Who's Afraid of Fascism?; Fascism as Constellation

• In Event: Populism and Authoritarianism

Abstract

Drawing on Robert Paxton's critique of "definitions" of fascism for offering static pictures of an inherently dynamic process, the paper reviews the discussions on Trump and fascism during the past ten years. Employing Adorno's constellation method, it then offers an alternative approach for studying fascism that can avoid that stultification and frozenness that marks the definitions of this concept. It discusses fascism through constellations of concepts centered around three distinct yet interconnected facets of this social phenomenon: 1. Inherent irrationality of fascist propaganda and its manipulative techniques for gaining popular support; 2. crises of capital that push sectors of the capitalist class to back the fascist regime; 3. denial of the generality of law and suspension of individual rights under the fascist regime. Focusing on these dynamics, the paper revisits the question of the relevance of fascism to our time.

Author

• Saira Rafiee, CUNY Graduate Center