Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Change
by Jonah Goldberg
List Price:
Our Price: $5.46
You Save: $11.54 (68%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.24 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Jonah GoldbergBrand: Random House
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-06-02
ISBN: 0767917189
Number of pages: 512
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Book Reviews of Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Change
Book Review: Smile = This is for Your Own Good
Summary: 5 Stars
Liberal Fascism is a book more frightening than any thriller. Woodrow Wilson was awful. I never heard about his abusive tactics in my history classes.
Rugged cowboys and explorers are always thought of as "independent" type people and independent thought is associated with the right. People working "collectively" for each other and sharing is a left progressive view. Totalitarianism is part of the happy faced fascism (hence the cover of this book) because totally everything is done for "our" good. Again a LEFT idea. But the book bashes the so called Left and Right for both being Fascist which is correct. The Constitution is being buried.
Liberal Fascism defines TOTALITARIAN "views EVERYTHING as POLITICAL and holds that ANY ACTION BY THE STATE is justified to achieve the common good. It takes responsibility for ALL ASPECTS of LIFE, including our health, and well-being and seeks to impose uniformity of thought and actions, whether by force or though regulation and social pressure. Everything, including the economy and religion, must be aligned with its objective. Any rival identity is part of the "problem" and therefore defined as the enemy."
So does the definition fit?
The residential home foreclosure mess was caused by too much regulation by Congress and Presidents Jimmy Carter/HW Bush and Clinton) which interfered with "prudent home lending FINANCIAL qualifications". Residential homes became ARTIFICIALLY HIGH PRICED (a bubble) because millions of financially unqualified people (some single owner/some house flippers owning several and some buy and hold multiple home buyer speculators) were allowed into the buying pool causing a sellers market as there were too many buyers wanting homes than homes to sell. The government should not allow mortgage discrimination based on sex, race, where someone lives, etc. which is why the 1968 Fair Housing Act, 1974 Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the 1975 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 (HMDA) were enacted. But government should allow mortgage FINANCIAL discrimination if a person cannot afford a home. Instead of bolstering one of the existing regulations if mortgage discrimination was still happening, in 1977 Jimmy Carter created the Community Reinvestment Act which snowballed into future presidential banking regulations by HW Bush and Clinton which resulted in lowering mortgage qualifications. The greed of ACORN groups picketing/suing banks to make unwise loans and forcing banks to give ACORN money to in effect stop picketing, the greed of banks (including Fannie/Freddie) in making loan fees, the greed of home owners using the resulting higher home home prices to take 2nd and 3rd mortgages to buy things they could not afford. Fannie/Freddie were flipping mortgages as fast as the private banks and taking in fees. At the first financial stress (2008 extremely high gas/oil prices/weakening economy) the marginal home buyers defaulted as did the multiple mortgage owners. Now the STATE wants more mortgage regulation because they know what is good for us. To counterbalance the untruthfulness and greed of homeowners was the untruthfulness and greed of banks. Politicians changed the banking rules enacted after the depression to prevent banks from gambling the money in the bank with risky derivatives and OTC trading, etc. The pigs were in the pigpen playing but the majority of Americans who didn't cheat have to eat the swill left behind because it is for the common good.
Congress in an effort to please the executive state passes a TARP bill to buy toxic assets (bad housing loans) caused by Barney Frank/Chris Dodd/Maxine Waters refusing to rein in Freddie/Fannie and forced banks to make NINJA loans (no income/no job/ no assets) because EVERYONE should own a home. Banks had 2 choices to stop ACORN from picketing or suing them for racial bias - either make the risky NINJA loans OR pay money directly to ACORN to stop their picketing and/or lawsuits. Taxpayers now understand WHY financial institutions such as Bank of America give money to ACORN. Home buyers knowingly signed "liar loans" where they lied on how much they earned to qualify for a mortgage and some home flippers purchased multiple homes they could not afford in the hopes of selling again quickly before bills came due. When the defaults began EVERYONE "collectively" went down as the economy tanked instead of just the banks making the bad loans and the people who lied about their incomes to get the loans. Why? Because banks sold their bad mortgages overseas instead of keeping them on their books so they could care less if the NINJA loan defaulted. Why? Because Congress changed the rules to garner votes and everyone was flipping homes making lots of money inflating the real estate bubble. The taxpayer is then forced to pay back these foreign financial institutions funneling the money though AIG/Goldman Sachs under the guise of an American company bailout. Forget transparency-trust the State as they know what is best for us.
