Throughout the 20th century, mainly World War II, our planet was plagued by fascist governments hoping to dominate and rule the world. The most notable fascist is the former leader of Germany, Adolf Hitler. Nowadays, the word “fascist” is thrown around a lot from the left, mainly using it as an insult to degrade their opposition. A big group that uses this tactic is Antifa, which stands for anti-fascist. The group is notorious for committing violent acts, normally causing extreme riots and, more-often-than-not, threatening people who disagree with the group through more violence. So, while Antifa contends that they hate fascism and fascists, the question comes up on if they are the true fascists, and that they just have a twisted viewpoint.
As I said earlier, the word “fascist” is brought up a lot in a method used to denounce people’s arguments, and is typically used against Republicans and other right-wing or right-leaning individuals. In order to be on the same page, I think it’s important to come up with a base definition for the word. According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of fascism is as follows: a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition. With that being said, I think it is important to say that I do not personally think that any current mainstream group is fascist, but I do believe that Antifa is the closest to that definition.
If we look back in history at the Axis Powers in World War II, the leaders of Germany and Italy, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, are set-in-stone fascists. They fit every part of the definition, and they shutout their opposition, anyone who didn’t 100% agree with them, through force and domination. Now, I believe that this is one of the most important aspects in showing that Antifa is the closest group to fascism, as they are an extreme group who use violence and force in order to gain the upper hand, much like Hitler and Mussolini. Another hint at this notion is that of political ideals. Hitler and Mussolini both called for the nationalization of their countries, thus allowing the government to have complete control of the economy, which is a leftist idea, and which is an idea that Antifa completely supports. However, I do believe this is where the similarities end. Antifa does not support “racial and national purity,” Hitler did.
So, while there isn’t a true fascist party in the United States, Antifa is the closest to being the fascists in action and economic philosophy. Conservatives aren’t anywhere near the definition of fascism, and it’s complete hypocrisy for these accusations to be apparent when the accusers are contradicting themselves.
