Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

Like "Muslim" radicalism, these ideologies both emerged as overreactions to unjust situations. The nationalist-socialist ideology of Nazism was a reaction to the severe economic sanctions and debt imposed on Germany after World War I as well as to the fraud and embezzlement of some Jewish bankers, whose business activity led to frequent depressions in the economy. The egalitarian ideology of Communism was a response to the greed of unscrupulous Western capitalists in general. However, the prevalence of such extremist ideologies declines when the underlying grievances spurring them are resolved. Had a more ethical, equitable world economy existed and had Germany not been treated so harshly by the victors of World War I, neither ideology might have appeared.

However, fascism and monarchism are not inherently evil. Fascism is simply a form of government where one person possesses all power.  Caesar Augustus of ancient Rome, Francisco Franco of Spain in the mid-twentieth century, and Benito Mussolini (in the early years of his reign) were just fascists who used their power wisely.  Sometimes a nation needs a fascist--even an imperfect fascist--to fill a power vacuum and pull the nation through chaotic circumstances. All the abovementioned rulers as well as Saddam Hussein are examples of such a leader, although Hussein was undeniably imperfect. Granted, the temptations to abuse such power are indeed enormous.

"Powerful" does not necessarily mean "evil". An ancient Roman symbol of civil authority, the fasces, has appeared on our US dimes for many years, and it represents the strength of legitimate authority. Though tyrants have abounded throughout history, the evils they committed were ultimately their own responsibility. We should not blame fascism for abuses perpetrated by individual rulers.

And finally, Mr. Hannity mentions monarchism. This, of course, is the system of rule by a royal family in which a king and queen or both possess ultimate authority for life, to be succeeded by their descendants. Unlike a fascist, a king does not usually possess total power, which makes this method of government less susceptible to abuse than fascism. A monarch typically delegates some legislative authority to his advisers and to local governments, and some judicial power to judges and a jury. Moreover, a constitutional monarchy is essentially a king and/or queen combined with our own system.    

Centuries ago, the Catholic countries of Europe flourished under monarchies, often producing great rulers such as King Saint Olav I of Norway, Saint Louis IX of France, and Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. If it had not been for the wisdom and evangelistic zeal of Queen Isabella of Spain, Columbus would never have discovered America, where Mr. Hannity is now sitting condemning monarchism as evil. Conversely, it was attacks on monarchies that precipitated some of the gravest consequences in history: the toppling of Louis and Antoinette of France for pretended offenses kicked off the godless French Revolution, and it was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie of Austria that plunged Europe into the First World War. Furthermore, if monarchism is bad, we should sever our alliances with Great Britain and Saudi Arabia because those countries are ruled by a queen and a king! In addition, I would venture to ask Mr. Hannity: If monarchism is "inherently unjust", why did you approve of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi of Iran, who was an unjust monarch? Obviously monarchism in itself cannot be evil; rather, as in fascism, some monarchs use it for evil.

Lumping monarchism, Nazism, fascism, and communism into the same bag clearly demonstrates a lack of good judgment at best, and a dangerous yet familiar neoconservative totalitarianism at worst.