Instigator / Pro
0
1266
rating
119
debates
15.97%
won
Topic
#31

Fascism and communism are direct political opposites

Status
Finished

The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.

Winner & statistics
Better arguments
0
3
Better sources
0
2
Better legibility
0
1
Better conduct
0
1

After 1 vote and with 7 points ahead, the winner is...

the_bat_man
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
3
Time for argument
One day
Max argument characters
30,000
Voting period
One week
Point system
Multiple criterions
Voting system
Open
Contender / Con
7
1496
rating
3
debates
50.0%
won
Description

No information

Round 1
Pro
#1
Forfeited
Con
#2
Pro = Type1 = Fascism and communism are direct political opposites
Con = the_bat_man = Fascism and communism are not direct political opposites

My opponent has forfeited the first round, leaving me to make the opening arguments.

A1: The Definitions

Let us make clear what we are debating by defining what exactly "Fascism" and "Communism" mean. The definition of "Fascism" as defined by Merriam-Webster is below.

1 often capitalized : a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition
The definition of "communism" as defined by Merriam-Webster is below.

1 a : a system in which goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed
b : a theory advocating elimination of private property
At first glance, fascism and communism do look like direct political opposites. Using information derived from the definitions, you can say that fascism is the basis for dictatorial, nationalist and totalitarian regimes. Hitler was known as a strong believer in the fascist agenda (even though he went by the misleading name National-Socialist, or "Nazi" for short) as was Mao Zedong, the dictator of China who oversaw the Cultural Revolution. And using information from the second definition you can tell that any nation that believes in it will have publically owned businesses and everyone will be equal (a liberal’s dream come true).

But let’s look at the second definition of communism, it which it is capitalized.

2 capitalized
a : a doctrine based on revolutionary Marxian socialism and Marxism-Leninism that was the official ideology of the U.S.S.R.
b : a totalitarian system of government in which a single authoritarian party controls state-owned means of production
c : a final stage of society in Marxist theory in which the state has withered away and economic goods are distributed equitably
d : communist systems collectively

Yes, the dictionary can not tell us everything. But Communism can also be defined by how it has played out in history.

A2: Communism in History

Here are the nations that are currently running on the communist agenda.

-China
-North Korea
-Vietnam
-Cuba
-Laos

Tell me, have any of those countries turned out well? Are any of them “a final stage of society in Marxist theory in which the state has withered away and economic goods are distributed equitably?” The short answer is no.

-China killed and silenced millions of people during the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution
-North Korea puts people and death camps and has threatened Japan, South Korea, and the US with nuclear bombs
-North Vietnam attacked South Vietnam in the 50s and 60s and killed millions of people
-Cuba killed thousands of people during the Cuban Revolution
-Laos killed thousands of people along with the Vietnamese

You know, maybe it’s just me, but I’m not seeing any good stuff here.

A3: Karl Marx’s Intentions

This section is basically my interpretation of the Communist Manifesto (yes, I have read it).

The reason communism doesn’t work is because the point of it is for the people (proleteriat) to someday rise up and take over the government. But this can’t happen instantly. So while the proleteriat are waiting to rise up, there has to be some kind of government. And that is a government where all the wealth is distributed. Communism degrades personal freedoms. See, if somebody studied for 8 years to be a surgeon, that wouldn’t matter. Because the person next door works at McDonald’s and they get paid the same amount of money.

I’m still not seeing any good stuff.

Conclusion

  1. Fascism is a totalitarian form of government.
  2. Communism has been shown to have totalitarian forms of government.
  3. Therefore, they are not direct political opposites.
Sources

A1
Fascism. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fascism
Communism. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/communism
Nazism. (2018, August 27). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazism

A2
Manning, S. (2018, April 16). Communist Body Count. Retrieved from
https://scottmanning.com/content/communist-body-count/

A3
Marx, K., & Engels, F. (2018). The Communist manifesto. Singapore: Origami Books.

Round 2
Pro
#3
Forfeited
Con
#4
Extend.
Round 3
Pro
#5
Forfeited
Con
#6
Pro forfeited. Vote for Con.