Question: Do you call the Combine Fascist or Communist? Why or Why Not

[Kamilisha Haijulikani]

Of course, but in portrayals / caricatures of communism, those are traditionally the aspects explored
Like in that one book

"It was an attack on the dangers posed by both communism and fascism – and the strength of his argument in Nineteen Eighty-Four is that it could apply to a range of totalitarian systems. Orwell died in January 1950, just seven months after the novel was published."

Nineteen Eighty-Four is an allegory to totalitarianism, not communism specifically. Orwell himself was a devoted socialist, who on innumerable occasions volunteered or attempted to volunteer to fight against fascist-aligned forces, even alongside Communist and Soviet ones. He tried to enlist for World War II but was declared unfit for service due to pre-existing medical reasons, likely from the time he was shot in the neck during the Spanish Civil War.

Saying Nineteen Eighty-Four is a portrayal of Communism is only one side of the book. Orwell, in spite of his dislike for Bolshevism, was more concerned with the advent of totalitarian systems in general, and while he has made books that serve as a more direct condemnation of the Soviet system of governance (Animal Farm), it's important to note that Orwell lived through a time that included the likes of World War II and fascist Germany, Italy, and Spain, the latter most he fought. Bolshevism was a primary inspiration, but it wasn't a polemic exclusive to the dreg of Bolshevism. In Orwell's time, Fascism died while Bolshevism survived, so we retroactively alter and misattribute what may be perceived as a criticism of fascism or totalitarianism to that of Communism because it is more relatable to our scope of time.

Also, those aspects are usually explored in Fascism too; — see Warhammer, Farcry 6, Wolfenstein, et cetera.

 

[Risvolto]

I'll start by saying that it's pretty obvious that the creators of Half Life 2 had a fascist regime in mind when they came up with the idea of the combine's rule on Earth.

For a three main reasons:

1-The CLEAR corporatism(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporatism) that can be seen all around, from the use of words like "amputate, coagulate, malignant" and other medical-related words, it's obvious that the combine sees the community as an ORGANISM, which is one of the main points of corporatism, seeing society as a big organism that works towards a common cause. Regimes, where this corporatism was applied had rights that were against the community completely cut, from prohibiting worker strikes to using death as a means to end the danger that some posed to the society on the government's eyes.
2-The clear use of symbols and flags reassembling those of a Nazi regime, as it's true that the communists did use symbols and armbands, the national socialists had a clear better knowledge on how to make them actually have an impact on the population. The combine has achieved this as even rebels wear their suits.

3- A communist regime is justified on the fight of the worker class. The combine regime actively encourages you to support the state to be OVER other citizens (Although this can only be seen on roleplay and not in the games), on another social class. While the "social credits" system is used in Half life Roleplay and may very well have been implemented as some sort of misconception of the basis of the regime, trying to compare it with China's system, in reality, the way to get and lose said "social score" on half life 2 roleplay servers seems to be shaped more with working instead of actually being a good citizen, since you barely get any, if you get them from snitching on people, or doing good actions. Most social credits will be obtained over workshifts.