Originally published at crisis magazine
There’s an old tale we all know well: The Emperor’s New Clothes. A vain ruler is tricked by clever weavers who promise him a garment so fine, so refined, that only the truly intelligent can see it. Not wanting to appear stupid, his ministers go along with the ruse. So does the crowd. And so the emperor parades through the streets in what is, in truth, nothing at all—naked and deluded—until a child, untouched by fear or pretense, simply calls out the obvious: “He’s not wearing anything!”
We live now in such a moment.
The words “fascist” and “Nazi” have been slung about like Cro-Magnon battle clubs by those who fancy themselves modern prophets yet are entirely bereft of understanding or reflection. These terms have become the rhetorical equivalents of the emperor’s imaginary robe: indicators of virtue to the indoctrinated but seen as utter nonsense by anyone daring to look with unclouded eyes.
Orthodox. Faithful. Free.
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And here’s the staggering irony: the ones hurling these accusations—often self-appointed guardians of democracy and tolerance—are the ones most resembling fascists themselves.
What Fascism Actually Is
To understand just how absurd these slurs are, we
