| | Largely because of the ill-defining of Fascism as being on the right instead of truly being on the left, several leftists often offer a false dichotomy between what they called freedom and fascism, with their definition of freedom generally coming closer to socialism or communism, or anarchism. A notable example of this is George Lucas with his Star Wars films, who makes clear he tries to paint it as people giving up freedom for fascism. | | Largely because of the ill-defining of Fascism as being on the right instead of truly being on the left, several leftists often offer a false dichotomy between what they called freedom and fascism, with their definition of freedom generally coming closer to socialism or communism, or anarchism. A notable example of this is George Lucas with his Star Wars films, who makes clear he tries to paint it as people giving up freedom for fascism. |
| − | The name "fascism" derives from an ancient [[Roman]] symbol, the ''[[fasces]]'', a group of birch rods bundled together with an axe. It symbolizes [[strength]] in [[unity]]; the rods are weak by themselves but strong when bundled together. Historian [[Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.]] has stated, | + | The name "fascism" derives from an ancient [[Roman]] symbol, the ''[[fasces]]'', a group of birch rods bundled together with an axe. It symbolizes [[strength]] in [[unity]]; the rods are weak by themselves but strong when bundled together. Historian [[Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.]], arguing that "the hope of the future lies in the widening and deepening of the democratic middle ground", has stated that, |
| | {{Cquote|The Fascists were not conservative in any very meaningful sense. They did not wish to preserve the existing order, or even to turn back the clock to some more stable century. They purposefully planned to transform the existing order into a new and all-absorbing authoritarianism, based upon the energies and frustrations of modern industrialism. The Fascists, in a meaningful sense, were [[revolution]]aries.<ref>[http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/schlesinger-notrightleft.html Not Right, Not Left, But a Vital Center], [[Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.]], ''New York Times Magazine'', April 4, 1948.</ref>}}<br> | | {{Cquote|The Fascists were not conservative in any very meaningful sense. They did not wish to preserve the existing order, or even to turn back the clock to some more stable century. They purposefully planned to transform the existing order into a new and all-absorbing authoritarianism, based upon the energies and frustrations of modern industrialism. The Fascists, in a meaningful sense, were [[revolution]]aries.<ref>[http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/schlesinger-notrightleft.html Not Right, Not Left, But a Vital Center], [[Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.]], ''New York Times Magazine'', April 4, 1948.</ref>}}<br> |