Post by robeiae on Dec 11, 2016 16:30:41 GMT -5
I am sick and tired of hearing people proclaim how this person and that person is a fascist. I really am. Especially since as far as I can tell, no one saying it knows what they are talking about. For instance, there's this piece at WaPo: Donald Trump is actually a fascist.
To that end, I wrote a rather long piece about fascism, which I will quote from here:
And on Trump:
Thoughts? Differing opinions?
To that end, I wrote a rather long piece about fascism, which I will quote from here:
The arguments among political scientists, philosophers, and historians on defining fascism as an ideology could—and have—fill volumes. The internet is full of such definitions, all claiming to be authoritative, and emanating from well-respected sites, as well as from barely known sites. My blog, of course, falls into the latter category. Nonetheless, I'm going to offer a definition of fascism here that I will contend is the most correct one of any that are available. It is not my definition, it is that of Ernst Nolte, a German historian and philosopher (who incidentally passed away in August of this year, at the age of 93). It is from his most significant work, Fascism in its Epoch (also called Three Faces of Fascism), which was published in 1963.
When processing Nolte's point of view and analysis, it is important to understand the intellectual tradition from which Nolte springs: that of Hegel, Spengler, and Heidegger (not unlike Hannah Arendt). This tradition is one that sees History as a Thing in it's own right, and as a process through which societal change occurs from competing forces. As such, his point of view—while metaphysical in some respects—is rooted in the reality of the times, it is based on understanding what has happened and why it has happened. Fascism in its Epoch traces three distinct movements: Action Francaise (in France at the beginning of the 20th century), the Italian fascism of Mussolini, and the National Socialism of Hitler. All of these movements have some commonalities, though each is also quite distinct from the others. But for Nolte, what binds them together is their reactionary nature and what all three were reacting to: the rise of Marxism/communism/socialism, along with the impact of modernity (including both liberalism and capitalism).
With that in mind, this is how Nolte "defines" fascism (in full context, from Fascism in its Epoch, pp.20-21) [my boldface]:
I realize this definition seems somewhat unwieldy, but there's nothing to be done for that in my opinion, because fascism is only meaningful as a concept when it is placed in its correct historical context. Outside of that context, fascism reduces to a simple pejorative that signifies nothing, other than antipathy toward whatever is so labelled. Scour the 'net and see if this isn't the case. Or when someone says "so-and-so is a fascist," ask them what that means, what makes so-and-so a fascist. Chances are, you'll get a response somewhere between "well, they're a fascist because they're bad and fascists are bad" and "fuck off, you're trying to trick me."
Once in a great while, someone may actually try to justify their statement by listing one or more beliefs or attitudes so-and-so has that are consistent with historical fascist leaders and regimes. Nolte, in fact, warns of this in his book (and remember, he was writing in the 1960's), saying that we cannot not "infer fascism from isolated 'fascist' traits." As an example of this, he points to Roosevelt and the New Deal, where many historians and thinkers have "discovered" fascist tendencies. And there is truth here: Roosevelt and some of his policies are far more similar to Mussolini and some of his polices than many people realize, than many champions of the New Deal would care to admit.
But the point is, this doesn't make Roosevelt a fascist. Indeed, he was an avowed enemy of fascism. Again, the context is the key. New Deal policies that mirrored ones sought by the fascist regimes in Europe did not do so for the same reasons.
When processing Nolte's point of view and analysis, it is important to understand the intellectual tradition from which Nolte springs: that of Hegel, Spengler, and Heidegger (not unlike Hannah Arendt). This tradition is one that sees History as a Thing in it's own right, and as a process through which societal change occurs from competing forces. As such, his point of view—while metaphysical in some respects—is rooted in the reality of the times, it is based on understanding what has happened and why it has happened. Fascism in its Epoch traces three distinct movements: Action Francaise (in France at the beginning of the 20th century), the Italian fascism of Mussolini, and the National Socialism of Hitler. All of these movements have some commonalities, though each is also quite distinct from the others. But for Nolte, what binds them together is their reactionary nature and what all three were reacting to: the rise of Marxism/communism/socialism, along with the impact of modernity (including both liberalism and capitalism).
With that in mind, this is how Nolte "defines" fascism (in full context, from Fascism in its Epoch, pp.20-21) [my boldface]:
Neither antiparliamentarianism nor anti-Semitism is a suitable criterion for the concept of fascism. It would be equally imprecise to define fascism as anti-communism, but it would be obviously misleading to use a definition which did not adequately stress, or even entirely omitted, this basic criterion. Nevertheless, the identifying conception must also be taken into account. Hence the following suggests itself:
Fascism is anti-Marxism, which seeks to destroy the enemy by the evolvement of a radically opposed and yet related ideology and by the use of almost identical and yet typically modified methods, always, however, within the unyielding framework of national self-assertion and autonomy.
This definition implies that without Marxism, there is no fascism, that fascism is at the same time closer to and further from communism than is liberal anti-communism, that it necessarily shows at least an inclination towards a radical ideology, that fascism should never be said to exist in the absence of at least the rudiments of an organization and propaganda comparable to those of Marxism.