The EXECUTIVE STATE branch then hires Tim Gietner to fix the banks. Gietner used to work for Goldman Sachs which helped bring about this mortgage mess and the derivative/speculative market mess. Geitner then hired all his Goldman Sachs buddies some of who still sat on Goldman Sacks board but the White House gave him a waiver. When Tim Gietner got to decide which banks lived or died, he used taxpayer money to bail out Goldman Sachs. Leyman Brothers was Goldman Sachs NUMBER #1 competitor so of course Geitner let it fail. AIG owed millions to Goldman Sachs so Tim Gietner used taxpayer money to bail out AIG and Goldman Sachs was first in line to get their millions back. Then Goldman buddy Gietner changed Goldman Sachs status from investment to "BANK" but in name only. No pesky unwashed masses (taxpayer) could actually open a bank account at Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs was called a BANK only to get access to these unwashed masses (taxpayers) money in the form of government interest free loans. Then Goldman Sachs used this taxpayer 0% bail out money to purchase smaller bank getting even BIGGER than its already "too big to fail" size. WORSE, the banks did refused to loan money to small businesses but instead put this government low interest rate loan money in oversea's banks which earn high interest rates (no Ben Bernanke there) and used the money on the interest to pay out big employee bonuses. And, of course, speculative/derivatives gambling never stopped so these banks are free to gamble even the taxpayer money. Timothy Gietner is doing what Timothy McVeigh could only dreamed of doing-destroying our Constitution/country.
The STATE used this TARP (troubled Assets (bad mortgages) Relief Program) taxpayer borrowed money to actually BUY THE BANKS instead of just the toxic assets by bailing the banks out becoming controlling shareholders (converting preferred to common stock) and the banks who didn't need the money were ordered to take it so strings could be attached to these now puppet banks also. These bailouts were done over the majority of voter objections but it was done for our own economic good and it makes a good way to control the money though the banks. In one instance, the STATE threatened the Bank of America president and his board with dismissal if they don't play along and buy Merrill Lynch which was disastrous for their shareholders. What good is control if you don't use it? Let's give the Fed more control now says the STATE. The end justifies the means as it is done for our own good.
Our auto industry is bailed out under the guise of preventing them from filing bankruptcy and losing all those jobs and taxpayers were promised they would make money on the loans. In reality, the STATE wanted to avoid a REAL bankruptcy of GM and Chrysler which would have allowed a judge to CHANGE union pay and contracts and the STATE could not allow that after all the election money the unions donated to elect the current STATE. Chrysler is bailed out and taxpayers told this was for our own economic good and then a forced marriage is made between Chrysler and Fiat and all taxpayer bailout money was FORGIVEN (not to be paid back) so a foreign country got an American company with a huge taxpayer funded boost. This loan forgiveness was never approved by Congress or the voters but it was for our own good.
On paper after the tax payer bail out GM appears to be privately owned but in real life the STATE fires the GM president. The bail out was for saving jobs yet "randomly" auto dealers with fantastic sales were forced to close while politically connected not so good dealers were allowed to stay open and parts and dealer jobs bled all over the U.S. Ford didn't need any money because they build their cars in Mexico.
The GM bail out was to avoid bankruptcy but GM goes bankrupt anyway but under STATE control so the union contracts are not affected. Again, the taxpayer is screwed because the bail out loans are forgiven in lieu of the STATE owning GM shares and becoming an owner. Again, the taxpayer and Congress was not asked as the STATE knows what is economically good for us.
Contracts made with auto bond holders are broken in favor of unions when it is convenient for the State. Then the STATE turns around and justifies their bail out bill allowing the bank executive bonuses (Fed Reserve buddies) to stand because "the executives had a contract" which they did and they should have been upheld just as the bond holder contracts should have been upheld. Instead, public bad "feelings" swayed the state to break the executive contracts also. Constitution be damned.
