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Let’s be clear about what fascism actually is
Nixon, Reagan, Trump — they were, and are, not fascists: misusing the term will cost the left dearly, writes ZOLTAN ZIGEDY
The popular obsession with depicting Donald Trump as Adolf Hitler is far from accurate.

“FASCIST” and “Fascism” are frequently used words today that are both popular and slippery. The prevalence of the words in common parlance is indisputable, but regrettable for three reasons:

  • There is no common, shared, ordinary meaning of “fascism”
  • “Fascist” has often become merely an epithet, a term of abuse
  • The use of the expressions has disengaged from their specific history and context

Today, commentators, both left and right, excoriate their targets with fascist-themed concatenations: “feminazis,” “islamofascists,” “neo-fascists,” “PC fascists,” etc.

And, of course, the dinner-table discussion of the liberal intelligentsia inevitably arrives at the burning question: “Is Trump a fascist?” If you Googled “Trump, fascism, fascist” on August 25, you would have gotten 9,150,000 results.

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