I’m not defending fascism.  Fascism sucks.  But why is there such a discrepancy between the description of fascism and communism?

I read the description of fascism and my blood boils.  But the definition of communism makes it sound somewhat reasonable.

It’s not. Communism is just as vile and dangerous as fascism.

But what is “fascism”? Orwell’s essay doesn’t provide much help.  My take-away from his essay is that fascism is like pornography.  You know it when you see it, and its most telling characteristic is that it’s a totalitarian system.

What makes fascism different from any other totalitarian system, according to this definition? How is that different from socialism?

Is “fascism” a nonsense term? People use it in condemnation, but it’s so vague that it doesn’t really condemn anything.  Call a spade a spade.  Fascism is authoritarianism just like communism, socialism, oligarchism, et al.  It doesn’t matter what makes it different from the other totalitarian -isms.  …Unless you’re concerned about the shade of lipstick on the pig.