When the United States House of Representatives debated the “Parents Bill of Rights Act,” Democrats made a series of strange claims. One of the more curious statements came from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), who declared that she values “freedom over fascism.”
It has become fashionable among Leftists to call conservatives fascist. While this is often an accurate label, such as when conservatives threaten to regulate Big Tech, Leftists ignore the fact that fascism is a Leftist ideology.
Under socialism, which AOC advocates, the means of production are owned by society—the government. Under fascism, the means of production are privately “owned,” but government dictates what and how production will occur—ownership exists in name only. Under both socialism and fascism, producers can only act as government officials’ decree. Under both socialism and fascism, individuals are not free to produce as they think best, but only as government officials allow. Under both systems, individuals exist solely to serve the State.
So, while AOC is declaring that she values freedom over fascism, she omits the fact that she doesn’t value freedom. She wants the government to be in control of citizens’ lives. She wants individuals to be subservient to the demands and dictates of government officials.
Freedom means the absence of coercion. If the government owns the means of production, individuals are forcibly prohibited from producing as they choose. If the government dictates how the means of production are used, individuals are forcibly prohibited from producing as they choose. The only difference between socialism and fascism is, as Ayn Rand noted, the slogans their advocates use.
AOC and her fellow Democratic Socialists want us to believe that socialism imposed by a vote is somehow freedom. The fact is, democracy means unlimited majority rule, that the majority may do as it pleases because it is the majority. It means that the individual is subservient to the majority, i.e., the State. And that is not freedom.