In researching the rise of fascism in 1930s Britain, I was surprised to learn that Oswald Mosley, the charismatic founder of the British Union of Fascists (BUF), was initially a fan of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. He formed the BUF after his effort to introduce New Deal-style legislation failed and he went to Italy and met Mussolini. The transition from FDR, generally regarded as progressively left of center in the US, and right-wing fascism was a surprise to me, but Dorothy Thompson recognized the potential connection. This excerpt makes me think that government intervention in an economy is not the mark of fascism, and is in fact necessary for a healthy economy. But anti-Semitism (and racism), militarism, and misogyny/anti-feminism transform such intervention from democratic socialism to fascism.
Source: A Good Journalist Understands That Fascism Can Happen Anywhere, Anytime ‹ Literary Hub
