food, shelter, a way to make a living, some entertainment once in a while, and a 54 inch plasma TV. Should we share the costs on those also?

If Obama was interested in reducing costs, then he would enforce the border, where people coming here illegally are putting an incredible financial strain on the medical system. He would promote tort reform, so that doctors wouldn't have to send patients for needless tests just to protect themselves. He would allow free competition across state lines for health insurance which would reduce prices. He might also look into whether states should mandate insurance companies to cover non-essential procedures which provide incentive for people to get elective procedures which they may not need or want if it weren't provided on someone else's dime. When Obama speaks the words "save money" or "reduce costs" (and by the way if you google those phrases you'll find that he says them almost as much as he says "I"), the translation is more government power and less freedom for the individual. He is like a car salesman that goes on and on with lies and faulty logic but the nightmare is that as a consumer, you don't have the freedom to walk away from it! You are forced to buy the "car" with money that they take right out of your pocket.

Thomas Sowell once said that if the democrats came up with a plan that would mandate all citizens to jump off of a 100 story building, a week later the republicans would come up with a plan to mandate all citizens to jump off of a 50 story building. This health care debate is about whether to jump off of a 50 story or a 100 story building and before getting into the specifics of the plan, we should ask "Is it a good idea to be jumping off of buildings?"

Stuart Chase, a writer in the 1930s, pointed out in his book "The Tyranny of Words" that words ending in "ism" are misused more than most. These words represent concepts which can't be defined simply, yet the mere mention of them invokes images of pure evil in some and pure joy in others. Words such as fascism, industrialism, communism, capitalism have meanings based on emotion but not too many people actually know what these words really mean. One word cannot define a complex political/economic system. Ask someone to tell you the meaning of fascism and what you'll get is something such as "evil, tyranny, bad government, totalitarian...." But not too many people can go further.

Fascism is often portrayed as the opposite of communism when in fact; they are two sides of the same coin. Fascism is positioned on the right and communism on the left. In reality, both fascism and communism subjugate the rights of individuals, the family, self protection, religious freedom, the right to own property, and many other rights taken for granted, to the state. The state decides what you can own, where you can worship, even how many children you can have. These are not opposites -- they are basically the same! Yet fascism is often linked with capitalism, not with its brother communism.

The word capitalism is also misleading. The term implies a society based on capital. The US is not a society based on capital, it is a society based on freedom. It is this freedom that makes "capitalism" the true opposite of both communism and fascism. The word capitalism implies that capital is at the root of a free society rather than the result of a free society. It is a derogatory term coined by none other than Karl Marx. Using the word capitalism undermines what a free market is. Its very use calls upon assumptions that are not true.

While there are some words that are misleading, others are sophisticated euphemisms. On September 11, 2001, the worst attack in American history took place on American soil. When we refer to that horrific day, we say "9-11". After December 7, 1941, people didn't call the Pearl Harbor attack "12-7". They called it a sneak attack and said some not too complimentary things about the people that did the attack. Admiral Halsey said "Before we're through with them, the Japanese language will be spoken only in hell!" We have to stop pretending that reality is something it isn't. Barack Obama refuses to even use the word "terrorism". On September 11, 2001, people went to work and found themselves trapped in a burning building knowing they were about to die. One minute, they were thinking about lunch, their weekend plans, and their work schedule - all of a sudden they were faced with the end of their lives. Using the phrase 9-11 doesn't do them justice and it doesn't speak to the evil that occurred on that day. It doesn't sound like a Madison Ave jingle and it shouldn't - it was the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, not a date and not a number.

Sometimes words just seem to pop up out of thin air. Some political consultant decides that there is a new word to be used and all the networks, pundits and politicians go with the word in lock step. One such word was "gravitas". In 2000, when Bush was running against Gore, the democrats came out and said he lacked "gravitas". All of a sudden all the people on television were talking about "gravitas". In the last campaign the word "transparency" was the word of the day. Politicians should learn how to talk to people, not by using a word such as "transparency" but by explaining how as citizens, we have a right to know what our government is doing. Words repeated over and over lose their meaning and that's what politicians rely on. As for the word "gravitas", after a grand explosion on the political scene in 2000, it seems to have gone back into hiding. No point in bringing out the word "gravitas" when there is a democratic president who lacks "gravitas". George Orwell understood why politicians will bring words such as "gravitas" up from the basement, dust them off and use them. He said "If you simplify your English, you are freed from the worst follies of orthodoxy...Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful...to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind."

