Socialismand Fascism 155figuresof the eighteenthcenturyand earlynineteenthcenturyas if suchcriticismsapplied
to everymultinationalcorporationexistingfromthe 1900sonward.Worse,Chomskyand
ParentiquoteJefferson’s 1825letterto Gilesas if Jeffersonagreeswiththemaboutthe
needfor the federalgovernmentto expandits regulatorypowersoverprivatecommerce.
In fact,in thisveryletterJeffersonclarifiedthathe wasarguingthe opposite—thathe
opposedan expansionof federalregulationoverbusiness.In this letter,Jeffersondisputes
the commonrationalizationthatthe U.S.Constitution’s CommerceClauseallowsfor the
federalgovernmentto performanyactionuponprivatetradersthatgoesbeyondthe
parametersof the nightwatchmanstate.“Underthe powerto regulatecommerce,” Jeffer-
son fumes,the governistsof his day—the ChomskysandParentisof his owntime—
presumethatthe governmentmusthaveindefinitecontrol“overagricultureandmanu-
factures,and call it regulationto takethe earningsof one of thesebranchesof industry...
and put themintothe pocketsof the other.. .”^29 Jefferson’s lettermentioningthe wrong-
nessof government-regulatedcorporationswasarguingin favorof the nightwatchman
state,but Chomskyand Parentimisleadinglycite it as if Jeffersonwereopposingthe night
watchmanstate.
Mussolini’s ownwritingson the subjectclarifythat his owncorporatism—in common
withthe sortpracticedin GreatBritaincenturiesearlier—standsin directcontrastto
laissez-fairecapitalism.Thisis visiblein Mussolini’s 1934reviewofNewFrontiers, a book
that FDR’s onetimevicepresident,former agribusinessexecutiveHenry A. Wallace
(1888–1965),wroteto advocateNewDealpolicies.MussolinipraisedWallace’s message
as “corporativistic.” As Il Ducecheered,the NewDealertract“is botha declarationof
faithandan indictmentof economic[laissez-faire]liberalism.... Wallace’s answerto
whatAmericawantsis as follows:anythingbut a returnto the free market,i.e., anarchis-
tic economy.Whereis Americaheaded?The bookleavesno doubtthat it is on the roadto
corporatism,the economicsystemof the currentcentury.”^30 NoteMussolini’s distinction
between“corporatism” versuslaissezfaire.Alsonotethatcorporatismwasthe termthat
Mussoliniappliedto the NewDeal’s left-wing,progressive,mixed-economy,regulatory-
entitlementstate.Thatis actuallythe sortof socialsystemthatmembersof the Kennedy
clan,includingRobertKennedy,Jr., haveadvocatedthroughoutthe twentiethcentury.
WhatevergrievancesRobertKennedy,Jr., mayholdtowardcorporations,he himselfis
thusmoreof a “corporatist,” by Mussolini’s definition,thanthe consensualismpropo-
nentshe disputes.
Judgingfirstby howcontemporaryleftistsà la Kennedyconveysuchnegativeapprai-
sals of Mussolini,and judgingsecondlyby howthesesameleftistslionizetheirAmerican
Progressiveforebearsfromthe early1900s,one mightassumethattheseAmericanPro-
gressiverolemodelssimilarlydenouncedMussolini.Suchwasnot the case.An impres-
siverosterof prominentAmericanProgressives,whoremainsaintedat the timeof this
writing,publiclyexpressedapprovalfor Mussoliniand his fascistpolicies.ConsiderLin-
colnSteffens(1866–1936)who,accordingto MITeconomistDaronAcemogluandHar-
vardpoliticalscientistJamesA. Robinson,“had madehis nameas...a muckrakerjournal-
ist whohad persistentlydenouncedthe evilsof capitalismin the UnitedStates.”^31 As will
be recalledfromBookTwo,SteffenswroteinThe Shameof the Cities, “The typicalbusiness-
manis a bad citizen.... He is a self-righteousfraud.”^32 Whilemuddyingthe reputations
of peacefulentrepreneurs,thissameLincolnSteffensbuiltup someof history’s most
destructivetyrants.AlthoughambivalentaboutIl Duce’s crackdownon civilliberties,
Steffensneverthelessmarveledat Mussolini’s abilityto imposewhateverruleshe wanted,
whateverruleshe shoutedwerenecessaryduringthe West’s then-presentfinancialdol-
drums.Steffensthuspraisedhimand,in his publicautobiography,remarkedthatGod
“formedMussoliniout of the rib of Italy.”^33 Notsurprisingly,SteffensheldVladimir
Lenin’s agendain highesteemas well.Regardinghis firsttourof the SovietUnionin