"Liberal Fascism" by Jonah Goldberg

video link: https://www.c-span.org/video/?203535-1/liberal-fascism

Liberal Fascism

Jonah Goldberg talked about his book Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning, published by Doubleday. In his book he explores the political theories of fascism and contends that there are several colloaries between the politics of the left and fascist ideology. He responded to questions from members of the audience.




“In the greatest hoax of modern history, Russia’s ruling “socialist workers party,” the Communists, established themselves as the polar opposites of their two socialist clones, the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (quicknamed “the Nazis”) and Italy’s Marxist-inspired Fascisti, by branding both as “the fascists.” Jonah Goldberg is the first historian to detail the havoc this spin of all spins has played upon Western thought for the past seventy-five years, very much including the present moment. Love it or loathe it, Liberal Fascism is a book of intellectual history you won’t be able to put down—in either sense of the term.”
—Tom Wolfe, author of A Man in Full and I Am Charlotte Simmons

“‘It is my argument that American liberalism is a totalitarian political religion,’ Jonah Goldberg writes near the beginning of Liberal Fascism. My first reaction was that he is engaging in partisan hyperbole. That turned out to be wrong. Liberal Fascism is nothing less than a portrait of twentieth-century political history as seen through a new prism. It will affect the way I think about that history—and about the trajectory of today’s politics—forever after.”
—Charles Murray, author of Coming Apart and coauthor (with Richard J. Herrnstein) of The Bell Curve

“Jonah Goldberg argues that liberals today have doctrinal and emo- tional roots in twentieth-century European fascism. Many people will be shocked just by the thought that long-discredited fascism could mu- tate into the spirit of another age. It’s always exhilarating when some- one takes on received opinion, but this is not a work of pamphleteering. Goldberg’s insight, supported by a great deal of learning, happens to be right.”
—David Pryce-Jones, author of The Strange Death of the Soviet Union

Quote:
My reaction to Mayim Bialik's video... who I really respect and like, BTW. Just my raw thoughts...

"I just finished watching Mayim Bialik's recent post about how she sees things, and it took October 7th for her to see things. And...I'm just so...I don't know...I don't understand why it has taken so long for people to see what a lot of us have been screaming for the last four years, especially — and I hate to say it — especially the progressive Jews in America.

"You thought marching with these leftist organizations meant that you were one of them and that they supported you. You failed to read the charter of Black Lives Matter, that had antisemitism written in it from the beginning. You failed to notice the antisemitism at the Women's Marches by Linda Sarsour on stage — one of the people on the board of the Women's March.

"You failed to listen — you failed to see. And what? Now you see? Now you're awake? You're disappointed in the world? I'm disappointed in you. I'm disappointed that it had to take a massacre of the Jewish people for your eyes to be opened.

"A lot of us that escaped socialist countries have been smelling the same smells here in America for years, and we've been trying to tell you. Why didn't you listen? 'Oh, they're just conservative voices, they're weird, (they) don't make sense, they're this, they're that, they're conspiracy theorists.' {No, those 'weird' conservative voices are actually the only ones who care about you and your humanity. BLM and Leftist "progressives" want you dead. Full stop.}

"I want you to ask yourself why it took a massacre of our people for you to listen. Maybe it's time you listened to voices again that are different than your own, just like we listen to you. Do not discount the voices of people who have a different life experience than you and who — yes — might know more than you. Growing up in your 'privileged' — using your own word — in your privileged, American, safe spaces, never actually having experienced war yourselves, never having actually experienced antisemitism yourselves, and just turning a blind eye to what exists in so many places in the world. Because what? You wanted to fit in? Because what? You thought it made you a good person — it felt good?

"You need to wake up. You need to call out antisemitism. You need to call out Islamic extremism. For those of us that have lived in Iran, or places like Iran, and have actually suffered under these extremist ideologies — you cannot fix a problem if you don't make the correct diagnosis. We must make the correct diagnosis. We must listen to each other. We must be united. So I'm sorry that you're just waking up. I'm sorry that you're devastated. I'm sorry that you're disappointed. We've been feeling that way for years. Welcome to the club." pic.twitter.com/6nmhMuidzv

— Dr. Sheila Nazarian (@DoctorNazarian) October 30, 2023

The Democratic Party has never been for you. They have always been for destruction. That explains why the Democratic Party now openly celebrates the violence and massacre. They are no longer afraid to hide it. Many have been warning and pointing this out all along.

