I would be interested in seeing a post, blog, website, etc that is devoted to defining political terms. I was at a Tea Party where I saw signs calling Obama a communist, a socialist, and a fascist. Which sign was correct? All three? What about Bush, what would we classify him as?
I believe there are many people who don't understand the basic definitions, which makes further discussion basically worthless. It's like trying to figure out Austrian economics and praxeology without understanding the foundation.
So I'm wondering if there is such a site, and if not, perhaps one could be created here?
I guess it would be "defining the 'ism's"
Obama is more a fascist than he is a communist , both are forms of socialism.
"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows"
Bob Dylan
You could certainly start a definition page here in the wiki. I'm just not sure that classification has a lot of value.
It's the ideas, not the labels which matter. I think ideas like peace, voluntarism, trade, justice etc are quite clear in their definitions.
On any given day I call myself a voluntarist, an anarchist, an anarcho-capitalist, a conservative, a liberal, a classic liberal, a libertarian and an austrian. But the common thread is that I support natural rights, private property, free markets and peaceful interaction.
liberty student: You could certainly start a definition page here in the wiki. I'm just not sure that classification has a lot of value. It's the ideas, not the labels which matter. I think ideas like peace, voluntarism, trade, justice etc are quite clear in their definitions. On any given day I call myself a voluntarist, an anarchist, an anarcho-capitalist, a conservative, a liberal, a classic liberal, a libertarian and an austrian. But the common thread is that I support natural rights, private property, free markets and peaceful interaction.
I think the classification holds value.
Hoppe describes two forms of socialism/statism - left (social-democratic) and right (conservative). This does not refer at all to the extent of socialism/statism as opposed to freedom. Strong socialists are called communists (on the left) and fascists/corporatists (on the right). My attempt to define and classify political viewpoints is here: http://www.truthandliberty.com/Politics.html
As you can see from my page, I class Obama as a strong socialist/statist of the left-wing variety, so communist would be a fairly accurate description, though he also has some right-wing views, so there are elements of fascism/corporatism as well.
Government Explained 2: The Special Piece of Paper
Law without Government
Obama is neither fascist nor communist, not even socialist, but a liberal democrat, and communism and fascism have nothing to do with each other, and fascism is not socialism but directly opposed to that (only the nazi's themselves claim that, but one should not buy that crap).
If fascism was a form of socialism, why did Hitler then kill all the socialists, communists, trade-unionists, etc.???? Makes really no sense.
'If fascism was a form of socialism, why did Hitler then kill all the socialists, communists, trade-unionists, etc.???? Makes really no sense.'
Why did Lenin killed the sailors of Kronstadt? Why did Stalin kill Trotsky? Men in power will always secure their power by any means.
If we are to define socialism as the public ownership of the means of production then fascism most certainly deserves a spot in the corpus of socialist thought. For the founder of fascism stated: 'Everything for the state, nothing outside the state, nothing above the state'
'Men do not change, they unmask themselves' - Germaine de Stael
Fascism and socialism are just two different flavors of authoritarian interventionism.
You elther allow people the freedom to run their own lives, or you don't. Both of these systems don't.
Rob Heusdens: fascism is not socialism but directly opposed to that (only the nazi's themselves claim that, but one should not buy that crap).
fascism is not socialism but directly opposed to that (only the nazi's themselves claim that, but one should not buy that crap).
You mean the National Socialist German Workers' Party?
"If fascism was a form of socialism, why did Hitler then kill all the socialists, communists, trade-unionists, etc.???? Makes really no sense."
Why do Muslims kill Muslims and Christians kill Christians? Do you really need evidence for this current and historical empirical fact?
Also, Communists were basically Marxists. Marx was Jewish.
You kill those competing with the most similar product to yours, i.e. the most similar political idea.
If medieval France was really a monarchy why it did attack the English monarchy?
A thread with intelligent responses, and then yours...