About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherCrown Publishing Group, T.H.E.

ISBN-100767917189

ISBN-139780767917186

eBay Product ID (ePID)66970802

Product Key Features

Book TitleLiberal Fascism : the Secret History of the American Left, from Mussolini to the Politics of Change

Number of Pages512 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2009

TopicWorld / General, Political Ideologies / Fascism & Totalitarianism, World, Political Ideologies / Conservatism & Liberalism

GenrePolitical Science, History

AuthorJonah Goldberg

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height1 in

Item Weight12.7 Oz

Item Length8 in

Item Width5.2 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN2008-051636

Reviews"Brilliant, insightful, and important." New York Sun "Well-researched, seriously argued, and funny." Publishers Weekly "Bold and witty... [Goldberg] makes a persuasive case that fascism was from the beginning a movement of the left." New York Post "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." Tom Wolfe, "Brilliant, insightful, and important." -- New York Sun "Well-researched, seriously argued, and funny." -- Publishers Weekly "Bold and witty... [Goldberg] makes a persuasive case that fascism was from the beginning a movement of the left." -- New York Post "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." --Tom Wolfe, "Brilliant, insightful, and important." -New York Sun"Well-researched, seriously argued, and funny." -Publishers Weekly"Bold and wittyâ€¦ [Goldberg] makes a persuasive case that fascism was from the beginning a movement of the left." -New York Post"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." -Tom Wolfe

SynopsisFierce, funny, and controversial, Jonah Goldberg's #1 New York Times bestseller traces fascism back to its surprising roots--in liberalism. "Fascists," "Brownshirts," "jackbooted stormtroopers"--such are the insults typically hurled at conservatives by their liberal opponents. Calling someone a fascist is the fastest way to shut them up, defining their views as beyond the political pale. But who are the real fascists in our midst? Liberal Fascism offers a startling new perspective on the theories and practices that define fascist politics. Replacing conveniently manufactured myths with surprising and enlightening research, Jonah Goldberg reminds us that the original fascists were really on the left, and that liberals from Woodrow Wilson to FDR to Hillary Clinton have advocated policies and principles remarkably similar to those of Hitler's National Socialism and Mussolini's Fascism. Contrary to what most people think, the Nazis were ardent socialists (hence the term "National socialism"). They believed in free health care and guaranteed jobs. They confiscated inherited wealth and spent vast sums on public education. They purged the church from public policy, promoted a new form of pagan spirituality, and inserted the authority of the state into every nook and cranny of daily life. The Nazis declared war on smoking, supported abortion, euthanasia, and gun control. They loathed the free market, provided generous pensions for the elderly, and maintained a strict racial quota system in their universities--where campus speech codes were all the rage. The Nazis led the world in organic farming and alternative medicine. Hitler was a strict vegetarian, and Himmler was an animal rights activist. Do these striking parallels mean that today's liberals are genocidal maniacs, intent on conquering the world and imposing a new racial order? Not at all. Yet it is hard to deny that modern progressivism and classical fascism shared the same intellectual roots. We often forget, for example, that Mussolini and Hitler had many admirers in the United States. W.E.B. Du Bois was inspired by Hitler's Germany, and Irving Berlin praised Mussolini in song. Many fascist tenets were espoused by American progressives like John Dewey and Woodrow Wilson, and FDR incorporated fascist policies in the New Deal. Fascism was an international movement that appeared in different forms in different countries, depending on the vagaries of national culture and temperament. In Germany, fascism appeared as genocidal racist nationalism. In America, it took a "friendlier," more liberal form. The modern heirs of this "friendly fascist" tradition include the New York Times , the Democratic Party, the Ivy League professoriate, and the liberals of Hollywood. The quintessential Liberal Fascist isn't an SS storm trooper; it is a female grade school teacher with an education degree from Brown or Swarthmore. These assertions may sound strange to modern ears, but that is because we have forgotten what fascism is. In this angry, funny, smart, contentious book, Jonah Goldberg turns our preconceptions inside out and shows us the true meaning of Liberal Fascism.

LC Classification NumberJC481.G55 2009

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by braintrust_stuff
Jun 30, 2016
Great book, great author
Goldberg is indeed a compelling, articulate author who knows the subject well. Highly recommended.
Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned
by laur_caes
Dec 04, 2022
Story of the past
Goes into why the facist movement started the Vatican.
Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned