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From: gazit@ganelon.usc.edu (Salit)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,misc.legal,alt.flame,talk.politics.soviet
Subject: Fascism (Was Re: The lawsuit of the year).
Message-ID: <6427@oberon.USC.EDU>
Date: 23 Jan 88 07:44:05 GMT
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In article <2464@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> lazarus@athena.mit.edu (Michael Friedman) writes:
>In article <6385@oberon.USC.EDU> gazit@ganelon.usc.edu (Hillel) writes:
>>In article <2445@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> lazarus@athena.mit.edu (Michael Friedman) writes:
>>>I checked the dictionary.

>>>Fascism - A centralized, autocratic, national regime with severely
>>>nationalistic policies, excercising regimentation of industry,
>>>commerce, and finance, and forcible suppression of opposition.

>>By your definition the USSR is a fascist country.  

>Yup. Interesting, eh? Remember, Nazism stands for "National
>SOCIALISM". I wonder what the Soviet apologists on the net think of
>that?

>>I suggest you to read some history of Italy in the thirties.  It will help
>>you to understand the subject.

>Why don't you tell me what is wrong with the DICTIONARY's definition?
>I really want to know.

I'm not an expert on the subject, but I'll try. 

In the three classic fascist regimes (Italy, Germany, and Spain) you find
the big leader (The Duce, Fuehrer, Franco).  In all these cases, when the
leader died, the regime died with him.  This is not the case with the USSR.
Another difference is the private industries and the efficiency.
The trains in Spain were always on schedule.
Two private companies (Tesch and Stabenow of Hamburg) produce the Zkylon-B. 
There were competitive prices and all the usual capitalist characteristics of
the military-industrial complex. In the USSR no private industry exists.

My main point is based on Albert Camus' analysis of fascism and terror in
his book "L'Homme Revolte" (1951).  Albert Camus (1913-1960) was a philosopher,
author and journalist.  He was the editor of
the Resistance Journal during WWII, has written some important books and
received the Nobel Prise in 1957. He was considered one of the great thinkers in
his time.  This book discusses the moral, social and political situation of the
modern man, and devotes a chapter to terrorism of
the state and irrational terror.  In this chapter Camus explains
the difference between fascism and the USSR.  His claim is that the
main difference is the irrationality of the terror.  The soviet
terror has some goals it wants to achieve and nobody cares what the means are.
The fascist terror has only one goal, terror itself.  Can anybody
explain otherwise what was the Duce looking for in Ethiopia?  Rosenberg (the
Nazi philosopher) talked about the "style of a marching column, and it does not
matter at all what its direction is or why the column is marching"
(free translation).  When the German army was stuck deep in the Russian snow,
Hitler declared war on the US.  When Germany was at war with the US, the UK
and USSR in the same time, it became very clear the biggest industrial powers
were going to win.  The German industry was in great need for slaves' labor,
however in that time Germany decided to kill the Jews.  When it became clear
that Germany was going to lose the war,
Hitler gave the command to destroy (in Germany):
"all industrial plants, all important electrical facilities, water works,
gas works, food stores and clothing stores; all bridges, all railway and
communication installations, all waterways, all ships, all freight cars,
and all locomotives."  

I suggest that you read these last four lines once again; it will help you
understand what is fascism.

>These are the official opinions			Mike Friedman

Hillel Gazit     gazit%ganelon.usc.edu@oberon.usc.edu