TAX BREAKS FOR DEPENDENTS = FASCISM.

TAX BREAKS FOR DEPENDENTS = FASCISM. Matt Duss dredges the depths of The Corner and finds that opposition to abortion and the taking of positive steps to encourage families to have children is the equivalent of fascism. At least, that is, if such steps are taken in Iran. President Ahmadinejad is pushing a program that would limit the work hours of married professionals.Michael Ledeen:

For this is right out of the fascist manual. Indeed, Mussolini once wrote an impassioned introduction to a very boring book (authored by one Richard Korherr, who I do not believe was from Bologna, and called something like "shrinking population, the death of nations") urging Italians to reproduce like Topsy. And of course Hitler had all those breeding programs, about which I will say no more for fear of being lumped in with Webb and Libby as a foul-mouthed (or is it foul-penned, or foul-keyboarded) sex fiend.

Never mind that conservatives regularly denounce Europe for having an insufficient birthrate to support its social model, or that conservatives support myriad legal and social tools designed to promote the bearing and raising of children, or that social conservatives enthusiastically denounce abortion and birth control. All of those are cool, but when Ahmadinejad does it, he's a fascist.

To be clear, I think that this is bad public policy given Iran's current birthrate, but that's rather a different question.

--Robert Farley