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That is what is taught in school, and I always thought it was right. But many Italian facists started as socialists and they certainly learned the methods:

- Individualism is squashed in both systems. The citizen solely exists for the state and is to be exploited as a worker or cannon fodder.

- Both systems had worker holiday cities for propaganda and constant reeducation.

- Both systems had many youth organizations for indoctrination.

- Both systems had nationalized radio.

- Both systems sent their opponents into Gulags/camps.

- In both systems, if you pretended to be a follower, you'd be taken care of (that arguably is the socialist aspect of national socialism).

National socialism did not actually nationalize companies, but they were certainly under control of the state.

The point is that while the ideologies were different, the outcome was not completely dissimilar (even antisemitism with purges was there under Stalin). National socialism had an overtly murderous ideology, while the marxist one pretended to do one thing and did quite another.




Those are effective means of population control. Propaganda and indoctrination for example where used by every country in WWII because they where efficient methods independent of ideology.

At most you can look at efficient surface similarities and say this ideology does not prohibit these actions.


Isn't that what people are doing here: Looking for significant overlaps? Consider the NSDAP KdF program and mentally replace the swastika with a hammer and sickle:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strength_Through_Joy

Obviously NS is not 100% equal to abstract pure socialism, I think we can assume that everyone here knows that.




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