Because of Nazism's notorious record, many socialists are understandably reluctant to celebrate this part of their heritage. Instead, they seek to contrast Nazism and fascism from "true" socialism on the grounds of the latter's supposedly more benevolent intent—a distinction which the historically uninformed sometimes accept at face value. Both the intellectual and the sociological roots of Nazism, however, were explicitly socialist and very similar to those of Soviet Communism and other socialist movements (
). The philosophical rationalizations offered by the early fascists and Nazis were virtually identical to those of other socialisms, invoking the "public good" and the "will of the masses" and condemning the liberal idea of individual rights. Mussolini, who prior to World War II was widely admired by socialist intellectuals (e. g., G. B. Shaw), explains: "The Fascist conception of life stresses the importance of the State and accepts the individual only in so far as his interests coincide with the State. It is opposed to classical liberalism [which] denied the State in the name of the individual." Similarly, Adolf Hitler declared in Mein Kampf that the individual has "not rights but only duties." The ideal citizen, according to Hitler, "willingly subordinates his own ego to the community and, if the hour demands, even sacrifices it." 
Furthermore, fascism and Nazism are virtually indistinguishable from other forms of socialism in their final results. A convenient measure is provided by the death toll from forced mass starvation and other forms of mass murder, which included (to cite but a few régimes) 6 million Jews and 5 million other "undesirables" in Nazi Germany, 61.9 million persons in the Soviet Union (1917-87), and 38.7 million in Communist China (through 1987). 
Previous
