The Political Left Increasingly Parallels Nazism
It is common for left-leaning media to malign conservatives by asserting that they are ideologically connected to the truly evil Nazis.
For example, on Dec. 20, CNN published an article titled, “Elon Musk endorses far-right German political party, wading deeper into global politics,” in which CNN claimed, “AfD recently became the first far-right party to win a state election in Germany since the Nazi era.”
Adolf Hitler and the Nazis were wicked, but they were creatures of the political left with far more connection to today’s leftist worldview and leftist agenda than any European conservative or “far-right” party.
The two defining elements of Nazism, which are enshrined in the National Socialist German Workers Party (shortened to “Nazi”), are racial Darwinism and political socialism.
Adolf Hitler became politically active after he was assigned by the post-World War I German government to attend a meeting of socialists in Munich and report on any threats they may pose to the Weimar Republic. Hitler became enthralled with socialism and quickly joined and took over leadership of a branch of the Munich socialists known as the German Workers’ Party.
Hitler, however, believed in a racial hierarchy in which Jews are the most vile and subhuman racial group. According to Hitler’s racial worldview, any violence against Jews was justified and encouraged because superior races can and should subjugate and even eliminate lower racial groups.
Not far above Jews, according to Hitler, were the Slavs, including Russia, Poland, and much of Eastern Europe. After enthusiastically joining and gaining leadership of the Munich socialists, Hitler broke with the Soviet-led global socialist hierarchy because he could not tolerate his Munich socialist group being subservient to what he deemed as racially inferior Russians. The socialist core of Hitler’s philosophy remained, and he called his new, racially charged Munich socialists the National Socialist German Workers’ Party.
In the Third Reich, Nazi officials referred to each other as “Comrade,” to deliberately remind each other of their socialist ideology. Government determined the role of industry and the output of individual companies. Government determined which workers would be assigned to which jobs. Government established the terms by which workers performed their jobs. Government stole the freedom of the people and gave political primacy to the state. In such manner, Nazi Germany was truly a socialist nation.
When Hitler embarked on his aggressive military takeovers and invasions of the Rhineland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland, the socialist-communist government of Stalinist Russia did not object. Instead, Stalin recognized Hitler as a fellow socialist and ideological ally. As a result, Stalin and Hitler formed a pact of aggression against capitalist Europe and agreed to divide the capitalist spoils between them. Stalin invaded Poland and other Eastern European nations alongside Hitler. The aggressive socialist alliance between Hitler and Stalin only ended when Hitler’s racial hatred and personal ambition led him to betray Stalin and seek global domination for himself.
Fast-forward to today’s political landscape, and the parallels between Nazism and the political left are light years beyond any asserted parallels or connection with conservatism or the “far right.”
First, Nazis were socialists in name and deed. The most defining characteristic of today’s (and history’s) political left is a socialist worldview and agenda. The defining characteristic of today’s “far right” is opposition to socialism.
Second, Nazis hated Jews and perpetrated and condoned all sorts of horrors against the Jewish people. Today’s political left almost uniformly condemns Israel and excuses or outright supports unprovoked attacks and killings of Jews in Israel and even against Jews seeking to peacefully exist in Western democracies. By contrast, it is the “far right” that are the most ardent defenders of Israel and the Jewish people. For example, today’s political left targets Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as the embodiment of the “far right” movement. Yet Orbán and Hungary pride themselves on being Israel’s closest European ally and the most strident defender of Israel among European nations. The farther to the left the leanings of a European government, the more likely it is to condemn Israel and turn a blind eye to attacks on Jewish people in Israel and throughout Europe.
Third, Nazis immediately absorbed and nationalized key industries and put them at the service of the state. Today’s political left has the same agenda. A common tenet of leftist politics is the desire to nationalize energy production, banks, health providers, and other vital elements of society and put them under the control and direction of the state, just like the Nazis did. Today’s “far right,” by contrast, is capitalist and supports a free-market separation of government and the economic sector.
Fourth, Nazis detested freedom of speech and immediately put an end to free speech upon taking power. Today’s political left does the same thing, arguing that anything other than leftist ideology qualifies as “hate speech” and thus deserves to be censored. In America and Europe, left-of-center governments have aggressively targeted free speech on social media. The Biden administration boasted of being in constant communication with social media giants and instructing them on what speech to allow and what speech to censor. In Europe, the European Union punishes social media entities that do not censor speech. Leftist political leaders have even shut down political rallies of prominent conservative political leaders such as Nigel Farage and Viktor Orbán. Today’s “far right,” however, are enthusiastic supporters and guarantors of free speech, unlike the Nazis and today’s political left.
Fifth, Nazis viewed Christianity as an obstacle to National Socialism and aggressively persecuted the Christian church. Christians were harassed, churches were closed, and Christian leaders were put to death. To fill the spiritual void, Nazis promoted pagan mythology as more tolerant of, and allied with, the Nazi worldview. Today’s political left similarly despises and persecutes Christianity, while attempting to fill the spiritual void with paganism.
Sixth, Nazis envisioned a global governance system with little room for independent nations or distinctive cultural identities. In Hitler’s worldview, the distinctive cultures of all conquered nations would be stomped out and replaced by Germans and German-Nazi culture. Nations that willingly submitted to Nazi dominance might be allowed to retain their cultural identities during a short-term period. But ultimately, they must make way for a global German-Nazi culture. Today’s political left similarly attempts to stomp out national identities and cultures in a bid to create a globalist structure, globalist governance, and an end to distinctive European national identities. By contrast, today’s “far right” oppose global governance and are staunch defenders of distinctive national cultures, identities, and sovereignty.
In short, CNN and other leftist propagandists accuse conservatives of what they themselves are up to. In a classic case of projection, leftist media attempt to arouse fear and suspicion of the grassroots conservative movement by labeling conservatives or the “far right” as modern-day Nazis or fascists. In truth, it is the political left that much more closely embodies Nazism and is the progeny of the National Socialist movement.
James Taylor (jtaylor@heartland.org) is president of The Heartland Institute.
The views expressed in this opinion article are those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by the owners of this website. If you are interested in contributing an Op-Ed to The Western Journal, you can learn about our submission guidelines and process here.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
