The above video was created for ISS 355: Portfolio Seminar in Integrated Social Sciences.
Fascism is definable as an authoritarian, right-wing approach to government, relying upon nationalism, capitalism, and militarism. Fascism may span from relatively “soft” forms such as Franco’s Spain to its most murderous exponents, such as Nazi Germany (Boggs 37-80).
As a framework for authoritarian governance, fascism has been discerned in the strong resurgence of rightist authoritarian regimes within the last two decades, with right-wing regimes located in such diverse locales as Turkey, India, Russia, and the United States facing credible criticism for either fascist or quasi-fascist approaches.
Nazi Germany relied upon a “racial unity” framework in lieu of an egalitarian society beholden to an equal application of the law (Arendt 392-419). But racism and xenophobia need not be as extreme as held by the Nazis in order for a government to be genuinely fascist. Fascism also has a strongly patriarchal character. When women are valued, it is normally for the roles of mother and subordinate matriarch, where “. . . the invisibility of the matriarch that proves and drives her mythical status as the origin of the [fascist] state” (Merjian 8)
Orientalist ways of thinking, which view non-Western cultures as the irretrievable “other,” is a reliable facet of fascist thought. Antisemitism has been a constant feature, but, increasingly, Islamophobia plays a larger role. Although some fascist intellectuals have expressed qualified admiration for cultural exponents of the East, this admiration usually manifests itself as an appreciation of pre-Islamic Persian sources, such as Zoroastrianism, as well as the Upanishads of Aryan northern India. (Said 98-99).
Fascism relies largely on the fears and resentments of its supporters, and these qualities find an especial outlet in the economic precarity caused by shifting cultural demographics (Boggs 168-172). And while the classical fascism of Hitler and Mussolini billed itself as revolutionary, it is also important to note that fascism appeals deeply to both traditionalism and racial identity (Boggs 50-51, 80).
A perennial mythology of fascism is that of the broken nation betrayed by both treacherous politicians and exploiting minority groups; the nationaccordingly must be restored through the will of a strong leader (Boggs 56-70). Viewed by supporters with an almost quasi-mystical status, this leader will restore the nation to its former grandeur. The leader will also purge toxic elements within the nation, keeping its rightful members safe, and the body politic free of racial pollution (Arendt 158, 234-235, 348-350). It may be argued that this approach has manifested itself in the administration of Donald Trump, where his “. . . mysterious and even contradictory policy stands belie the very simplicity of his popular appeal – restore a broken and humiliated nation, Rambo style” (Boggs 169).
Fascism frequently appeals to modernism and youth to endow itself with glamor and vitality, “. . . even if they ultimately rejected the more progressive social consequences of such models” (Merjian 9).With this review of fascism, it must be asked what historical, cultural, and economic factors lead to fascism, as well if patriarchal modes of thought necessarily lead to it.
Bibliography:
Arendt, Hannah. The Origins of Totalitarianism. Harcourt, 1968.
Boggs, Carl. Fascism Old and New: American Politics at the Crossroads. Routledge, 2018.
Higgs, Robert. “Military-Economic Fascism: How Business Corrupts Government, and Vice Versa” The Independent Review, Fall 2007, Vol. 12, No. 2 (Fall 2007), pp. 299-316
Merjian, Ara H. “Fascism, Gender, and Culture” Qui Parle, Fall/Winter 2001, Vol. 13, No. 1, (Fall/Winter 2001), pp. 1-12
Said, Edward W. Orientalism. Penguin Modern Classics, 1978