Griffin, Roger. The Nature of Fascism. St. Martin’s Press, 1991.
A remarkable and remarkably dense book on the nature of fascism. Griffin, who seems to have read everything about fascist, protofascist, and reactionary movements of the first half of the 20th century provides what is probably the best working definition of fascism: palingenetic ultranationalism; that is, a movement based on the idea of nationalist rebirth of a people. I’m not equipped to judge such a densely researched and reasoned book, literally the densest non-mathematical book I have ever encountered, but Griffin is widely respected, except among Marxist historians.
Griffin’s focus was on the two major successful fascist movements of the 20th century; those of Italy and Germany. In his discussion of the psychology of fascism he roots the motivation of fascism in a reaction to modernity; a desire to for the rebirth of a world where all is explained by a theological understanding of the meaning of life, a desire for self-transcendence, and a desire for an uncomplicated identification with the nation personified in a leader, one which absolves the fascist of personal moral responsibility, and, at the same time, a belief that the fascist is morally superior to the decadent society that surrounds them.
By Griffin’s definition, it is obvious that MAGA is a fascist movement; all the elements are there: the desire for a rebirth of the nation, an identification with the leader, and a belief in the decadence of the United States. It is debatable if the Trump administration’s Christian nationalism is palingenetic: on the one hand, it is focused on a future rebirth, but it also focuses on the imagined glories of the past United States. The tescrealist faction is entirely focused on a future rebirth, and is in theory not nationalist at all, though in practice it seems often to be white supremacist. Then, of course, there are simple looters and imperialists.
Further reading
Jacobsen, Scott Douglas, and Roger Griffin. “Rebirth and Ruin: Understanding Fascism’s Appeal with Roger Griffin.” International Policy Digest, February 4, 2025. https://intpolicydigest.org/rebirth-and-ruin-understanding-fascism-s-appeal-with-roger-griffin/.
Bromao and Halofreak1171. “Academically, how accepted is Roger Griffin’s definition of fascism as palingenetic ultranationalism?” r/AskHistorians, March 6, 2025. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1j4ankf/academically_how_accepted_is_roger_griffins/mgbib8a/
No comments:
Post a Comment