[_ivvf]

I am happy to look at things from both sides. When I asked who are the rightwing authoritarians, I wanted answers that I could use to look things up.

As for Hitler, I believe he was left wing for the following reasons:

He pushed socialist programs like universal health care, welfare, government job creation, etc..

He was anti-established religion, including Christianity. He said that when he was done with Judaism, Christianity would be next.

His beliefs on eugenics and racial superiority had far more in common with other leftists of his time. The American counterparts on the left, for instance, including the founders of planned parenthood, wanted to prevent minorities from reproducing,

Hitler used the public education system to indoctrinate the youth into his ideology, a similar tactic of the left in the U.S. Hitler also encouraged/forced mothers to go to work, further undermining the nuclear family.

Hitler made gun control laws stricter. Hitler also supported abortions.

The only counter argument I've heard is Hitler was a fascist which is obviously right-wing. I don't buy this argument at all. Fascism seems like it could apply to either the right or the left equally.

[mcguire]

Plus he strongly supported the Soviet Union, particularly with the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact.

(Tongue firmly in cheek.)

[_ivvf]

Maybe get your tongue out of your cheek? Not supporting communism doesn't mean or even provide evidence Hitler wasn't leftwing. Often the greatest infighting occurs between groups with adjacent political beliefs. A group must fight for unity among the ranks of those who are close but not in full agreement before tackling those with opposite beliefs.

Hitler hated communism because he believed it was invented by Jews. Marx's parents were Jews, although Marx himself did not identify as Jewish in the slightest. Communism also didn't fit with Hitler's views views on Aryan superiority.

To quote from answers here: https://www.quora.com/Why-did-Hitler-hate-Communism

"From what we can tell, Hitler hated communism because it was a system that emphasized class struggle over national and racial struggle. He saw it as a system that was developed by the Jews to deliberately undermine both national unity and racial purity.

Interestingly enough, Hitler did not apparently have a problem with the economic aspects of communism, or at least most of them. His party was the National Socialist German Workers’ Party and they successfully competed for many of the same workers the Communists wanted to win over. The Nazi flag had a red background because it was a socialist movement, albeit one that emphasized socialism within the nation while those outside the nation were viewed with varying levels of inferiority".

So again, Hitler held views fairly adjacent to communism, putting him clearly in leftwing territory.

[kmonsen]

The extreme dictators like Stalin, Hitler etc are so far out that it doesn't really make sense to call them either.

Edit: It is also meaningless. I didn't like Trump but he was/is obviously nothing like Hitler or even Pinochet. And Biden is clearly no Mao. Calling either of them these things is just lazy and brings no clarity.

As for which is best/worst I think that is also a bit harder than it looks. For example I'm happy that I live in CA that is controlled by democrats instead of republicans. But honestly, I think one party control is bad whoever it is. We need power sharing and transparency. It is obviously bad when democrats are in control as well even if they pretend to do policies I support. And I don't always like what they propose, sometimes republicans have the right idea too.