By: Brian Evans
Every election cycle, we hear the same tired line from Democrats: “Trump is a fascist.” “MAGA Republicans are Nazis.” It’s the political version of yelling “fire” in a crowded theater — loud, dramatic, and designed to scare people into silence rather than spark real understanding.
But here’s the truth, spoken plainly and backed by history:
Conservatism is the opposite of fascism.
Not “kind of different.” Not “slightly off.”
The exact opposite.
And ironically, the roots of fascism and the worldview behind it sit much closer to the big-government progressive Left, not to any form of limited-government conservatism.
Let’s break this down in a way that makes sense — because the American people deserve clarity, not political scare-tactics.
Fascism Didn’t Grow Out of Conservatism — It Grew Out of Socialism
This part always surprises people who’ve only heard the modern political spin.
Before founding the Fascist movement, Benito Mussolini — the very father of fascism — was a proud and outspoken socialist. Not a casual one, not a part-time activist, but a full-blown party leader and editor of major socialist newspapers.
He left socialism only after deciding it didn’t go far enough. And what did he build instead?
A system centered on:
Total government power
Extreme nationalism combined with state control
Suppression of free speech and dissent
Crushing political opposition
Government-directed economic activity
That is not — and has never been — the conservative vision of America.
Fascism didn’t come from the ideals of liberty, faith, personal responsibility, or limited government.
It came from the belief that the government should dominate society and direct every aspect of people’s lives.
Sound familiar?
Because those hallmarks line up far more with big centralized government, not constitutional conservatism.
What Socialism, Fascism, and Nazism All Share:
People often treat these ideologies as if they come from different planets. In reality, they come from the same neighborhood.
They all believe…
The collective is more important than the individual
The state has the right to control the economy
Government should shape society, culture, and even thought
Disagreement is dangerous and must be suppressed
Different packaging — same underlying worldview.
Nazism added a horrifying racial ideology to the mix, but at its core it remained a big-government, authoritarian system. None of these ideologies trust individuals to shape their own lives. None of them tolerate open debate or personal freedom. And none of them believe people thrive best when the government gets out of the way.
That is why comparing conservatism to fascism isn’t just wrong.
It is historically upside-down.
Conservatism: The Real Opposite of Authoritarianism
Now let’s put aside accusations and look at what conservatism actually stands for:
Less government, not more
Freedom of speech, even speech we don’t like
Religious liberty and freedom of conscience
Local power over federal control
Private ownership, free enterprise, personal responsibility
A constitutional system that limits the government — not the people
Conservatives believe the government should answer to the people — not the other way around.
This is why the MAGA movement resonates with everyday Americans. It pushes for:
Lower taxes
Less red tape
American jobs
Secure borders
Energy independence
Safer streets
A government that works for citizens, not over them:
You can disagree with those policies. You can debate them. But calling them “fascist” is intellectually lazy and historically untrue.
The Real Authoritarians? Look at Who Wants More Government Power:
If we’re being honest — really honest — the people who want to control speech, regulate thought, police language, censor the internet, weaponize federal agencies, and expand bureaucracy endlessly… are not conservatives.
Conservatives want government to leave people alone.
Fascists wanted government to be involved in everything.
Those instincts simply do not match.
Why the “Fascist” Label Is So Toxic and So Dangerous:
Throwing around the word “fascist” every time someone disagrees politically does more harm than good:
It shuts down conversation
It demonizes neighbors, co-workers, and family members
It reduces major historical tragedies to cheap political talking points
It distracts from real problems facing the country
It normalizes hatred by pretending disagreement is extremism
America needs real debate — not cartoonish name-calling:
If Americans Want Freedom, the Answer Is Conservatism
Conservatism — at its heart — believes in people.
In their abilities, their rights, their dignity, their independence.
Fascism believes in the state.
That alone should end the comparison.
So the next time someone casually throws around words like “fascist” or “Nazi” to describe Trump or millions of everyday conservative Americans, it’s worth asking a simple question:
Are they speaking from knowledge — or from fear?
Because once you understand the history… the comparison doesn’t just fall apart.
It becomes impossible.
Sources:
- Britannica — “Benito Mussolini Biography”
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Benito-Mussolini - History.com — “How Mussolini Used Terror to Rise to Power”
https://www.history.com/news/mussolini-italy-fascism - Britannica — “Fascism: Overview and Summary”
https://www.britannica.com/summary/fascism - Cornell Law School — “Originalism”
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/originalism - Cornell Law School — “Textualism”
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/textualism - Cornell Law Review — “A Tale of Two Formalisms: How Law and Economics Mirrors Originalism and Textualism”
https://www.cornelllawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Buchanan-Dorf-A-Tale-of-Two-Formalisms-How-Law-and-Economics-Mirrors-Originalism-and-Textualism.pdf - Congressional Research Service — “Modes of Constitutional Interpretation”
https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R45129
Brian Evans for Joplin 