The Name and the Number: Karl Ove Knausgaard’s Contribution to the Philosophy of Fascism

• In Event: Literature and Politics in Modern and Contemporary Thought

Abstract

Karl Ove Knausgaard is one of the most significant literary writers of the 21st century. His My Struggle books, in particular, earned him international fame and popularized a new narrative form known as autofiction. Yet despite his popularity and use of a title which borrows from one of history’s most infamous political writings (Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf), the political significance of Knausgaard’s writing and thought have been underexamined. In a book currently under development – The Political Significance of Karl Ove Knausgaard’s Struggle – I seek to remedy this shortcoming and persuade political scientists and other readers that Knausgaard is a political thinker worthy of consideration. Out of Knausgaard’s writings I develop a new theory of fascism, a political philosophy of aesthetics, and an ontological framework about human beings, each of which are of relevance to political science. In this presentation, I will discuss my interpretation of Knausgaard’s theory of fascism—which places significant import on language and ideas—and contrast his philosophy with an alternative theory popular among political scientists: Adorno et al.’s theory of psychological authoritarianism and contemporary adaptations.

Author

• Matthew Luttig, Colgate University