Rich, I certainly agree that there are differences between different classes of authoritarianism. But those differences have been emphasized by plenty of others. I was interested in focusing on the similarities because they are enough to make all kind of authoritarianism equally dangerous.

I also disagree with a couple of your specific points. While it is true that, in theory, fascism sees its leader as an icon, in practice this has also been the case for Mao and Stalin, so not much of a difference there.

The lack of religious worship in communism is certainly true, but it doesn't make much of a difference, because the key commonality is a totalitarian ideology, regardless of what the alleged object of that ideology is (god, state, or whatever).

Finally, Marx theorized that capitalism was at an end. Clearly, he was empirically wrong. And at any rate, not real communist autocrat has ever truly believed in the sublimation of its own state, regardless of what they may have been blubbering to their followers in order to keep them following. Cheers.