Fascism and Political Theory

Fascism and Political Theory ‘This is a captivating and well-researched contribution to political theory and historical sociology. Woodley’s sophisticated, wide-ranging, and clearly written book convin cingly dissects the anatomy of fascism, including its relation to the modern imperial-international context.’ Patricia Owens, author of Between War and Politics: International Relations and the Thought of Hannah Arendt (2007) ‘Analysing fascism through the lens of political theory, Woodley also roots his account in the material conditions which generate fascism, providing a critical contribution to our understanding of both fascism and political theory.’ Mark Neocleous, Brunel University, UK Fascism and Political Theory offers both students and researchers a thematic analysis of fascism, focusing on the structural and ideological links between fascism, capitalism and modernity. Intended as a critical discussion of the origins and development of fascist ideology, each chapter deals with a core substantive issue in political theory relevant to the study of fascism and totalitarianism, beginning with an assessment of the current state of debate. The emphasis on formal ideology in contemporary Anglo-American historiography has increased our awareness of the complexity and eclectic nature of fascist ideologies which challenge liberalism and social democracy. Yet in too many recent works, a programmatic or essentialist reading of fascist ideology as a ‘secular religion’ is taken for granted, while researchers remain preoccupied with the search for an elusive ‘fascist minimum’. In this book Woodley emphasizes that many outstanding questions remain, including the structural and ideological links between fascism and capitalism, the social construction of fascist nationalism, and the origins of fascist violence in European colonialism. This volume consolidates the reader’s theoretical understanding and provides the interdisciplinary skills necessary to understand the concrete social, economic and political conditions which generate and sustain fascism. A timely critique of culturalist and revisionist approaches in fascism studies which provides a concise overview of theoretical debates between liberalism, Marxism and poststructuralism, this text will be of great interest to students of politics, modern history and sociology. Daniel Woodley teaches politics at DLD College in London. He holds a PhD in political sociology from the University of Essex (2002), and is the author of numerous articles and several textbooks on ideology and political theory including, most recently, Conservatism (2005). Routledge Issues in Contemporary Political Theory This series engages with the most significant issues in contemporary political theory. Each text is written by a leading scholar and provides a short, acces- sible and stimulating overview of the issue for advanced undergraduates and graduate students of political theory. As well as providing a survey of the field, the books also contain original and groundbreaking thinking which will drive forward debates on these key issues. 1 Indigeneity and Political Theory Sovereignty and the limits of the political Karena Shaw 2 Fascism and Political Theory Critical perspectives on fascist ideology Daniel Woodley Fascism and Political Theory Critical perspectives on fascist ideology Daniel Woodley First published 2010 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2009. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk. © 2010 Daniel Woodley All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Woodley, Daniel. Fascism and political theory: critical perspectives on Fascist ideology/Daniel Woodley. p. cm.—(Routledge issues in contemporary political theory) Includes bibliographical references. 1. Fascism. I. Title. JC481.W66 2009 320.53Ј3—dc22 2009008742 ISBN 0-203-87157-X Master e-book ISBN ISBN10: 0–415–47354–3 (hbk) ISBN10: 0–415–47355–1 (pbk) ISBN10: 0–203–87157–X (ebk) ISBN13: 978–0–415–47354–5 (hbk) ISBN13: 978–0–415–47355–2 (pbk) ISBN13: 978–0–203–87157–7 (ebk) To Wanda . I could not wish for another Contents List of illustrations x Preface xi 1 Fascism and political theory 1 Introduction 1 Fascism and historiography 3 Criticisms of typological approaches 10 Towards a critical theory of fascism 13 Conclusion 19 2 Fascism, rationality and modernity 21 Introduction 21 The dominant social paradigm of modernity 25 Philosophical anti-rationalism and the conservative revolution 31 The fascist synthesis: modernism and counter-enlightenment 38 Conclusion 48 3 Fascism and social structure 49 Introduction 49 Social stratification and political power 54 The class basis of fascism in the interwar period 58 Fascism and the contemporary far right 70 Conclusion 76 4 Fascism, sovereignty and the state 77 Introduction 77 Theorizing the state 79 From authoritarian liberalism to fascism 83 viii Contents The political constitution of fascism 90 The prerogative state in Nazi Germany 96 The fascist aestheticization of politics 100 Conclusion 104 5 Fascism and violence 105 Introduction 105 Power, violence and modernity 106 The legacy of colonialism 112 The specificity of fascist violence 120 Neofascist violence 128 Conclusion 130 6 Fascism, capitalism and the market 132 Introduction 132 Fascism and postliberal capitalism 134 Economic ideologies of fascism 141 The political economy of fascism 146 Corporate liberalism in the United States 157 Conclusion 160 7 Fascism and nationalism 162 Introduction 162 Theories of nationalism 164 Integral nationalism 170 The nation form in fascist ideology 174 Neonationalism and the far right 181 Conclusion 185 8 Fascism and race 187 Introduction 187 Race and race-thinking in Europe 189 White supremacism and antisemitism 191 Eugenics and racial hygiene in the interwar period 196 Fascist racial ideology 200 Conclusion 209 Contents ix 9 Fascism, gender and sexuality 211 Introduction 211 The social construction of gender in late bourgeois culture 213 Fascism and the cult of masculinity 218 Representations of femininity in fascist ideology 222 Fascism and homosexuality 226 Conclusion 230 Notes 232 Bibliography 243 Index 269 Illustrations Tables 1.1 Theoretical approaches to fascism 4 2.1 Ideological positions of fascism, rationality and modernity 23 3.1 Sociological perspectives on fascism 50 3.2 Breakdown of the FPÖ vote 1986–99 75 Figures 3.1 Wright’s model of class structure 56 3.2 Class formation with intermediary middle-class buffer 57 3.3 Class formation based on integration of working class into middle class bloc 57 3.4 Class formation based on pure ideological polarization 69 Preface This study is intended as a critical introduction to the origins and development of fascist ideology, and will be of interest to students and researchers working in the fields of politics, history and historical sociology. The aim is to consolidate students’ theoretical understanding, and to help students acquire the interdisciplinary skills necessary to understand the concrete social, economic and political conditions which generate and sustain fascism. The text also offers students a critical resource to challenge revisionist approaches in fascist studies. In too many standard texts, a programmatic or essentialist reading of fascist ideology as a ‘secular religion’ is taken for granted, while researchers remain preoccupied with the search for an elusive ‘fascist minimum’. The emphasis on formal ideology in contemporary historiography has increased our awareness of the complexity and eclectic nature of fascist ideologies which challenge liberalism and social democracy; but many outstanding questions remain, including the relationship between fascism and modernism, the structural and ideological links between fascism and capitalism, the origins of fascist violence, and the link between fascism and masculinity. The text begins with a critical overview of the debate on fascism, before turning to the core substantive themes in the discussion of fascism and poli tical theory. Chapter 2 examines ideological positions in the debate on fascism, rationality and modernity, looking at the work of key fascist intellec- tuals. The aim is to locate fascism within the ideological spectrum by exam- ining its philosophical sources and cultural dynamics, to demarcate fascism from liberalism, conservatism and socialism, and to assess the economic and cultural significance of fascist modernism. Chapter 3 examines the central problem of the relation between fascism and social structure, asking whether support for fascist movements is linked to class or whether fascism can be explained as a pathology of industrial modernity, while Chapter 4 examines the relationship between fascism and the state, focusing on the tension between ideological hegemony

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