Ebook: Fascism

What is the relationship between fascism, modernity and capitalism? What is the basis of the fascist attack on Marxism and liberalism? Why is fascism inherently a politics of destruction? Fascism is one of the most abused terms in the social sciences. Part of this abuse has arisen from the misunderstandings that have developed from the traditional assumptions surrounding fascism. In this important new text, Mark Neocleous overcomes these misunderstandings by presenting an original approach to the central questions concerning the nature of fascism. Neocleous situates fascism within the social and political contradictions of modernity and capitalism, and identifies fascism's key feature as a reaction to the principle political project of Enlightenment. By focusing on three of fascism's central concepts - war, nature and the nation - fascism is presented as a manifestation of the destructive potential of modernity, a form of reactionary modernism the principle aim of which is to violently crush any movement for social emancipation. The destruction of reason by fascism shatters Enlightenment universalism and transforms the desire for social liberation into an aggressive nationalism, with devastating effects on human life. This clear and accessible overview treats the subject thematically, teasing out the underlying principles of the doctrine, rather than following the case-by-case approach favoured by many writers. It is designed to provide a key text for undergraduate and postgraduate courses on political ideologies, political sociology and social and political theory, as well as essential reading for those with a wider interest in fascism.