The People’s Republic of China has given its instructions to two of its largest and most prosperous private companies, Ant and Tencent.

China is calling on private-sector pioneers Ant Group Co and Tencent Holdings Ltd to help it develop a state-backed digital currency that threatens the pair’s highly popular payment networks.

Private companies will be allowed to prosper and grow to their owners’ hearts content—so long as they produce what Government instructs them to produce.

Such government control of the means of production by controlling what is produced is at the core of the fascism variant of socialism.