Government overreach takes many forms and is called by many names. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal is often considered socialist, since the Freshman Democratic Congresswoman is a self-avowed democratic socialist.
But constitutional scholar and Convention of States Senior Advisor Prof. Rob Natelson isn't so sure.
In a recent op-ed, Prof. Natelson analyzes the Green New Deal (GND) through the lens of fascism, and concludes that Cortez's manifesto shares many similarities with fascist programs from history.
First: Fascists recognize no limits to central government power. The GND sponsors seem to agree. They seek central government control over many aspects of life: health care, employment, housing, finance, manufacturing and other industry, agriculture and other land use. Not even private homes would be safe: Every home in America is to be “upgraded” to meet a range of criteria, including “affordability, comfort, and durability.”
Second: Not all fascists are aggressive expansionists, but they think in military terms and seek to organize society along military lines. The GND documents are loaded with militaristic language. American society as organized in World War II is held up repeatedly as a model. The congressional resolution uses the word “war” twice and “mobilization” eight times. The FAQ sheet repeats “war” six times and “mobilize” or “mobilization” six times.
Third: Fascism does not require government ownership of the entire economy, but generally does feature some socialism. Under the GND, the government would obtain ownership interests in private companies, create government owned banks, and encourage “community ownership” of enterprises.
Fourth: Fascism is highly centralized, and the GND is to be managed from Washington, D.C. The GND documents show no awareness that our Constitution grants the federal government only limited powers and reserves the rest to the states and people. In fact, neither document mentions the states at all.
Fifth: Traditional fascism is built around corporatism. This term is unrelated to business corporations; rather, it is the organization of society into guilds or interest groups that allegedly cooperate for the greater good. The GND documents are strongly corporatist: They call for much more labor unionization and for extensive “collaborative” activity among interest groups and “communities.”
Sixth: As in fascism, the GND treats people as groups rather than as individuals. As fascists commonly do, it singles out some groups (“frontline and vulnerable communities”) for favorable treatment. For example, under the GND indigenous people obtain a veto power over government regulations that other groups lack. Additionally, regulations must avoid harming favored groups, but others receive no comparable protection.
Seventh: Under fascism, the leaders’ quirky ideas often become enforceable law. A widely-publicized example from the GND is its prospective ban on air travel. Although some GND advocates have denied their plan would ban air travel, the documents’ wording contradicts them. Another idiosyncratic idea pops up in the FAQ sheet’s crude reference to banning gaseous cows.
Eighth: Fascists are often secular evangelists with a passion for exporting their ideology. The GND resolution prescribes that the United States is to become an “international leader . . . to help other countries achieve a Green New Deal.” The FAQ sheet speaks of bringing about “a global Green New Deal.”
We can work to elect less totalitarian members of Congress, but that's only going to get us so far. There will always be another would-be dictator looking to expand the power of the federal government.
That's why we need to call an Article V Convention of States. A Convention of States can propose constitutional amendments that limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government as a whole. That way, even if another AOC is elected, he or she won't be able to even consider plans that expand federal power to tyrannical levels.
Sign the Convention of States Petition below to let your state legislators know you don't support power grabs by Washington, D.C.
