this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2023
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[–] Bogrug@lemmy.world 94 points 1 year ago (3 children)
[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 84 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah, that's literally their whole reasoning. I've had to deal with a number of those all the way back in 2014, "national sOcIaLiSm"

Of course, whenever I pointed to The Guardian's interview with Hitler in 1923 (and republished in 1932), where he energetically complains about marxists (marxians, as he calls them) "stealing" the socialist term from "real germans" and actively calls for the end of bolshevism, I was completely ignored.

"Why," I asked Hitler, "do you call yourself a National Socialist, since your party programme is the very antithesis of that commonly accredited to socialism?"

"Socialism," he retorted, putting down his cup of tea, pugnaciously, "is the science of dealing with the common weal. Communism is not Socialism. Marxism is not Socialism. The Marxians have stolen the term and confused its meaning. I shall take Socialism away from the Socialists.

[–] hare_ware@pawb.social 16 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Wait, but what did he even mean by "socialism" here? I get call what was happening in Russia not socialism, but what was the un-Marxist form of socialism Hitler was talking about? Also, wasn't Marx also German, did Hitler see him as not a "real german"?

[–] jagot@programming.dev 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Marx was famously also Jewish.

[–] hare_ware@pawb.social 5 points 1 year ago

Ah, yeah, that'll do it.

[–] maxcorbetti@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 year ago

He's opportunistcally envokning it as socialism is popular, but cares for nothing other than the political clout the label may bring.

Fascism exists to capture popular revolutionary sentiment, while preserving the old power structure.

[–] reversebananimals@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

He didn't mean anything at all. That was the brilliance of the Nazi propaganda machine. They stole words that referred to popular things and said them enough times in relation to themselves that they lost all meaning.

Its exactly the same as how the modern day right wing say anything that supports them is "patriotic" and anything that doesn't is "anti-[country]". If they say the word "patriotic" enough times, it loses all meaning & makes it impossible for opponents to argue against, because you can't have a rational debate when language is meaningless.

[–] hare_ware@pawb.social 5 points 1 year ago

Ah, oh.. why did I expect the answer to not be kinda scary...

[–] Granixo@feddit.cl 64 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Democratic People's Republic of Korea entered the chat

[–] Gimly@lemmy.world 27 points 1 year ago (1 children)

A country with republic and/or democratic in its official name is usually neither.

[–] dirkgentle@lemmy.ca 22 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Most republics afaik have "Republic" in their name. I don't think that's the problem.

[–] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

they don't tend to actually use that name, no one says "the republic of finland"

[–] gredo@lemmy.world 19 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Federal republic of Germany)

[–] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de -5 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Which is basically never used, everyone just says germany.

[–] nightdice@feddit.de 11 points 1 year ago

That depends, in Germany, the federal republic part is fairly regularly used in news when talking about international affairs, basically using it so they don't have to say Germany as often.

[–] gredo@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

Maybe in English it is not used as often. In Germany it is used as just Bundesrepublik in News etc to don't repeat oneself too much or in historic context to differentiate from the German Democratic Republic (where the naming is again ironic, but it's the Democratic party)

[–] bleepbloopbleep@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

It is used in Germany though lol

[–] EchoCT@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 year ago

I thought us Americans had egos, but I'm not going to tell people they're referencing their own countries by the wrong name.

[–] DScratch@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yes they do.
Source: Am Irish.

[–] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 year ago

That's true, though in that case it's to disambiguate from northern ireland or the whole island.

Same deal as the Kingdom of Denmark, you only ever say that to emphasize that you mean greenland as well.

[–] youCanCallMeDragon@lemmy.world 43 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Most Americans have no idea what socialism is. You’re not supposed to think about it here. They just hear that socialism is bad and it’s in the name of the nazi party which is also bad, so that tracks.

[–] Mostly_Gristle@lemmy.world 17 points 1 year ago

Most Americans don't know what capitalism is either. We've been so brainwashed into believing capitalism and simple commerce are the same thing that people think any system that isn't capitalism is some authoritarian hellscape where the government forces you at gunpoint to share your toothbrush with everyone else in the neighborhood because personal property will be outlawed somehow.

[–] nightdice@feddit.de 17 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Most Americans think that "liberal" is someone on the left, while most European nations (as well as what little political theory I had) place them somewhere in the center, usually fiscally progressive but socially conservative.