Revolution from the Right: Fascism - School of Arts and Humanities ...
Revolution from the Right: Fascism - School of Arts and Humanities ... Revolution from the Right: Fascism - School of Arts and Humanities ...
frequently fuse the physical realm of biology, territory, and matter with the metaphysical ones of spirit, heroism, and will: the recurrent fascist images of ‘blood’ and ‘race’ combine both these dimensions. Fascist nationalism is a world of mythic imaginings where the claims of History, destiny, and providence embodied in the nation over the individual are total, and where empathy with all human beings irrespective of their race and value to society are seen as symptoms of the spiritual decadence to be overcome. It is a world where utopian longings for renewal revolve around polarized opposites: health/sickness; our nation/the enemy; man/woman. 12 If ultra-nationalism is male chauvinist in its imagining of man: man the warrior, man the hero, man the creator; it is equally so in its fantasizing of woman: woman the nurturer, woman the companion, woman the procreator. Compassion and doubt are weaknesses to be overcome. Hardness and certainty virtues to foster. Under the Nazis the words ‘brutal’ and ‘fanatical’ actually acquired positive connotations. The nation, as the sum of all its fascistized individuals, must behave like a warrior-male. It must be disciplined, proud, courageous, well-equipped and trained, ready to fight, bent on conquest, and supplied with the human means to do this by the reproductive and caring qualities of woman. 15 And what of the second component myth of fascism: rebirth? The myth of rebirth or ‘palingenesis’ belongs to a far more ancient metaphorical universe than ‘nation’. It evokes the experience of decay and death as presaging a new life, a new creation. Within the palingenetic imagination destruction is a prelude to regeneration, the death of the purest is transformed into a meaningful sacrifice by becoming part of the epic phase of history which is unfolding. Once a theory of genetic or racial purity enters this vision of future greatness it becomes logical to winnow the grain and destroy the chaff destroyed so that only the wheat is left. Or as one Nazi
ideologue put it as early as 1925: No pity is to be shown to those who occupy the lower categories of the inferior groups: cripples, epileptics, the blind, the insane, deaf and dumb, children born in sanatoria for alcoholics or in care, orphans, criminals, whores, the sexual disturbed etc. Everything done for them not only means taking resources away from more deserving causes, but counteracts the breeding selection process...This bottom category means destruction and death. Weighed and found wanting. Trees which do not bear fruit should be cut down and thrown into the fire. 16 The totalitarian nature of the fascist revolution fascism emerges when ultra-nationalism becomes fused with the myth of rebirth as a response to a society in distress, thus creating an ideology whose central vision is the purging of the old society of its decadence and the rejuvenation of the nation in a new order inhabited by a new type of human being, the fascist ‘new man’. Some idea of the scope of this utopian vision can be sensed in the following declaration by Robert Ley, the head of the Nazi organization, the German Workers’ Front, taken from a speech he made in 1938: There is one thing we must understand if we are to comprehend the greatness of this time: we are not dealing with a new state system, or a new economic system. We are not dealing with anything external like the building up of the army, or the economy, _ it comes down to the renewal of man, the individual man. Human 13
- Page 1 and 2: Revolution from the Right: Fascism
- Page 3 and 4: nationalistic state which, despite
- Page 5 and 6: consequences for a wide nexus of so
- Page 7 and 8: Another consequence to be drawn fro
- Page 9 and 10: allowed Fascism and Nazism to compl
- Page 11: The fact that the fascist revolutio
- Page 15 and 16: Italy was much less authoritarian t
- Page 17 and 18: as Jehovah Witnesses, to the attemp
- Page 19 and 20: calm. To a fascist stasis means, no
- Page 21 and 22: While modern society may have lost
- Page 23 and 24: associating them with the genius of
- Page 25 and 26: passage taken from a speech by Goeb
- Page 27 and 28: . Hermann Rauschning, Germany’s R
- Page 29: . Die deutsche Kultur vor neuen Auf
frequently fuse <strong>the</strong> physical realm <strong>of</strong> biology, territory, <strong>and</strong> matter with <strong>the</strong> metaphysical ones<br />
<strong>of</strong> spirit, heroism, <strong>and</strong> will: <strong>the</strong> recurrent fascist images <strong>of</strong> ‘blood’ <strong>and</strong> ‘race’ combine both <strong>the</strong>se<br />
dimensions. Fascist nationalism is a world <strong>of</strong> mythic imaginings where <strong>the</strong> claims <strong>of</strong> History,<br />
destiny, <strong>and</strong> providence embodied in <strong>the</strong> nation over <strong>the</strong> individual are total, <strong>and</strong> where empathy<br />
with all human beings irrespective <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir race <strong>and</strong> value to society are seen as symptoms <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
spiritual decadence to be overcome. It is a world where utopian longings for renewal revolve<br />
around polarized opposites: health/sickness; our nation/<strong>the</strong> enemy; man/woman.<br />
12<br />
If ultra-nationalism is male chauvinist in its imagining <strong>of</strong> man: man <strong>the</strong> warrior, man <strong>the</strong><br />
hero, man <strong>the</strong> creator; it is equally so in its fantasizing <strong>of</strong> woman: woman <strong>the</strong> nurturer, woman<br />
<strong>the</strong> companion, woman <strong>the</strong> procreator. Compassion <strong>and</strong> doubt are weaknesses to be overcome.<br />
Hardness <strong>and</strong> certainty virtues to foster. Under <strong>the</strong> Nazis <strong>the</strong> words ‘brutal’ <strong>and</strong> ‘fanatical’<br />
actually acquired positive connotations. The nation, as <strong>the</strong> sum <strong>of</strong> all its fascistized individuals,<br />
must behave like a warrior-male. It must be disciplined, proud, courageous, well-equipped <strong>and</strong><br />
trained, ready to fight, bent on conquest, <strong>and</strong> supplied with <strong>the</strong> human means to do this by <strong>the</strong><br />
reproductive <strong>and</strong> caring qualities <strong>of</strong> woman. 15<br />
And what <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> second component myth <strong>of</strong> fascism: rebirth? The myth <strong>of</strong> rebirth or<br />
‘palingenesis’ belongs to a far more ancient metaphorical universe than ‘nation’. It evokes <strong>the</strong><br />
experience <strong>of</strong> decay <strong>and</strong> death as presaging a new life, a new creation. Within <strong>the</strong> palingenetic<br />
imagination destruction is a prelude to regeneration, <strong>the</strong> death <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> purest is transformed into<br />
a meaningful sacrifice by becoming part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> epic phase <strong>of</strong> history which is unfolding. Once a<br />
<strong>the</strong>ory <strong>of</strong> genetic or racial purity enters this vision <strong>of</strong> future greatness it becomes logical to<br />
winnow <strong>the</strong> grain <strong>and</strong> destroy <strong>the</strong> chaff destroyed so that only <strong>the</strong> wheat is left. Or as one Nazi
Change language