Michael Hoover writes: >recall that Mussolini proclaimed a desire to
construct a 'totalitarian' state...and appeal of concept/term for US Cold
Warriors was drawing attention to similarities between fascism and
communism which they could do only by eliding significant differences
between two (such as capitalist economy surviving throughout Nazi period
with big business collaboration and communism's advocacy of equality,
international solidarity and co-operation)...<

This is accurate. Burnham and Orwell (and others) linked fascism and
communism, though Burnham brought in the US New Deal, too. The cold
warriors of course never applied the term "fascist" or "totalitarian" to
their allies, no matter how appropriate it was. 

BTW, I wouldn't attribute "communism's advocacy of equality, international
solidarity and co-operation" to Stalin's communism. As Trotsky and many
others documented, inequality increased a lot under Stalin. (The USSR did
better afterwards, as full employment resulted from its style of
industrialization.) As for "international solidarity and co-operation,"
these seemed to be tools for defending the Soviet Union, as when the
Cominterm became subordinate to Moscow. We shouldn't take "advocacy"
seriously, unless it is backed up in practice. After all, _Clinton_
endorses a version of international solidarity and co-operation.

Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] &
http://clawww.lmu.edu/Faculty/JDevine/jdevine.html
Bombing DESTROYS human rights. Ground troops make things worse. US/NATO out
of Serbia!



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