List of political epithets

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Fascist

1930s: Used to describe people who were thought to support Hitler, Mussolini, and other authoritarian right-wing rulers (not all of whom easily identified with Fascist manifesto, Fascism in the strict sense of the term).

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Late 20th century: Used by leftists to refer to conservatives, arguing that many conservative policies and philosophies resemble those of the fascists. Also used to refer to members of the Ku Klux Klan. The term "left-wing fascist" is used by conservatives to describe radical liberals who they purport want state control over all aspects of life.

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George Orwell argued that "as used, the word ‘Fascism’ is almost entirely meaningless... I have heard it applied to farmers, shopkeepers, Social Credit, corporal punishment, fox-hunting, bull-fighting, the 1922 Committee, the 1941 Committee, Kipling, Gandhi, Chiang Kai-Shek, homosexuality, Priestley's broadcasts, Youth Hostels, astrology, women, dogs and I do not know what else." Because of the wide variety of contradictory usages, the word "fascist" often carries little specific meaning.

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See also Fascist (epithet)

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