Dear Editor, 

Over the week-end when we should be celebrating our exceptional history, our current President decided it was time to demonize Democrats or anyone not agreeing with himself as communists. The term has found it way to this Opinion Page using communist tropes to spread lies and fear to the public. What is lost in all the chatter is a clear understanding of the meaning of communism, socialism, democratic socialism and fascism, because why spread accurate definitions if hyperbole serves the purpose.

All of these definitions come from Britannica, a source of fact not opinion.

Socialism, social and economic doctrine that calls for public rather than private ownership or control of property and natural resources. According to the socialist view, individuals do not live or work in isolation but live in cooperation with one another. Furthermore, everything that people produce is in some sense a social product, and everyone who contributes to the production of a good is entitled to a share in it. Society as a whole, therefore, should own or at least control property for the benefit of all its members. Socialists complain that capitalism necessarily leads to unfair and exploitative concentrations of wealth and power in the hands of the relative few who emerge victorious from freemarket competition—people who then use their wealth and power to reinforce their dominance in society. Because such people are rich, they may choose where and how to live, and their choices in turn limit the options of the poor. Socialism is connected to the views of Karl Marx. https://www.britannica.com/money/socialism

Communism In State and Revolution (1917), Lenin asserted that socialism corresponds to Marx’s first phase of communist society and communism proper to the second. Lenin and the Bolshevik wing of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party reinforced this distinction in 1918, the year after they seized power in Russia, by taking the name All-Russian Communist Party. Since then, communism has been largely, if not exclusively, identified with the form of political and economic organization developed in the Soviet Union and adopted subsequently in the People’s Republic of China and other countries ruled by communist parties. https://www.britannica.com/topic/communism

Social Democracy, political ideology that originally advocated a peaceful evolutionary transition of society from capitalism to socialism using established political processes. In the second half of the 20th century, there emerged a more moderate version of the doctrine, which generally espoused state regulation, rather than state ownership, of the means of production and extensive social welfare programs. Based on 19th-century socialism and the tenets of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, social democracy shares common ideological roots with communism but eschews its militancy and totalitarianism. Social democracy was originally known as revisionism because it represented a change in basic Marxist doctrine, primarily in the former’s repudiation of the use of revolution to establish a socialist society. https://www.britannica.com/topic/social-democracy

Democratic Socialist REJECT Marxism-Leninism (i.e., COMMUNISM) as a legitimate form of socialism, arguing that command economies effectively belong to a small bureaucracy that treats the means of production as its own private property. Democratic socialists also disagree with social democrats’ attempts to harness capitalism to a strong welfare state, since such mixed economies still leave many businesses’ ownership under private (and therefore undemocratic) control. Instead, all employees should enjoy either democratic control or self-management in the workplace. https://www.britannica.com/topic/democratic-socialism Democratic Socialists include Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mayor of NYC, Zohran Mamdani.

Fascism: Political scientist Dr. Lawrence Britt wrote an article about fascism ("Fascism Anyone Studying the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile), Dr. Britt found they all had 14 elements in common. (as I was adding this section, I see Trump. I know that is blasphemy but be honest when you read these.)

1) Powerful and Continuing Nationalism Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays. (not only our nation’s flags but all those Trump and MAGA flags and all the MAGA gear)

2) Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc. (discontinuing of USAID providing food and medical to the world’s most needy struggling just to live, Cecot, detention centers)

3) Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause. The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc. (scapegoating immigrants, calling liberals, Democrats, our allies inappropriate names, using racial and ethnic slurs)

4) Supremacy of the Military Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized. (Hegseth’s warrior ethic, excess military spending)

5) Rampant Sexism The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy. (this is Trump as it can be, refusing to promote women or minorities in the military)

6) Controlled Mass Media Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common. (attacks on media outlets when they have stories negative to Trump, lawsuits and bribery)

7) Obsession with National Security Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses. (use of the term communism to promote fear, military spending)

8) Religion and Government are Intertwined Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions. (Christian Nationalism, Selling of Bibles for profit, ultra-right religious members given oval office access)

9) Corporate Power is Protected The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite. (Trump and his friends and family making billions off of insider trading and government funding)

10) Labor Power is Suppressed Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed. (Trump’s anti-labor stance)

11) Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts. (Trump’s attack on higher education, undoing the Dept. Education)

12) Obsession with Crime and Punishment Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations. (Scapegoating victims of police treatment, lying about the circumstances around the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, ICE treatment of people because of the color of their skin)

13) Rampant Cronyism and Corruption Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders. (See #9)

14) Fraudulent Elections Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections. (Jan. 6th, 2021-after 60 failures in the court to overturn the election of 2020, Trump incited his supporters to “take back their country” by attacking the Capitol, then pardoning the adjudicated criminals on Day one of Trump’s 2nd administration and now supporting giving these same people millions of dollars as payment for their illegal activities. Trying to find ways to affect the mid-term elections)

Rosemary Schwartz