Good people must leave the Democratic Party immediately, stop voting for any Democrat, refuse and revoke the "woke" Democrat agenda lock, stock and barrel. No more so-called "climate change"--it is a means to control and exterminate you. No more "progressivism"--it is a means to enslave and slowly exterminate you. No more "feminism"--it is a means to dehumanize and destroy who you are. Leave the Democrat Party and its Big-government control structure of repeated (though sometimes slow-moving, to lull their prey into a false sense of 'security') oppression and genocide behind. Be free, Live free, Remain free.

I’m not sure if Jonah Goldberg would reject or accept the title of “neoconservative”, “neocon”, etc. In my opinion, a lot of his writing points in that direction. But of all the neocon writers out there, he has by far the most realistic outlook on US and world politics that I’ve read. Maybe Charles Krauthammer finally has a successor.

(10-31-2023 03:25 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  "Liberal Fascism" by Jonah Goldberg

video link: https://www.c-span.org/video/?203535-1/liberal-fascism

Liberal Fascism

Jonah Goldberg talked about his book Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning, published by Doubleday. In his book he explores the political theories of fascism and contends that there are several colloaries between the politics of the left and fascist ideology. He responded to questions from members of the audience.




“In the greatest hoax of modern history, Russia’s ruling “socialist workers party,” the Communists, established themselves as the polar opposites of their two socialist clones, the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (quicknamed “the Nazis”) and Italy’s Marxist-inspired Fascisti, by branding both as “the fascists.” Jonah Goldberg is the first historian to detail the havoc this spin of all spins has played upon Western thought for the past seventy-five years, very much including the present moment. Love it or loathe it, Liberal Fascism is a book of intellectual history you won’t be able to put down—in either sense of the term.”
—Tom Wolfe, author of A Man in Full and I Am Charlotte Simmons

“‘It is my argument that American liberalism is a totalitarian political religion,’ Jonah Goldberg writes near the beginning of Liberal Fascism. My first reaction was that he is engaging in partisan hyperbole. That turned out to be wrong. Liberal Fascism is nothing less than a portrait of twentieth-century political history as seen through a new prism. It will affect the way I think about that history—and about the trajectory of today’s politics—forever after.”
—Charles Murray, author of Coming Apart and coauthor (with Richard J. Herrnstein) of The Bell Curve

“Jonah Goldberg argues that liberals today have doctrinal and emo- tional roots in twentieth-century European fascism. Many people will be shocked just by the thought that long-discredited fascism could mu- tate into the spirit of another age. It’s always exhilarating when some- one takes on received opinion, but this is not a work of pamphleteering. Goldberg’s insight, supported by a great deal of learning, happens to be right.”
—David Pryce-Jones, author of The Strange Death of the Soviet Union

I read this after just before coming on here in back in 2008. It's a very interesting read and I have since misplaced the hard copy issue I had of it. I'm going to reread it on my Kindle because 15 years...

(10-31-2023 04:10 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

Quote:
My reaction to Mayim Bialik's video... who I really respect and like, BTW. Just my raw thoughts...

"I just finished watching Mayim Bialik's recent post about how she sees things, and it took October 7th for her to see things. And...I'm just so...I don't know...I don't understand why it has taken so long for people to see what a lot of us have been screaming for the last four years, especially — and I hate to say it — especially the progressive Jews in America.

"You thought marching with these leftist organizations meant that you were one of them and that they supported you. You failed to read the charter of Black Lives Matter, that had antisemitism written in it from the beginning. You failed to notice the antisemitism at the Women's Marches by Linda Sarsour on stage — one of the people on the board of the Women's March.

"You failed to listen — you failed to see. And what? Now you see? Now you're awake? You're disappointed in the world? I'm disappointed in you. I'm disappointed that it had to take a massacre of the Jewish people for your eyes to be opened.

