> when we talk e.g. about "fascism" in modern day, how close is it to Mussolini's fascism?
Putting aside your main argument, I will only comment that this example does not serve it. "Fascist", like "Marxist", are thrown around by the left and the right, respectively, to smear anything they don't like.
So while pedantry can get in the way of understanding, so can sloppy use of terminology.
> When we talk about "democratic government" how close is it to the Athenian democracy?
Like Mussolini's variety of fascism, Athenian democracy isn't really the basis for a definition of democracy. Democracy has a general definition that is not defined by empirical contingencies given that label. That puts the cart before the horse.
Fascism is thrown around by the left to describes things as fascist that are fascist and then the people who don't like being called that whine that it's a smear instead of reckoning with the criticism. Cause no one reckons with criticism anymore, it's passe.
Sorry, it's just ignorant to think that the modern Republican party actually resembles the Nazis. If anything, they're still to the left of the American government that fought the Nazis.
About as ignorant as calling Democrats communists.
GP is right that partisan slurs can get in the way of understanding.
I didn't say anything about nazis. But if someone's saying "america first immigrants bad" and the response is "that's a pretty fascist thing to say"... like... yes it is? That's what fascists said, more-or-less? It's factually correct. For some inexplicable reason, though (I guess social-media dumbing everything down/living in a leaderless vacuum) the reaction is "hey stop saying that" or "no YOU'RE being fascist" instead of "hmm yes, it is a lot like the bad fascists isn't it, maybe we should tone it down a little".
Not that I can really blame them, because almost no one is able to really takes criticism from someone they don't trust. But they still should. It's weak, in absolute moral terms.
(and just in case it seems like I'm being super partisan here: I 100% believe the left is almost as guilty of the same thing, of not receiving criticism from others. that is the nature of this ugly thing we're in. No one has any sort of leadership who could even take the action of trusting anyone. I think both sides have been incredibly and pathetically weak in my lifetime. But if we're talking about the word "fascist"... that word is most justifiably pointed at the right. They do the anti-immigration / hating "others" rallies.)
Policies or ideologies don't fall on some 1D left-right axis. MAGA e.g. has authoritarian and totalitarian ideas and aspirations that differ from the US government of the 1940s.
Putting aside your main argument, I will only comment that this example does not serve it. "Fascist", like "Marxist", are thrown around by the left and the right, respectively, to smear anything they don't like.
So while pedantry can get in the way of understanding, so can sloppy use of terminology.
> When we talk about "democratic government" how close is it to the Athenian democracy?
Like Mussolini's variety of fascism, Athenian democracy isn't really the basis for a definition of democracy. Democracy has a general definition that is not defined by empirical contingencies given that label. That puts the cart before the horse.