About the Author

Fascism $1.49 Fascism Vinyl Sticker black background with white wording as seen above

Fascism In Colour $6.99 Fascism In Colour

Italian Fascism $19.99 Italian Fascism - Masterprint

got fascism? $1.49 got fascism? Vinyl Sticker Black with white lettering

Folk Against Fascism Vol.1 $8.99 Folk Against Fascism Vol.1

The History Of Italian Fascism $23.99 The History Of Italian Fascism

The Fascism Reader $157.3 The Fascism Reader is a fascinating and wide-ranging introduction to the complex nature, limits, aspects and dynamics of fascism as both ideology and practice. The book draws together classic and recent interpretations to trace the development of generic fascism. Exploring fascism in all its diverse manifestations, this book discusses the classic examples of National Socialism in Germany and Fascism in Italy, as well as a series of less familiar movements and regimes, including the Iron Guard in Romania, the British Union of Fascists, Salazar's dictatorship in Portugal and Franco's regime in Spain. The Fascism Reader explores all the key aspects of fascism including: the essence and limitations of generic fascism the intellectual and ideological dimensions of fascism regimes of fascism as particular models of the exercise of power fascism and society - from anti-Semitism to fascist attitudes to women. A must for all students of European history, sociology and politics.

Fascism and Ideology $68.51 Fascism and Ideology. Definitions of fascism, Totalitarianism, Economics of fascism, The Doctrine of Fascism, Neo fascism, Fascist (epithet), Italian Fascism Author: Miller, Frederic P./ Vandome, Agnes F./ McBrewster, John Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 72 Publication Date: 2009/11/03 Language: English Dimensions: 5.98 x 9.01 x 0.17 inches

Facing Fascism $136 This book provides a complete history of the Conservative party from 1935 to 1940 and explores its responses to the problems of fascism.

Marxism, Fascism, and Totalitarianism $24.95 A study of the evolution of traditional Marxism into Stalinism and Fascism.

From Liberalism to Fascism $48 An innovative study explaining the emergence of French fascism in the 1930s.

Early Warning Signs Of Fascism $49.99 Early Warning Signs Of Fascism - Lamina Framed Poster

Modernism and Fascism $105 Intellectual debates surrounding modernity, modernism and fascism continue to be active and hotly contested. In this ambitious book, renowned expert on fascism Roger Griffin analyzes Western modernity and the regimes of Mussolini and Hitler and offers a pioneering new interpretation of the links between these apparently contradictory phenomena.

Opposing Fascism $46 This innovative volume draws together in a wide-ranging collection a series of new perspectives on the everyday experience of Europeans in the 'age of fascism'. The contributions go beyond the conventional stereotypes of organised resistance to examine the tensions and ambiguities within the communities, national and local, that opposed fascism.

The Study of Religion under the Impact of Fascism $203 The Study of Religion under the Impact of Fascism

Mussolini and Fascism $31.64 The early twentieth century in Italy was a crucial period in its history. Mussolini and Fascism surveys all the important issues and topics of the period including the origins and rise of Fascism, Mussolini as Prime Minister and Dictator, the Totalitarian state, foreign policy and the Second World War. It also examines how Italian Fascism compared to other inter-war dictatorships.

Economics of Fascism $114.71 The economics of fascism refers to the economic policies implemented by fascist governments. Fascism is an authoritarian, nationalist and corporatist ideology, but there is no single established definition of fascism. This, in addition to the fact that fascist ideologies rarely concern themselves with economic issues, poses serious obstacles to any comparative study of the economics of fascism. Nevertheless, some scholars and analysts argue that there is an identifiable economic system in fascism that is distinct from those advocated by other ideologies, comprising essential characteristics that fascist nations shared. Others argue that while fascist economies share some similarities, there is no distinctive form of fascist economic organization. Author: Miller, Frederic P./ Vandome, Agnes F./ McBrewster, John Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 170 Publication Date: 2010/06/01 Language: English Dimensions: 6.00 x 9.00 x 0.39 inches

Genocide and Fascism $44.95 This book investigates how fascism -- as an ideology and political praxis -- reconfigured the ideological, political, and moral landscape of interwar Europe, generating an atmosphere of extreme ‘license’ that facilitated the leap into eliminationist violence.

The Poetics of Fascism $110 Examining the modernist poetics of Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot, this study traces their influence on the current crisis in post-structuralist literary theory. The author reveals a continuity between that theory and high modernism's tendency towards fascism.

