• I Cast Fist@programming.dev
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      89
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      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
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        17
        ·
        1 year ago

        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”?

        • maxcorbetti@lemmy.ml
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          11
          ·
          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
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          10
          ·
          1 year ago

          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.

      • Gimly@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        33
        arrow-down
        5
        ·
        1 year ago

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

        • dirkgentle@lemmy.ca
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          22
          ·
          1 year ago

          Most republics afaik have “Republic” in their name. I don’t think that’s the problem.

                • NightDice@feddit.de
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  arrow-up
                  11
                  ·
                  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
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  arrow-up
                  6
                  ·
                  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)

                • EchoCT@lemmy.ml
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  arrow-up
                  6
                  arrow-down
                  1
                  ·
                  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.

                  • Lumidaub@feddit.de
                    link
                    fedilink
                    English
                    arrow-up
                    1
                    ·
                    1 year ago

                    The word is used, in specific cases. I have never ever said “ich lebe in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland”.

              • Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                4
                arrow-down
                2
                ·
                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.

    • Dale@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      45
      ·
      1 year ago

      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
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        18
        ·
        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
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        17
        ·
        1 year ago

        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.