The above breaking of contracts for some is called "a feeling ruling" Like that female supreme court nominee who is a "feeling ruling judge". The law is fluid. One day a person goes to court and wins and the next day another person with the SAME concern goes to court and loses. Why? Because the judge's feeling was that one person needed a different ruling because he was disenfranchised, had a harder life, was the preferred race or sex or smiled prettier or was a union. Welcome to the world of the auto bondholders and executive bonus broken contracts. They were the wrong "flavor" of the day and "feelings" were against them. The Supreme Court just vindicated the firemen and repudiated this nominated judge's decision who has a 60% overturn rate by higher courts on her decisions. If anyone dared to criticize her, they were called a Hispanic racist and yet Judge Sonia Sotamayor discriminated against a Hispanic fireman also denying him his promotion along with the White fireman. Thanks to this fascist executive state this judge has no one above her to overturn her 60% fail rate record.
Health reform is being jammed down our throats for our own good regardless of the fact most people are satisfied with their insurance and doctors and don't want to treat illegal aliens but this is for our collective good also. And to pay for it, a tax on Twinkies, more on cigarettes, a soda tax and a health benefits tax etc. etc. will be imposed on all of us by the State for the benefit of the common good and these things the State has deemed bad for the common people anyway. OCTOBER 2009 UPDATE- WORSE Dick Morris told Bill O'Rielly (who was looking too SMUG because he will always be able to afford his private health insurance premiums) that the GOVERNMENT will dictate ALL PRIVATE INSURANCE COMPANY POLICIES so it doesn't matter if Bill Orielly still has his private insurance and everyone else is dumped into the government one. Bill ORielly appeared stunned. If this health plan passes, the mandates on cost will be imposed on ALL INSURANCE COMPANIES so if 99 year man (like Dick Morris' father) has a heart condition and needs surgery and this 99 year old has private health insurance - HE STILL WON'T be able to get it because the government controls what private insurance can do to keep down costs. WHY isn't anyone talking about this? I hope O'Reilly gets off his behind and gets his staff working on this.
The State takes control of an entire television network for an hour to push a health care infomercial with no dissenting voices allowed in the interview room nor even any dissenting commercials. The state is doing another medical infomercial Wednesday on 8:00pm prime time AGAIN today. Even NBC, CNN and other State cheer leading networks are bulking at so much prime time being given to the State for its propaganda because it costs the networks money but they are afraid of what would happen if they refused. Retaliation is alive and well and that refused media outlet might find its reporter not allowed on the presidential plane (Like a Fox reporter) or not getting coveted rotated interviews, etc. SEPTEMBER 2009 UPDATE: Fox refused a Sunday interview when 5 networks were given interviews. Not to worry though because FCC Czar Mark Lloyd is on it. Lloyd wants government control of all media and plans on doing it under the guise of "diversity" so STATE opponents on radio and TV will have their ownership rights removed if they don't tow the STATE line. Google Mark Lloyd's video of him admiring how Chavez took control when his STATE took control of all the media. But don't worry, the STATE knows what you want to listen to.
Iran's nationalized networks were shut down while they slaughtered their people and OUR networks voluntarily nationalized themselves rolling over freely for the STATE not only for this infomercial but for the pre and post election majority of the time. And the Executive State supports the Venezuela dictator Hugo Chávez so much the Executive State appointed an FCC Czar Frank Lloyd who is on tape admiring how Chavez took control over the media to win power. Contrast this with the Executive State standing against the Honduran people who kicked out their President Manuel Zelaya for attempting to change their constitution to stay president forever. Our executive branch wants that Honduran ex-president put back into power. The brave Honduran people defied U.S. Executive push and "Chants of "Yes we could! Yes we could!" bellowed from the crowd."
