A speculative thought this, but modern political life seems to have too much feet-off-the-ground vision and not enough pragmatic realism. The vision thing as George H W Bush called it.
Bush's sound bite where he refers to the issue of overarching purpose as "the vision thing" has become a metonym applied to other political figures accused of similar difficulties.
It has become ever more apparent that modern political aspirants really do need the vision thing if they are to inspire those who find analysis tiresome. Hysterical reactions to Brexit and Trump are new clues to the visionary aspects of modern progressive politics. Visions which become compulsory or coercive long before they are tested by reality. Yes there is something in the air but it certainly isn’t a passion for democracy.
An earlier post titled Soft fascism was written in 2014 - over five years ago. Seems a long time and things have moved on. Maybe the visionary nature of fascism did not fade away in 1945.
There can be no conception of the State which is not fundamentally a conception of life: philosophy or intuition, system of ideas evolving within the framework of logic or concentrated in a vision or a faith, but always, at least potentially, an organic conception of the world.
The Fascist conception of the State is all embracing; outside of it no human or spiritual values can exist, much less have value. Thus understood, Fascism, is totalitarian, and the Fascist State - a synthesis and a unit inclusive of all values - interprets, develops, and potentates the whole life of a people.
Benito Mussolini - The Doctrine Of Fascism (1932)
The Fascist conception of the State certainly does not lie at the far right of any political spectrum we see today. It is a key part of the underlying ethos of modern progressive politics. On the left if we wish to stay with the left-right paradigm. It is certainly moulded into the ethos of the EU.
We could take this further because there is a visionary aspect to progressive politics, an emotional focus on values, a vision which interprets, develops, and potentates the whole life of a people where people is everyone - the global population. Yet the word fascism has been so overused as a term of abuse that it isn’t easy to make political use of it. To my mind this language corruption has probably come about because of the strong links between fascism and socialism. Mussolini was a socialist and seems to have regarded himself as such until the day he died.
But when brought within the orbit of the State, Fascism recognizes the real needs which gave rise to socialism and trade unionism, giving them due weight in the guild or corporative system in which divergent interests are coordinated and harmonized in the unity of the State.
The Fascist conception of the State certainly does not lie at the far right of any political spectrum we see today. It is a key part of the underlying ethos of modern progressive politics. On the left if we wish to stay with the left-right paradigm. It is certainly moulded into the ethos of the EU.
We could take this further because there is a visionary aspect to progressive politics, an emotional focus on values, a vision which interprets, develops, and potentates the whole life of a people where people is everyone - the global population. Yet the word fascism has been so overused as a term of abuse that it isn’t easy to make political use of it. To my mind this language corruption has probably come about because of the strong links between fascism and socialism. Mussolini was a socialist and seems to have regarded himself as such until the day he died.
But when brought within the orbit of the State, Fascism recognizes the real needs which gave rise to socialism and trade unionism, giving them due weight in the guild or corporative system in which divergent interests are coordinated and harmonized in the unity of the State.
Benito Mussolini - The Doctrine Of Fascism (1932)
Yet if socialism was to survive after WWII then the link with fascism had to be broken beyond repair. Fascism had to become politically isolated from socialism, a lurking horror on the far side of the supposed left-right spectrum. Firmly located within the old enemy – the capitalists and the bourgeoisie. As we know this tactic has been somewhat but not entirely successful.
Suppose we avoid defining fascism too tightly and try to mitigate the diffuse nature of the term while retaining some of its political value. Aspects of fascism as a political movement are still relevant today, still alive and kicking within the visionary nature of progressive politics. In its day fascism was extremely popular and its appeal did not simply vanish at the end of WWII.
In rejecting democracy Fascism rejects the absurd conventional lie of political equalitarianism, the habit of collective irresponsibility, the myth of felicity and indefinite progress. But if democracy be understood as meaning a regime in which the masses are not driven back to the margin of the State, and then the writer of these pages has already defined Fascism as an organized, centralized, authoritarian democracy.
Benito Mussolini - The Doctrine Of Fascism (1932)
Here is the core of modern progressive politics in Mussolini’s telling phrase. Modern progressives, socialists and environmentalists loudly reject what they quite obviously see as the habit of collective irresponsibility. Naturally, because this is politics, they reserve to themselves the right to define what is irresponsible and what is not, just as Mussolini did. What is the EU but an organized, centralized, authoritarian democracy? One of its guiding lights is one of Mussolini's guiding lights - to eliminate the habit of collective irresponsibility.
This is the key argument between those who have settled for warts and all democracy and those who think visionary elites mean what they say and even understand what they say. The fight against fascism goes on.
Yet if socialism was to survive after WWII then the link with fascism had to be broken beyond repair. Fascism had to become politically isolated from socialism, a lurking horror on the far side of the supposed left-right spectrum. Firmly located within the old enemy – the capitalists and the bourgeoisie. As we know this tactic has been somewhat but not entirely successful.
Suppose we avoid defining fascism too tightly and try to mitigate the diffuse nature of the term while retaining some of its political value. Aspects of fascism as a political movement are still relevant today, still alive and kicking within the visionary nature of progressive politics. In its day fascism was extremely popular and its appeal did not simply vanish at the end of WWII.
In rejecting democracy Fascism rejects the absurd conventional lie of political equalitarianism, the habit of collective irresponsibility, the myth of felicity and indefinite progress. But if democracy be understood as meaning a regime in which the masses are not driven back to the margin of the State, and then the writer of these pages has already defined Fascism as an organized, centralized, authoritarian democracy.
Benito Mussolini - The Doctrine Of Fascism (1932)
Here is the core of modern progressive politics in Mussolini’s telling phrase. Modern progressives, socialists and environmentalists loudly reject what they quite obviously see as the habit of collective irresponsibility. Naturally, because this is politics, they reserve to themselves the right to define what is irresponsible and what is not, just as Mussolini did. What is the EU but an organized, centralized, authoritarian democracy? One of its guiding lights is one of Mussolini's guiding lights - to eliminate the habit of collective irresponsibility.
This is the key argument between those who have settled for warts and all democracy and those who think visionary elites mean what they say and even understand what they say. The fight against fascism goes on.
2 comments:
Lots of good suggestive points there. One similarity which links fascism with the EU and "progressives" is fear. They all seem to be anxious as to what might happen if they are not in control, and they leave decisions to ordinary people.
Sam - yes fear must be in there and maybe that drives much of the similarity.
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