Communism, fascism, and theocracy are all collectivist totalitarianisms, differing only in the rationale each proffers as a justification for their arrogation of individual rights and freedoms to state prerogative. Communism appeals to the erasure of class distinctions, fascism appeals to racial purity, supremacy, and/or exclusivity, and theocracy appeals to divine mandate exegetized from some holy text or other. They end up killing vast swaths of inconveniently in-the-way people in pursuit of their utopian schemes, for to them, humans are not individually valuable, but are a replaceable, renewable, fungible mass; ‘the people’ will always breed more. Of course, at the other end of the spectrum is anarchy, which eschews all justification for government whatsoever, as it desires to abolish government entirely. But Hobbes has already informed us where that path leads, a war of all against all, where life is poor, solitary, nasty, brutish, and short. CDRs (constitutional democratic republics) inhabit the golden mean sweet spot sensible center between these injurious extremes, guaranteeing identical basic rights and freedoms for all in ordfer to avoid the tyranny of the majority, while still furnishing a standardized means by which a nation can form and execute consensuses to accomplish essential common tasks that are beyond the scope of individuals.
Communism and theocracy share more in common than either of them is comfortable admitting:
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Compartmentalization is necessary. Neither religious faith of any kind, or the lack of it, should either rationally or in all good moral conscience serve as a litmus test for membership in a movement dedicated to economic reform. The most important social proscriptions – against murder, theft, coercion and lies – are to be found in the vast majority of faiths, and can also be rationally deduced as the best way for large numbers of mortal people – individuals, families, friends and strangers – to share space on a finite sphere in peace, prosperity, and security. Other so-called social issues such as abortion, homosexuality, gambling, prostitution, pornography, substance use, and assisted suicide should be left to the individual consenting adults to decide. It is only in collectivist totalitarianisms that such life decisions are either mandated or forbidden; constitutional democratic republics should grant individuals the freedom to come to their own conclusions on such matters, and if other people do not agree with their personal choices, then they can make different choices for themselves, but should not be allowed to dictate such choices to the rest. The synthesis of the Hegelian master, who is willing to kill or die in order to be the master of others, and the slave, who is willing to be enslaved rather than to kill or die, is the free individual, who refuses to rule others in such matters, but also refuses to be ruled by them, instead choosing both voluntary participation and the right to decline it depending on the issue, and who is also frequently willing to risk his own life to free others from the shackles of slavery and oppression, recognizing that as long as slavery and oppression exist for anyone, everyone else is in danger of its spread.
