Fidel the fascist.

AS of this writing Fidel Castro is either alive or dead, but his status is in limbo. Nonetheless, this is as propitious a moment as any to recognize Castro for what he truly is or was: the last fascist dictator.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

This might seem an odd eulogy for a man so famously associated with Communism, and so notoriously affiliated with the Evil Empire. After all, this magazine, in its early years, invested a great deal of time and energy to make it clear--when so many others would not--that Cuba was Moscow's flagship franchise in the Western Hemisphere. And, besides, doesn't the slightest tug at the string attached to the Castro doll result in a two-hour stem-winder on the evils of fascism?

Yes, yes, Castro was Moscow's marionette. And of course he prattles on about American fascism more than an English professor at Columbia. But that's irrelevant. Anyone who studies fascism quickly realizes that fascism the word is not always attached to fascism the thing.

Think about it. What characteristics does a fascist dictator possess? Well, he wears a military uniform all the time. Check. He thrives on a cult of personality. Check. He uses populist rhetoric to cast himself as the voice and conscience of "the people." Check. He relies on nationalistic sentiment to sustain his regime. Check. He gives very long self-indulgent speeches from balconies to undifferentiated throngs of allegedly worshipful subjects. Check. He might even have iconic facial hair. Check.

Okay, the last one isn't really an indicator of fascism. But, oddly enough, what supposedly makes Castro a hero of antifascists qualifies him as one himself. Castro rails about how Cuba is a "proletariat nation" standing up to imperialist powers, i.e., America. Well, it was Benito Mussolini--merging Marxist doctrines of class struggle with nationalism--who largely invented the concept of the "proletariat nation" standing up to the imperialists (France and Britain at the time). Castro's cult of personality is a fascist cliche. What defined Italian fascism for its first decade in power, as much as anything else, was the mythology of Mussolini's youthful omni-competence: He ran most governmental ministries himself! How many times in recent weeks have you heard how helpless Cuba is sans Castro, because he makes every decision?

But what about all of those things the Left insists define fascism--capitalism, oppression, racism, imperialism, etc.? First, among scholars, the Marxist conception of fascism as the tool of international capitalism collapsed alongside the Berlin Wall. (It is, however, worth noting that Cuba cooperates with European capitalists in order to stay afloat.) As for oppression, it is simply a fact that Castro's record is as bad as Mussolini's, if not worse. Castro has certainly executed more political dissidents and opponents than Mussolini did. Racism really isn't a fascist so much as a Nazi bailiwick.

As for imperialism, the story's a bit muddier. The real aim for fascists wasn't so much conquest and land but greatness and pride. And while we shouldn't forget the wanderlust of Cuban military "advisers" over the years--from Grenada to Africa--America has prevented Cuba from satisfying its fascist self-esteem through conquest. Still, Fidel shows his greatness by "standing up" to America (by standing on the necks of ordinary Cubans).

As NR so famously chronicled at the time, Fidel "got [his] job through the New York Times" when foreign correspondent Herbert Matthews hailed him as the ubermensch of Latin America. It is worth noting that Matthews's first big story was an apologia for another revolutionary dictator: Benito Mussolini.