Rodd, Robin (1996) The fascist essence: now as then. Arena Journal, 6. pp. 25-33.

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Abstract

[Extract] Fifty years after the crushing of Nazism, the same socio-economic trends that once made fascism palatable to Western Europeans are again simmering under the surface of liberal democratic societies. Understanding the nature or essence of fascism is as pertinent now as ever. As neo-liberal solutions to state debt problems only exacerbate socio-economic contradictions, fewer individualist, materialistic dreams are met and the temptation to find solidarity in a community becomes stronger. The isolating tendencies of liberal societies leave very few outlets for channeling communitarian dynamism beyond, that is, politically mobilizable fascist myths of community rebirth. The surface manifestations of fascist movements are socio-historically specific. Different characteristics integral to each nation's history and socio-politico-cultural environment allow for different manifestations of fascism. This does not, however, preclude the existence of a core set of fascist elements: of a generic fascism. The psycho-social impact of economic developments which allowed for fascist myths of communitarian rebirth to emerge are not geo-historically specific. There is an integral relationship between fascism's mythic core (which is susceptible to a number of permutations at the surface level) and the socio-economic environment which allowed for fascism's development.

Item ID:	48154
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1837-2333
Keywords:	fascism, liberalism, democracy, totalitarianism
Related URLs:	Publisher
Date Deposited:	09 May 2017 22:30
FoR Codes:	16 STUDIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY > 1601 Anthropology > 160104 Social and Cultural Anthropology @ 40% 22 PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES > 2202 History and Philosophy of Specific Fields > 220209 History of Ideas @ 30% 16 STUDIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY > 1606 Political Science > 160609 Political Theory and Political Philosophy @ 30%
SEO Codes:	94 LAW, POLITICS AND COMMUNITY SERVICES > 9402 Government and Politics > 940203 Political Systems @ 100%
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