"A lot of us that escaped socialist countries have been smelling the same smells here in America for years, and we've been trying to tell you. Why didn't you listen? 'Oh, they're just conservative voices, they're weird, (they) don't make sense, they're this, they're that, they're conspiracy theorists.' {No, those 'weird' conservative voices are actually the only ones who care about you and your humanity. BLM and Leftist "progressives" want you dead. Full stop.}

"I want you to ask yourself why it took a massacre of our people for you to listen. Maybe it's time you listened to voices again that are different than your own, just like we listen to you. Do not discount the voices of people who have a different life experience than you and who — yes — might know more than you. Growing up in your 'privileged' — using your own word — in your privileged, American, safe spaces, never actually having experienced war yourselves, never having actually experienced antisemitism yourselves, and just turning a blind eye to what exists in so many places in the world. Because what? You wanted to fit in? Because what? You thought it made you a good person — it felt good?

"You need to wake up. You need to call out antisemitism. You need to call out Islamic extremism. For those of us that have lived in Iran, or places like Iran, and have actually suffered under these extremist ideologies — you cannot fix a problem if you don't make the correct diagnosis. We must make the correct diagnosis. We must listen to each other. We must be united. So I'm sorry that you're just waking up. I'm sorry that you're devastated. I'm sorry that you're disappointed. We've been feeling that way for years. Welcome to the club." pic.twitter.com/6nmhMuidzv

— Dr. Sheila Nazarian (@DoctorNazarian) October 30, 2023

The Democratic Party has never been for you. They have always been for destruction. That explains why the Democratic Party now openly celebrates the violence and massacre. They are no longer afraid to hide it. Many have been warning and pointing this out all along.

Good people must leave the Democratic Party immediately, stop voting for any Democrat, refuse and revoke the "woke" Democrat agenda lock, stock and barrel. No more so-called "climate change"--it is a means to control and exterminate you. No more "progressivism"--it is a means to enslave and slowly exterminate you. No more "feminism"--it is a means to dehumanize and destroy who you are. Leave the Democrat Party and its Big-government control structure of repeated (though sometimes slow-moving, to lull their prey into a false sense of 'security') oppression and genocide behind. Be free, Live free, Remain free.

If only those words reached and penetrated through to enough people to make a difference. Well said.

GO, I'll make a point to give the vid a 'listen' when I hit the field...

my father once explained this to me at the dinner table as a 10-year-old (when I began to grasp the concept of political leanings) ... the summation is as follows...

"son, I'm going to plant a seed why you should always vote republican ... the word is, 'incentive'... it's now up to you to figure out what that means ... even with your myopic eyeballs, I'm certain you'll figure it out."

#easyLesson #thanksPops!

of course, we now live in the world where the 'greatest of society' has dumbed down the electorate to the point of sig line 1b) ... his gen never saw that coming (with good reason as both parties were still struggling for long term 'favor' among a more 'diversified' electoral base) ... I figured that one out by '83 using simple gen pop numbers ... hence, "~'30 ... whiffed it by a decade."

therefore, here we are today...

@theLogicalCynic

Fascism has always been a far left philosophy. It, socialism, and communism are three peas in the same pod.

Jonah Goldberg, by the way, is a very large human--probably 6-4, 240 or so. Doesn't show on TV, but person to person he is huge.

I bought this in a kindle version so I could read it again. I just finished the introduction and I'm already struck by how naïve Goldberg appears, at least in retrospect. He couches much of his criticism in 2007 with little reminders that he doesn't believe the left is necessarily evil. In the time since he wrote the book much has changed. I don't believe there are actual liberals, at least not in the sense we all grew up believing, any longer. They have either become too old to resist the move from liberalism to activist progressivism or they're dead.

Events of the last month have shown just how evil and unhinged the modern left really is. It has given at least a tacit nod, if not an outright endorsement, of the tactics and actions of groups like BLM, antifa and now the even more radical and violent extremist groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS, et al.

It will be interesting to read the rest of it just to see if any of the conclusions he drew then have sustained themselves.

Edit: Without even reading the rest of it I'll predict that none of them have been borne out. Just drawing on his introduction I doubt that he ever envisioned that 16 years down the road we would find ourselves in this position as a country or a world.