4 thoughts on “Parallel Tyrannies”

  1. Aren’t there elements of the French Enlightenment that inspired the Left? Weren’t many of the French philosophers infatuated with the Platonic idea of philosopher-kings? Didn’t most of them view religion – not just the state church but religion in general – as a force that had to be defeated in the name of progress? Didn’t the French Enlightenment give birth to the Jacobins, who gave us the Reign of Terror?

  2. People are accustomed to calling the phenomenon “Islamic Fascism”. I guess they want to take what might be construed as a religious perspective, and portray it as an evil oppressive ideology. In particular, fascism is that ideology that America physically smashed in our greatest war myths.

    But, I’ve always felt that what we’re seeing in the Middle East is “Islamic Socialism”. The Islamists are mostly opposed to the phenomenon of the ‘middle class’. Their chief objective is to eliminate those economic conditions that lead to its existence. As with the international left.

    I would contend that Iran’s revolutionary government is a form of fascist theocracy, but most of these violent Muslim radicals are much more ‘socialist’ in nature than anything else.

    Of course, it’s hard to pin down what exactly ‘fascist’ means nowadays, but I think we can use ‘military government that enforces absolute rules in any given society’. The Islamists aren’t merely hopeful of imposing certain rules on religious expression and moral behavior – characteristic of mere fascism – I read their stated intent as also specifically opposing Capitalism.

    The oppose the economic conditions that favor objective reality over impose social doctrine, that create inequality and a diversity of classes, and that lead to a self-sufficient and educated middle class. Same as the leftists. And in fact, that’s who educated most of them – in terms of social theory. Read their rhetoric, you’ll agree.

    1. The distinction between fascism and socialism is subtle. Both are tyrannies involving centralized control of the economy with heavy rhetoric about the control being for the common good.

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