Tax and Trade is being rammed down our throats for our own collective "planet" good and EVERYTHING from food which is trucked in to our electric/gas bills will double. The majority of U.S. citizens do NOT believe in global warming but hey Al Gore and GE has too much invested now and are all set to grab up that tax money. GE owns NBC and has to be paid back for their Pro-State publicity. Forget that Cap and Tax hurt Europe and didn't work or that India and China won't do it and will continue to spew out garbage into the world to build the manufacturing base we let them take from us. Cap and tax is good for us.
30 czars are hired into brand new Executive positions of powers giving them salaries/staff the taxpayers cannot afford, most of them radicals and no congressional approval for them or for the new positions. This is an end run around the Constitution and tilts power to the EXECUTIVE state. Congress approved secretaries of the different departments such as the head of the FDA, FTC, etc. are now potted plants because their control is given to unelected/congressional unapproved czars. Democratic Senator Byrd is the only one to call the Executive STATE on this power grab but he is ill and will die soon so the Executive state ignores him.
UPDATE AUGUST 2009: Cash for Clunkers initiated scheme where U.S. taxpayers borrow $1 billion from the Chinese to give cash subsidies to buy a new car to everyone including the rich (don't need a subsidy) and poor (can't afford a new car). It also robs future months like September 2009 new car sales.
UPDATE OCTOBER 2009. Cash For Clunkers total cost $3 BILLION and foreign cars came out ahead especially Hyundai which was #1 purchased car under CFC.program. 2 Oct 09, news reports came out that it cost EACH taxpayer $2000 a car and THAT does not include the years of interest paying back the loan. The report said the CFC program saved $500 in environmental costs. It also left a lot of used car dealers with no cars to sell because the CFC cars were destroyed. And new car sales for September Chrysler down 45% as was GM down in the 40's also and Ford down 5%.
UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2009: While U.S. infrastructure crumbles and we go more into debt, the STATE authorized more auto jobs to go overseas backed by U.S. taxpayer loans - money borrowed from China. "A tiny car company backed by former Vice President Al Gore has just gotten a $529 million U.S. government loan to help build a hybrid sports car in Finland that will sell for about $89,000." And U.S. taxpayer forked out another low cost loan for "$465 million dollars to Tesla Motors Inc., purveyors of a $109,000 British-built electric Roadster" to be built in England. The STATE says pollution is a global problem and U.S. taxpayer should not complain about a paltry billion dollars in loans for jobs going overseas as this is good for the planet.
UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2009: ACORN is in trouble again and not just for voter fraud and the executive state does not announce an immediate state financial investigation. How could it? In 1995 the State Executive represented ACORN in forcing Illinois to accepting the Motor Voter driver license bill which definitely assists in voter fraud since many states have weak license requirements and illegal's and others not eligible use the license to vote. The State Executive taught ACORN classes and has them in his decision making process along with SEIU.
UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2009: It was creepy enough for school children to be seen on video praising the STATE prior to the election but after the election 5 more creepy things occurred. 1) Children at Eagle Bay Elementary School in Farmington were shown a short video called "I pledge" on Aug. 28 2009 and 2) other children across the country are being forced to see "The Story of Stuff" video made by the Tides Foundation and 3) videos of children singing praise songs to the STATE leader under the guise of February Black History month are released and 4) the State leader himself gave a 'pep' talk to children (stay in school type things which is fine) but it didn't end there. The teachers were given "instructional material to teach AFTER the Executive State speech which was not shown to parents and was indoctrination materials asking asking children "help" the STATE LEADER achieve his goals etc. And 5) the STATE White House was caught on tape with the National Endowment of the Arts giving instructions to NEA taxpayer money supported artists telling them to GET the STATE agenda out using their "art" methods. They knew it was illegal and are actually on tape saying "while we figure out how to legally communicate". The NEA guy is moved to another position but nothing happened to the White House media woman named Buffy on the call also.
But hey, the STATE says it REALLY doesn't want to "control" the banks, auto, health industries, schools, and media, all the while pushing for more Fed Reserve control over all companies, pay caps, regulations, etc. and making it difficult for banks to give back the bail out money and when they do, the STATE doesn't give it back to the PEOPLE to pay down the borrowed debt-OH NO- It keeps the money to loan/control more companies it doesn't really want to control.
