In both cases, and in keeping with the term’s dishonorable lineage, the behavior of the actual aggressor was conveniently ignored. Indeed, whether employed by communists, fascists, the alt-right or the isolationist left, what’s consistent about “warmonger” is how it’s applied only to the actions of liberal democracies. Those who complain most often about “warmongering” are conspicuously silent about the behavior of anti-Western regimes and movements, whether Russia (warmongering in Eastern Ukraine), Iran (warmongering in Syria), Hamas (warmongering against Israel) or Venezuela (warmongering against its own people).

Calling someone a “warmonger” is, then, a politicized form of the psychological phenomenon known as “projection,” whereby one ascribes his own nefarious conduct and motives onto others. By flinging the term at anyone who advocates a muscular response to terrorism and dictatorship, those who lob “warmonger” are faithfully carrying on the tradition of fascists and communists.