The Nature of Fascism $57.18 In "The Nature of Fascism," Roger Griffin locates the driving force of fascism in a distinctive form of utopian myth--that of the regenerated national community, destined to rise up from the ashes of a decadent society. Griffin's analysis reveals the revolutionary thrust and inner coherence of fascism's basic ideological axioms, which have all too often been dismissed as simply reactionary, irrational, or nihilistic. At the same time, he demonstrates its failure as a blueprint for the creation of the "New Order" and "New Man" to which it aspires. This comprehensive study, which draws on political, social and psychological theory, has been established among experts as one of the most important contributions to the understanding of generic fascism. Griffin examines the structural affinity which relates fascism to Nazism and to the myriad movements which surfaced in inter-war Europe and elsewhere, and traces the unabated proliferation of virulent, but successfully marginalized, fascist activism since 1945. Now available in paperback from Routledge, "The Nature of Fascism" has been revised to meet the needs of readers interested in the history and theory of fascist movements.

Fascism, Anti-Fascism and Britain in the 1940s $132 Despite the Second World War and the Holocaust, postwar Britain was not immune to fascism. By 1948, a large and confident fascist movement had been established, with a strong network of local organisers and public speakers, and an audience of thousands. However, within two years the fascists had collapsed under the pressure of a successful anti-fascist campaign. This book explains how it was that fascism could grow so fast, and how it then went into decline.

British Fascism, 1918-39 $38.03 This clear, balanced survey provides an accessible guide to the essential features of British fascism in the inter-war period with a special attention to fascism and culture. The book explores the various definitions of fascism and analyzes the origins of British fascism, fascist parties, groups and membership, and British fascist anti-Semitism.

Facts and Fascism $15.05 "This book names the most powerful forces in Europe which organized the Fascist and Nazi parties and movement, the powerful American forces which own, control and subsidize native Fascism, and the spokesmen, radio orators, writers and other agents of reaction in America." Facts and Fascism is the definitive account and source book on Fascism in the United States after the First World War and on into the Second. No doubt every subsequent work on this explosive topic owes a great debt to this original research. By crusading investigative journalist George Seldes, the book is in three parts: 1) The Big Money and Big Profits in Fascism, 2) Native Fascist Forces, and 3) Our Press as a Fascist Force. The first part reveals the backing of U.S. and British big business behind the rise of Fascism and militarism, with chapters on Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain, the Nazi cartels and the National Association of Manufacturers. The author was a reporter in Italy in the early 20's as Fascism got its start, and wrote a full-length, critical portrait of Mussolini. In "Native Fascist Forces," Seldes first tells the story of the botched putsch by J. P. Morgan and the American Legion against FDR in 1934 - surely one of the most hushed-up episodes in US history. Next Seldes dissects the Ford empire's support for Nazism and its repressive, even murderous labor practices, and Nazi apologists like Lindbergh, Father Coughlin and the Reader's Digest. The third part explores and deplores acts of treason by war-profiteering heavy industry and by the major newspaper chains. He exposes their habit of faking news for their political agenda, going back to the 1850's in support of black slavery, and white servitude - that is, with attacks on labor and social justice. The last chapter discusses profiteering from a different form of slavery, the tobacco addiction. Among the appendices is one on the definition of Fascism, and data on Who Owns America - thirteen plutocratic families.

Fascism in Britain $27.95 This edition investigates fascist activities in the period of turmoil leading to World War II and raises disturbing questions: how far was the British establishment involved? What were the links with Nazi Germany? What were the plans for the future of British Jews? How much did the British secret service know? Despite the revelation of the horrors of Nazi Germany, British Fascism survived 1945. The author discusses the organization, aims and techniques behind British Fascism, including the formation of the National Front. This revised text analyzes the period from 1984 to the present day, including the effect of the end of the Cold War and the collapse of Communism in Russia and Europe, the disturbing growth of illiberal nationalism and the growth of neo-fascism, anti-Semitism and racialism.

Anti-Fascism in Britain $140 In comparison to British fascism, anti-fascism is uncharted territory. This book seeks to redress the balance of existing literature which tends towards a narrow focus on the protagonists of fascism rather than opponents. Anti-fascism in Britain defines anti-fascism in broad terms and offers both a comprehensive and absorbing historical overview that begins with opposition to the precursors of Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists in the 1920s and ends with anti-fascism in the present day.