Fascism is anti-Marxism, which seeks to destroy the enemy by the evolvement of a radically opposed and yet related ideology and by the use of almost identical and yet typically modified methods, always, however, within the unyielding framework of national self-assertion and autonomy.
This definition implies that without Marxism, there is no fascism, that fascism is at the same time closer to and further from communism than is liberal anti-communism, that it necessarily shows at least an inclination towards a radical ideology, that fascism should never be said to exist in the absence of at least the rudiments of an organization and propaganda comparable to those of Marxism.
I realize this definition seems somewhat unwieldy, but there's nothing to be done for that in my opinion, because fascism is only meaningful as a concept when it is placed in its correct historical context. Outside of that context, fascism reduces to a simple pejorative that signifies nothing, other than antipathy toward whatever is so labelled. Scour the 'net and see if this isn't the case. Or when someone says "so-and-so is a fascist," ask them what that means, what makes so-and-so a fascist. Chances are, you'll get a response somewhere between "well, they're a fascist because they're bad and fascists are bad" and "fuck off, you're trying to trick me."
Once in a great while, someone may actually try to justify their statement by listing one or more beliefs or attitudes so-and-so has that are consistent with historical fascist leaders and regimes. Nolte, in fact, warns of this in his book (and remember, he was writing in the 1960's), saying that we cannot not "infer fascism from isolated 'fascist' traits." As an example of this, he points to Roosevelt and the New Deal, where many historians and thinkers have "discovered" fascist tendencies. And there is truth here: Roosevelt and some of his policies are far more similar to Mussolini and some of his polices than many people realize, than many champions of the New Deal would care to admit.
But the point is, this doesn't make Roosevelt a fascist. Indeed, he was an avowed enemy of fascism. Again, the context is the key. New Deal policies that mirrored ones sought by the fascist regimes in Europe did not do so for the same reasons.
And on Trump:
Getting back to the use of fascism in general, I guess it's only fair to point to the current President-elect of the United States—Donald Trump—and ask the question: is Trump a fascist? Because there are a lot of people—many of them very well educated—proclaiming that this is the case. After all, Trump is pushing an uber-nationalism, he is promoting the idea of "returning" America to greatness (an unspecified, unreal moment), his spiel is clearly a populist one, he's doing a lot of "othering," his election was clearly a reactionary event, and he's hardly consistent or always truthful in what he says.
One can—based on the guidelines I have provided—make a very convincing case that "Trumpism" is equal to fascism. But one could also make a very convincing case that Trumpism is simply about trying to tap into populist and nationalistic sentiment (along with some xenophobia) as a means to win an election. The key is in the radical ideology for which Trumpism represents a counter-radicalism. Or rather, it's in the lack of one, unless one wants to disingenuously suppose that somehow Obamacare is a radical ideology. But I think that's so much of a stretch as to be quite silly.
No, Trump is not a fascist, anymore than Andy Jackson was a fascist, or anymore than FDR was a fascist. Or a host of other successful populist leaders.
Want to know what a fascist sounds like? Read this piece by Benito Mussolini. That's what a fascist sounds like, a lot of pseudo-intellectual bullshit designed to counteract the pseudo-intellectual bullshit that was being propagated by Marxists. For instance:
.
So the next time your hear someone saying so-and-so is a fascist, remember that they most likely don't actually know what they're talking about.
One can—based on the guidelines I have provided—make a very convincing case that "Trumpism" is equal to fascism. But one could also make a very convincing case that Trumpism is simply about trying to tap into populist and nationalistic sentiment (along with some xenophobia) as a means to win an election. The key is in the radical ideology for which Trumpism represents a counter-radicalism. Or rather, it's in the lack of one, unless one wants to disingenuously suppose that somehow Obamacare is a radical ideology. But I think that's so much of a stretch as to be quite silly.
No, Trump is not a fascist, anymore than Andy Jackson was a fascist, or anymore than FDR was a fascist. Or a host of other successful populist leaders.
Want to know what a fascist sounds like? Read this piece by Benito Mussolini. That's what a fascist sounds like, a lot of pseudo-intellectual bullshit designed to counteract the pseudo-intellectual bullshit that was being propagated by Marxists. For instance:
Anti-individualistic, the Fascist conception of life stresses the importance of the State and accepts the individual only in so far as his interests coincide with those of the State, which stands for the conscience and the universal, will of man as a historic entity. It is opposed to classical liberalism which arose as a reaction to absolutism and exhausted its historical function when the State became the expression of the conscience and will of the people. Liberalism denied the State in the name of the individual; Fascism reasserts the rights of the State as expressing the real essence of the individual.
Sorry, but this is not Donald Trump. This is not any current political leader of any significance. And that's because there is no one successfully pushing a different but equally radical totalitarian angle, albeit one that dismisses the State as a critical entity
Sorry, but this is not Donald Trump. This is not any current political leader of any significance. And that's because there is no one successfully pushing a different but equally radical totalitarian angle, albeit one that dismisses the State as a critical entity
.
So the next time your hear someone saying so-and-so is a fascist, remember that they most likely don't actually know what they're talking about.
Thoughts? Differing opinions?