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(6/3/26)

Can You Handle The Truth And Face The Facts?

Liberal Fascism: The Secret History Of The American Left

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.

It is hard to deny that modern Progressivism, and classical Fascism shared the same intellectual roots. Many Fascist tenets were espoused by American Progressives like John Dewey, and Woodrow Wilson, and FDR incorporated Fascist policies in the New Deal.

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.

In this angry, funny, smart, contentious book, Jonah Goldberg turns our preconceptions inside out, and shows us the true meaning of Liberal Fascism.