Fascisms

A discussion that pops up from time to time on the internet is whether Bush/Obama/the USA/any other country or government is fascist. This kind of thing sometimes is just idiotic, other times it leads to pretty well-reasoned arguments.

Anyway, my take is that the only real and true fascism was the regime and ideology that ruled Italy or parts thereof from 1922 to 1945 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini aka Duce.

With the defeat of the Salò Republic and the execution of Mussolini, fascism proper ended (and then more than just a few people switched sides at blinding speed, but that's another story). A few diehard fascists remain in Italy, but they are confined to the fringes and have no power.

So anything else cannot be fascism proper; it can only have more or less in common with Mussolini's movement. I do not want, and neither can in fact, make a list of the peculiar carachteristics of fascism proper, tho.

However, with time the meaning of fascism has morphed and now it seems to mean any sort of dictatorial or authoritarian regime, especially one that is not appreciated by the left.

To reiterate a concept I have expressed several times already, there can not be a meaningful discussion if those taking part in it do not agree on the meaning of the words being used. And in this case even the famous book Liberal Fascism is perpetuating the error. Yes, I think I know the reasoning and intentions behind the title, and I admit it's succesful as a polemics generator.

Now, I read in today's news that the agreement being forced by Obama between Chrysler and Fiat will see trade unions acquiring a significant fraction of the stock. Fasci e corporazioni?