Well, this is from Mussolini's 1932 "What is Fascism"
"The foundation of Fascism is the conception of the State, its character, its duty, and its aim. Fascism conceives of the State as an absolute, in comparison with which all individuals or groups are relative, only to be conceived of in their relation to the State. The conception of the Liberal State is not that of a directing force, guiding the play and development, both material and spiritual, of a collective body, but merely a force limited to the function of recording results: on the other hand, the Fascist State is itself conscious and has itself a will and a personality -- thus it may be called the "ethic" State....
...The Fascist State organizes the nation, but leaves a sufficient margin of liberty to the individual; the latter is deprived of all useless and possibly harmful freedom, but retains what is essential; the deciding power in this question cannot be the individual, but the State alone....
"
Volkswagen and Speer's construction companys as well as I.G Farben and a Nazified Krupp were a state-owned or controlled venture with state-directed production - much as the People's Army has controlling interest of much of China's industry. A party oligarchy acts as the economic directors and beneficiaries of the nation. The State decides the limits of individual freedom without the individual having a veto over the power of the state.
I grant you that in totalitarian system drawing ideologic distinctions are difficult - Stalin, Hitler, Saddam, and Mao had more in common than they had differences.
But it is certainly as accurate to consider China as a fascist state as it is a communist state - especially if one looks at the theoretical basis of communism vs the theory of fascism.
>Charles,
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>>China - state control the economy with the army and party officials having control positions in industry with a workforce controlled by organs of the state. There really is a model for that - Italy, Germany, Spain in the 1930's. Fascism with an Asian face.
>
>errr... I'd like to view your definition of fasism and how this fits within china's politics, because I can't see any comparison here.
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>>But the dragon swallowed Hong Kong - and as we see now in Shanghai - Hong Kong may yet digest the dragon. <s>
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>True...
>
>Walter,
Charles Hankey
Though a good deal is too strange to be believed, nothing is too strange to have happened.
- Thomas Hardy
Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm-- but the harm does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves.
-- T. S. Eliot
Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for lunch.
Liberty is a well-armed sheep contesting the vote.
- Ben Franklin
Pardon him, Theodotus. He is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature.