Smile! Even the Russian newspapers on 19 April 2009 called the U.S. fascist saying "The merger of corporate and government powers in modern America is plain and simple fascism" and Americans didn't even whimper.
This book's definition of Liberal Fascism" will make your day and give you nightmares at night.
More Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Change reviews:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Summary of Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Change
?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. Replacing conveniently manufactured myths with surprising and enlightening research, 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. The Nazis led the world in organic farming and alternative medicine. Hitler was a strict vegetarian, and Himmler was an animal rights activist.
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. We often forget, for example, that Mussolini and Hitler had many admirers in the United States. W.E.B. Du Bois was inspired by Hitler's Germany, and Irving Berlin praised Mussolini in song. Many fascist tenets were espoused by American progressives like John Dewey and Woodrow Wilson, and FDR incorporated fascist policies in the New Deal.
Fascism was an international movement that appeared in different forms in different countries, depending on the vagaries of national culture and temperament. 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. 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.
United States Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in United States Books
The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depressionby Amity Shlaes
HarperAudio; Published: 2007-06-12; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $15.88
Price in other shops:
Profiles in Courage (slipcased edition): Decisive Moments in the Lives of Celebrated Americansby John F. Kennedy
Harper; Published: 2006-10-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.99
Price in other shops:
Going Rogue: An American Lifeby Sarah Palin
Broadside Books; Published: 2010-08-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
Dreamland: A Novelby Kevin Baker
Harper Perennial; Published: 2002-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops:
April 1865: The Month That Saved America (P.S.)by Jay Winik
Harper Perennial; Published: 2006-08-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.79
Price in other shops:
And You Know You Should Be Glad: A True Story of Lifelong Friendshipby Bob Greene
William Morrow; Published: 2006-05-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.30
Price in other shops:
Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Mealby Eric Schlosser
PBS; Harper Perennial; Published: 2005-07-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.95
Price in other shops:
Thomas Jefferson: A Lifeby Willard Sterne Randall
Harper Perennial; Published: 1994-06-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.19
Price in other shops:
Winning Local and State Electionsby Ann Beaudry
Free Press; Published: 1986-05-26; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.44
Price in other shops:
Stonewall Jacksonby James Robertson
Macmillan Pub.; Published: 1997-02-18; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $47.66
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
The Fatal Conceit: The Errors of Socialism (The Collected Works of F. A. Hayek)by F. A. Hayek
University Of Chicago Press; Published: 1991-10-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.12
Price in other shops:
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Socialism (Politically Incorrect Guides)by Kevin D Williamson
Regnery Publishing; Published: 2011-01-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.94
Price in other shops:
A Patriot's History of the United States: From Columbus's Great Discovery to the War on Terrorby Larry Schweikart, Michael Allen
Sentinel Trade; Published: 2007-02-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.32
Price in other shops:
Economic Facts and Fallacies: Second Editionby Thomas Sowell
Basic Books; Published: 2011-03-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.07
Price in other shops:
The Shadow Party: How George Soros, Hillary Clinton, and Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Partyby David Horowitz, Richard Poe
Thomas Nelson; Published: 2007-04-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.76
Price in other shops:
Blacklisted by History: The Untold Story of Senator Joe McCarthy and His Fight Against America's Enemiesby M. Stanton Evans
Three Rivers Press; Published: 2009-11-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.99
Price in other shops:
The Coming Insurrection (Semiotext(e) / Intervention Series)by The Invisible Committee
Semiotext(e); Published: 2009-05-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.24
Price in other shops:
The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depressionby Amity Shlaes
Harper Collins Publishers; Harper Perennial; Published: 2008-05-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.88
Price in other shops:
The Road to Serfdom: Text and Documents--The Definitive Edition (The Collected Works of F. A. Hayek, Volume 2)by F. A. Hayek
University Of Chicago Press; Published: 2007-03-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.69
Price in other shops:
New Deal or Raw Deal?: How FDR's Economic Legacy Has Damaged Americaby Burton W. Folsom Jr.
Threshold Editions; Published: 2009-11-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.49
Price in other shops: