ABSTRACT
The political history of France and Germany is replete with conversions from communism to fascism and from fascism to communism, indicating that to many political activists, the two "opposite extremes" were congenial. A capitalist society is one in which the powers of the state are limited by private groups—capitalists especially but not only—in the economic sphere. There are many indications that the fascist formula is politically more "natural" than the communist formula. Military governments are the rule in the Third World, and powerful forces operate to turn many of these onto the fascist path. Nationalism has been around for a long time, but in our day it unfolds against a backdrop of mass politicization and the frenzied demand for rapid economic transformation. The Third World, fascism is in large part the result of the convergence of several key factors. Fascist nationalism will certainly impede the erection of that rational world economic order so long sought by the United States.
