/lit/ - Literature

I'm not a fascist for multiple reasons. Fascism is too authoritarian, too democratic and too proletarian. When I say "too authoritarian" I don't come from the perspective of a liberal democrat, I agree more with fascists than with liberal democrats, but giving citizens no personal freedom and having them under the constant surveillance of some kind of wanna be Himmler is not desirable. Also, fascism is too dogmatic, too war hungry, but probably the best critique from a right wing viewpoint is its proletarian character.

Defining fascism is notoriously difficult, I recommend reading various scholars, Zeev Sternhall, James A. Gregor, Roger Griffin, Stanley Payne, Ernst Nolte, Karlheinz Weissmann come to mind.

From my interpretation fascism is to a significant degree a middle class phenomenon. The European middle class was afraid that bolschevism would come over to Europe and they'd lose their privileged status so they supported fascist strongmen who promised they would protect them. They very poor have an association with (Russian) communism, the ultra wealthy have an association with (Anglo) capitalism, what's left for the middle class who views the classes above and below as parasites is fascism (native).

Also, I think fascism can re emerge. It's true that unique conditions, such as ww1, fin de siecle pessimism, the rise of social darwinism, the rapid transformation of European countries from monarchies into democracies, the bolschevik revolution etc. made fascism possible, but fascism has an eternal appeal.

Leftists have over the years identified several thinkers they accused of being "proto fascist" and there's a degree to which fascism was an attempt to escape modernity and go back to the middle ages, corporatism and the guild system are almost identical.