The touchy-feely police state
Originally published at Firefly the Great. Please leave any comments there.
Interesting “debate” using video clips of Milton Friedman as rebuttals to a speech by Naomi Klein, who manages to surprise even me with her startlingly simplistic “Liberals are good people, conservatives are bad people” formulation.
Much less simplistic, despite its initially shocking title and a rather eye-catching piece of cover art featuring a smiley face with the Austrian facial hair that has become the symbol of National Socialism, is Jonah Goldberg’s account of liberal fascism in his new book and in this interview on the Glenn and Helen Show.
Goldberg talks about fascism “not in the Hollywood jack-booted thug sense” but rather as it existed in the beginning of the 20th century, as a developed ideology. He discusses the progressive roots of fascism and socialism and how many fascist ideas are still alive and well today, primarily in terms of the liberal welfare/nanny state but also in terms of “compassionate conservatism” and the social gospel message of Republicans like presidential candidate Huckabee.