Liberal Fascism

The Secret History of the American Left

By: Jonah Goldberg

Narrated by: Johnny Heller

Length: 15 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

"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. Jonah Goldberg reminds us that the original fascists were really on the left and that liberals from Woodrow Wilson to Franklin Roosevelt 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, and inserted the authority of the state into every nook and cranny of daily life. The Nazis declared war on smoking and supported abortion, euthanasia, and gun control.

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. The modern heirs of a "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.

©2007 Jonah Goldberg (P)2008 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Certain to attract interest...across the political spectrum." ( Booklist)
"Provocative and well-researched....Seriously argued and funny." ( Publishers Weekly)

Putting fascism in its place

Jonah Goldberg has done a well-documented and thoroughly enjoyable look at the "f-bomb" of fascism. Like most Americans raised in the 80's and 90's, I took the term to mean oppressive, racist, nationalist, militaristic, intolerant and Right-wing. Historically all this was true, except for the "Right-wing" part. Big government and Big Brother, social safety net, power to people, workers of the world unite were the founding ideologies behind fascism, which is basically just an amped-up version of socialism on a national, but not international, scale. Basically the term got distorted to mean "right-wing" oppression because of academic slight of hand, necessitated by the need of liberal intellectuals to distance themselves from fascist Germany after the disgrace and atrocities of Hilter were exposed. Still, much of the rhetoric and symbolism of the fascist/progressive movement in America continues, and Goldberg lays it out. This is by far the most spell-binding audiobook I have heard, and the narrator is perfect for this book. Anybody who wants to broaden their mind about words and meaning, politics and history should check this out! 5-stars!

Eye opening, but not completely fortright

If you could sum up Liberal Fascism in three words, what would they be?

fascism is leftist

If you could give Liberal Fascism a new subtitle, what would it be?

The God State Lives

Any additional comments?

The book is a tour de force of analysis, drawing a line from Woodrow Wilson, through Mussolini and Hitler, all the way through to Hillary Clinton (and Barack Obama) - all these subscribe to the idea of the God State and the principle of "GEMEINNUTZ GEHT VOR EIGENNUTZ" (collective good before self). The author want to play nice with his potential opponents, and is willing to sacrifice historical accuracy for this niceness:

1. The proto-Fascist movement was (and remains) Mohammed's Islam, which seems to bear all the hallmarks of Fascism as defined by Goldberg.

2. Long before Wilson, Fascism in the United States reared its ugly head with Lincoln, who was quite clearly the first Fascist dictator, and far exceeded Wilson in the effects of his actions.

3. The author keeps saying that FDR's New Deal, while Fascist, cannot be compared with Mussolini's Fascism. It is not clear why that is: the effects of FDR's policies seem to have been far worse than anything Mussolini did, at least before the fateful alliance with Germany - it seems to me that Mussolini's fascism is altogether more benign (and this is not even mentioning FDR's selling out Europe to Stalin's dictatorship).

4. The author keeps mentioning the alleged evils of Joe McCarthy and McCarthyism. It is not clear what these evils are - the reader is strongly advised to read Stan Evans' "Blacklisted by History" and make up his own mind.

Heavy But Worth It

At some point a long the way, I had to succumb to the notion that I'm not going to stop every time I hear a foreign word or concept to write it down and research it. The amount of knowledge contained in this book is hard to grasp at times. My advice, keep moving through it and it will start making sense after a while. Any person that considers political thought and individual rights a priority in their lives, you MUST read this book. I gave it four stars because of the at-times-overwhelming info; otherwise it's great!

Excellent. Filled with idocumented nformation.

I started out hi-lighting references and quotable quotes. I soon realized that every line in the book would be highlighted. A wealth of well-documented information.

This book needs to be read and then reread.

extremely important

a book that is needed for the current times we are in. listen to it if you want to understand the current trends in the democratic party

A very good Book but poorly narrated.

This Excellant book and it's subject has proved prophetic, since I first read it 13 years ago. The narrator detracted from the Audio version because of his guttural voice made listening, for me, difficult. Otherwise A Great Listen!

One of the first conservative books I read.

Jonah Goldburg writes about the history of how our.current woke culture to came to be.

Pleasantly surprised

This book turned out to be so much better than I thought. Not only is it well-written, well-researched, and fair, but its well-narrated as an audiobook. I was interested in the subject matter, but after the first part, this book opens up into a history of Mussolini, Hitler, and Fascism in Europe. This, I found an added bonus and enjoyed learning about.

Well documented and fascinating

Goldberg first acknowledges that fascism is not unique to the left, and does not propose that it is a leftist-only ideal. He then takes the reader on a tour of the fascism of the left throughout the last century or so. This book is so profound in its undermining of dogmatic 20th century history lessons...it isn't that we were tought the opposite of what happened, precisely; however, a lot of the very important lessons and background were somehow omitted from our texts. I give this book my highest rating and recommend it to anyone who has the stomach for understanding the fascism that has taken place in Europe, Asia, and particularly the U.S. in the past century. I think the politicians of today utilize nationalist sentiments to whip the voters along...this is why (although, yes I'm very proud to be an American) I get immediately concerned about anyone's argument when they invoke patriotism or "America-first" dogma rather than presenting a solid principled or economic argument. This author has provided one of the enlightening political works of our time. Take advantage of it and have a listen!!! By the way, I bought the book too, but it got a little dry in places and I got bored...so the audiobook was the great answer for me and I recommend it highly.

Fantastic

I am 1/2 way through this book and look forward to the next time I can listen. The author has names, and dates to paint a picture that reveals truths that I was not aware of.
If just 10% of this information is true, then any patriotic American should prepare to engage for the preservation of the Republic against the hollow and corrupt religion of Liberalism.
This is especially relevant today because of the current Obama administration, the Tea Party Movements, and the political losses in NJ, VA, and MA.