Reflecting on Post-Fascism: Utopia and Fear

Abstract

It has been suggested that, today, with the growth of Right-populism and white nationalism, Western nations are haunted by the spectre of fascism. This article explores the consolidation of a ‘post-fascist constellation’, through attention to utopia. The argument proceeds by way of a discussion of utopia as method, beginning with a survey of the utopian turn across the human sciences, and closing with seven theses on utopia as human scientific optic. Turning to post-fascism, a five-featured ideal-type is outlined: organic, palingenetic, transcendent nationalism; conspiracy theory and cleansing; charismatic authority; counter-revolution or backlash politics; and militaristic masculinity. These strands are then brought together, in exploring the utopian dimension of post-fascism, drawing on the work of Ernst Bloch, in particular. The article closes with two suggested and somewhat contrasting theses: first, that post-fascism is loaded with utopian content, predominantly characterized by what Bloch called ‘the future in the past’; second, that, nevertheless, the utopian figuration of post-fascism is residual in comparison to the reservoir of variably-expressed fears found within this ideological ensemble.

Utopias climáticas

“…A análise de rede na perspectiva latouriana foi utilizada para acompanhar as unidades analíticas selecionadas: componentes utópicos 5 pautados pela utopia crítica (EL-OJEILI, 2018;LEVITAS, 2013;URRY, 2016;WRIGHT, 2010) das esferas da arte, IA e religião dinamizadas por esta coalizão-movimento (OC e Ato pela Terra). A análise de conteúdo (BARDIN, 2011) foi utilizada e a unidade analítica foi o componente utópico e seus desdobramentos interpretativos críticos com as categorias de constelação utópica e figurações utópicas (figura e configuração) (EL-OJEILI, 2018), os moldes utópicos (URRY, 2016), o locus utópico (SUVIN, 2012) e a noção de estratégia simbiótica transformativa da utopia realista (WRIGHT, 2010).…”

“…Este artigo se insere no tema das utopias climáticas na perspectiva sociológica. A utopia crítica como método sociológico (EL-OJEILI, 2018;2020;LEVITAS, 2013;URRY, 2016;WRIGHT, 2010) é utilizada como quadro teórico metodológico. A questão em pauta é compreender quais figuras e configurações utópicasalém daquelas associadas à esfera racional científica humanaoriundas de outras sensibilidades (a saber: religião, arte e inteligência artificial) se encontram em coalizões nos espaços de formulação de políticas climáticas no Brasil.…”

Radical-Nationalist Podcasting under a Post-Fascist Condition

“…This conceptualization of post-fascism builds on the critical theorization of post-raciality: a societal condition in which racism is popularly perceived as a past historical error or as individual outbursts of asocial behavior, despite the fact that people continue to experience structural racism.51 Whereas the 'post-racial' designates how racism thrives despite being publicly defeated (much like the 'post-colonial'), post-fascism encapsulates a condition where fascism is reconfigured with regard to its historical downfall. 52 Others have noted that the concept of post-fascism highlights the 'adaptive qualities of fascism to historical and external forces,'53 and that post-fascism is characterized by fluidity and variegation, 'just as contemporary anarchism and Marxism are multi-stranded and both continuous yet iterative variations upon their nineteenth and twentieth century antecedents. '54 However, this latter comparison is faltering on one important point: adherents of post-anarchism and post-Marxism typically set out to advance their ideological traditions, and not to disassociate from them.55 Post-fascism, by contrast, gains momentum in an era without self-ascribed fascists -but with ideological reconfiguration in the 'demise of conspicuous fascism' .56 This opacity stipulates the post-fascist condition in a double sense: the noun 'condition' denotes both a prerequisite and a mode of being.…”

Beyond Conceptions of Fascism and Fascist Conceptions: On the Category of Fascization

“…Counter-revolution/ backlash politics; 5. Militaristic masculinity" (el-Ojeili, 2019b, p. 1153) -second, that "post-fascism's component elements belong to a coherent formation of thought" (el-Ojeili, 2019b(el-Ojeili, , p. 1154. This leads me to the question of whether fascism has an essence or whether, as Umberto Eco (1932Eco ( -2016 argues, "Fascism [i.e.…”