Right and Left Are Relative Terms
The political spectrum is not absolute, but depends on the context of the nation. In the U.S. system, which is built on limited government, decentralized power, and constitutional rights, both Fascism and Communism are far-left because they advocate for state control over the individual.
U.S. Political Spectrum Relative to Fascism and Communism
| Political Position | Key Beliefs | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Far-Left | Full government ownership of corporations and industry, absolute control over speech, authoritarian rule, and political persecution. | Communism (USSR, China, North Korea) |
| Left | State control over corporations and markets, authoritarian central government, dominance over cultural institutions. | Fascism (Nazi Germany, Mussolini’s Italy) |
| Progressive Left | A bloated administrative state where unelected bureaucrats create and enforce policies without legislative approval, heavy government regulation, wealth redistribution, DEI mandates, speech restrictions, political censorship, ESG enforcement, corporate-state collusion, lawfare against political opponents, control over corporate media and public education, and a view of the U.S. Constitution as an outdated, evolving document that must be reinterpreted or bypassed to achieve social progress. | Modern U.S. Progressivism (including DEI, ESG enforcement, radical left-wing activism, advocates for Green New Deal-style policies, postliberal state-driven social engineering, collectivist identity politics, and a technocratic administrative state |
| Moderate Left | Partial Interventionists. Regulated capitalism with a strong welfare state. Affirms constitutional rights, though often with a more flexible, evolving interpretation than conservatives. | Traditional Democrats (1950s-1990s U.S.) |
| Center-Right | Limited government, individual liberty, constitutional rights | Conservatives, Classical Liberalism |
| Far-Right | Anarchism, complete abolition of the state and government authority. | Libertarian anarchists |
Thus, while Fascism is “right” of Communism, it is still deeply left-wing in relation to the U.S. Constitution, which prioritizes individual liberty over government power. The more government intervenes, regulates, and centralizes power, the further left it moves. Conversely, the less a government intervenes and decentralizes power, the further right it moves relative to the U.S. Constitution
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Question
Would you agree with Horseshoe Theory, which places Fascism on the far-right and Communism on the far-left?
Horseshoe Theory is the idea that the far-left and far-right, rather than being opposites, actually bend toward each other, resembling the shape of a horseshoe. It suggests that extreme ends of the political spectrum share similar traits, despite their differing rhetoric. The horseshoe model is misleading because it prioritizes cultural differences (e.g., nationalism vs. internationalism) while ignoring the central issue of government power:
- Fascism & Communism both demand massive state control – Authoritarianism, censorship, economic regulation, and political persecution define both.
- Neither is right-wing in the American sense – The U.S. Constitution’s right-wing tradition is rooted in individual liberty, free markets, and limited government—all antithetical to Fascism.
- True far-right would be anarchism – If the left-right spectrum is measured by government control, then totalitarianism (Fascism/Communism) belongs on the left, while the true far-right would be anarchism—the complete absence of government.
The kissing cousins Fascism (National Socialism) and Communism (International Socialism) are two sides of the same authoritarian coin, while true conservatism and classical liberalism stand in opposition to both.