Robert Heilbroner, an economist and socialist, defined Socialism as a centrally planned economy in which the government controls all means of production. Fascism, as an economic system, is socialism with a capitalist veneer.
Sheldon Richman does an excellent job in discussing what fascism is all about. Excerpts from his article are as follows: "Where socialism seeks complete totalitarian control of a society’s economic processes through direct state operation of the means of production, fascism sought that control indirectly, through domination of private owners. Where socialism nationalized property explicitly, fascism did so implicitly, by requiring owners to use their property in the “national interest," that is, as the autocratic (government) authority conceived what that interest should be. (Sounds a whole lot like what the Fed, FDIC, and Treasury are trying to institute with its $12.5 trillion in bailout/stimulus commitments.) Where socialism abolished all market relations outright, fascism left the appearance of market relations while planning all economic activities. Where socialism abolished money and prices, fascism controlled the monetary system and set all prices and wages politically. In doing all this, fascism denatured the marketplace. Entrepreneurship was abolished. State ministries, rather than consumers, determined what was produced and under what conditions."
"Under fascism, the state, through official cartels, controls all aspects of manufacturing, commerce, finance, and agriculture. Planning boards set product lines, production levels, prices, wages, working conditions, and the size of firms. Licensing was ubiquitous; no economic activity could be undertaken without government permission. Levels of consumption were dictated by the state, and “excess” incomes had to be surrendered as taxes or “loans.”
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