Liberal Fascism

November 26, 2007
In this provocative and well-researched book, Goldberg probes modern liberalism’s spooky origins in early 20th-century fascist politics. With chapter titles such as “Adolf Hitler: Man of the Left†and “Brave New Village: Hillary Clinton and the Meaning of Liberal Fascismâ€â€”Goldberg argues that fascism “has always†been “a phenomenon of the left.†This is Goldberg’s first book, and he wisely curbs his wry National Review
style. Goldberg’s study of the conceptual overlap between fascism and ideas emanating from the environmental movement, Hollywood, the Democratic Party and what he calls other left-wing organs is shocking and hilarious. He lays low such lights of liberal history as Margaret Sanger, apparently a radical eugenicist, and JFK, whose cult of personality, according to Goldberg, reeks of fascist political theater. Much of this will be music to conservatives’ ears, but other readers may be stopped cold by the parallels Goldberg draws between Nazi Germany and the New Deal. The book’s tone suffers as it oscillates between revisionist historical analyses and the application of fascist themes to American popular culture; nonetheless, the controversial arc Goldberg draws from Mussolini to The Matrix
is well-researched, seriously argued—and funny.

Starred review from December 15, 2007
Goldberg takes his title not from the rantings of conservative talk shows but rather from the progressive rhetoric of H. G. Wells. Speaking in 1932, Wells informed Oxfords Young Liberals that to advance their agenda, they needed to become liberal fascists. Relatively few actually heard Wells speech, but Goldberg shows that many liberals were indeed moving in a Fascist direction during the first half of the twentieth century. Woodrow Wilson actually anticipated much of Mussolinis Fascist program in implementing a wartime socialism that expanded government powers and diminished individual liberties. And when FDR launched his New Deal, prominent supporters hailed Il Duce as a political exemplar. Because of abhorrence for the race hatred and military aggression Hitler added to the Fascist formula, and because of credulous acceptance of Soviet propaganda obscuring the deep kinship of Communism and Fascism, liberals have since World War II ignored their predecessors links to Fascism. Liberals, as Goldberg bitterly complains, have even wielded the word Fascist as a club for cudgeling conservatives while themselves still advancing political projects (in welfare, medicine, and child care) pushing America closer to Mussolinis ultimate objective: Everything in the state, nothing outside the state. Certain to attract interestwhether critical or laudatoryacross the political spectrum.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)