I materially agree with Tom Nichols’s slightly tongue-in-cheek definitions of liberal democracy, authoritarianism, totalitarianism, libertarianism, socialism, and communism at The Atlantic’s “Peacefield” newsletter. I particularly like his definition of liberal democracy:
Liberal Democracy
What it is: A system of government that lets you read cranky articles about politics like the one you’re reading right now.
More specifically, democracies derive a ruling mandate from the free choices of citizens, who are equal before the law and who can freely express their preferences. Liberal democracies enshrine a respect for basic human rights (including the right of old cranks to speak their mind). Rights are, one might say, unalienable: The losers of elections do not have their rights stripped away. All citizens abide by constitutional and legal rules agreed upon in advance of elections and are willing to transfer power back and forth to each other peaceably.
What it isn’t: “The majority always rules.†Getting everything you want every time. Governing without negotiation or compromise. Winning every election. Never living with outcomes that disappoint you. Never running out of toilet paper or cat food.
Democracy, in sum, is not “things you happen to like.â€
I have a few quibbles, of course. For one thing the most important “means of production” is money. I wonder if that realization would change his thinking?
I wish he had provided a definition of fascism. He uses the term twice in the article but never defines it. I’m curious which governments his definition would include and which it would not.
I’ll offer a definition of my own:
Majoritarianism
What it is: A system of government in which the majority always rules.
What is isn’t: Liberal democracy
I also have one more quibble. Sadly it is not true that “words mean things”, at least not for everybody. For the more post-modern among us it’s a Humpty-Dumpty world and words mean precisely what they wish them to mean, no more, no less.
Let’s start with the left-right distinction. The political left is associated with promoting a more egalitarian society. This can take moderate forms, such as advocating for a stronger social safety net, or extreme forms such as communism seeking an (unattainable) utopian future. The political right is associated with hierarchy. This can take moderate forms, such as advocating for a stronger role for religious authority, or extreme forms such as reactionaryism seeking a return to some (usually mythical) past.
Extremism, of course, is the belief that the (often unachievable) ends justify the (violent) means.
Liberalism is typically placed on the political left and attempts to balance equality and liberty, while conservatism is typically placed on the political right and attempts to preserve existing mores and institutions.
Socialism can refer to aspects of a mixed system, where government controls some sectors to provide a social safety net, while markets are allowed free rein in other sectors. However, it’s important to make the distinction clear, because it is common to conflate the different meanings.
The standard definition of fascism is a particular type of far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism, where nationalism is typically ethno-nationalism. An important characteristic is that fascism sees ethnic conflict as not only inevitable, but giving meaning to existence.