>>"but respectfully, I think we are seeing a different beast here"
I think THAT's where we disagree. You consider them to be DIFFERENT beasts. For me, they are the SAME beast, just different development stages of the beast (i.e. Capitalism IS fascism - but it takes a while to rear its head - and even after it has outed itself, many peeple still do not recognize it for what it is (such as yourself here) - preferring to think of it as DIFFERENT beasts instead of different PHASES of the SAME beast).
People talk about the 'political economy' because political and economic systems cannot really be separated as cleanly as many people assume they can. Whether it is feudalism, socialism, communism, or capitalism (or whatever else) - the 'economic system' INLFUENCES the 'political system' to such an extent that they become one (hence the term 'political economy').
>>"Capitalism is an economic system. Fascism is a political system."
I think THIS may be where your misunderstanding/interpretation comes from.
I would recommend reading this book "How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them" by Jason Stanley (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38255329-how-fascism-works) as a good introduction to WHAT fascism is, how it comes about, and how it works.
>>"but respectfully, I think we are seeing a different beast here"
I think THAT's where we disagree. You consider them to be DIFFERENT beasts. For me, they are the SAME beast, just different development stages of the beast (i.e. Capitalism IS fascism - but it takes a while to rear its head - and even after it has outed itself, many peeple still do not recognize it for what it is (such as yourself here) - preferring to think of it as DIFFERENT beasts instead of different PHASES of the SAME beast).
People talk about the 'political economy' because political and economic systems cannot really be separated as cleanly as many people assume they can. Whether it is feudalism, socialism, communism, or capitalism (or whatever else) - the 'economic system' INLFUENCES the 'political system' to such an extent that they become one (hence the term 'political economy').