Fascism Reborn

“And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost.” [1]

Sixty-seven years ago, the combined blood, treasure and matériel of the free nations of Western Civilization defeated the most horrifically evil regime to ever arise in the known history of the sons of men, Nazi Germany.

Since the defeat of Hitler and the Axis powers, scholars have been looking for an answer—an answer to a vexing and perplexing question, “How does a society comprised of reasonably well educated citizens, modern technology and an affluent culture turn into a collective pack of murderous thugs devoid of a moral compass or conscience?”

The standard schoolbook answer put forward by historians talks about the political and economic hardship and unrest in Germany in the wake of her defeat in World War I and the humiliating terms of the Treaty of Versailles as the primary reasons for the rise of the Nazi party.

On the surface this answer seems reasonable enough but when you study the writings of those who fled Nazi Germany shortly after the rise of Adolf Hitler you discover that economics and wounded national pride are not considered to be the core explanations given for the rise of the Nazis. Those who lived through those turbulent years instead point to the spiritual break down of Europe and the rise of irrational philosophy as the primary forces that breathed life into the Fascist regimes of Franco, Mussolini and Hitler.

Many people today have a woefully limited understanding of the philosophical and political ideas that gave rise to Hitler. Most give little or no thought to the subject. It’s as if Hitler fell out of the sky or was a fluke of nature. Many simply dismiss the subject and think that Hitler was “just a madman” who hated Jews and thought the Aryan race was superior to every other race on the planet and he was tragically in a position that allowed him to act on those beliefs. But, few understand or remember that Hitler was a Fascist and that in the 1930’s, prior to World War II and the establishment of the concentration camps, the word “Fascism” had a definition and a meaning. Rather than being a fluke, Hitler was instead a true product of his time and his political ideas were the direct result of the philosophical, political, religious and economic ideas of the Völkish period.[2]

Said Mussolini, “If each age has its doctrine, the innumerable symptoms indicated that the doctrine of our age is the Fascist one.”[3] When Mussolini penned this sentence he did not have in mind the currently popular and historically ignorant definitions of Fascism that most people possess today, definitions like:

Fascism = Arizona’s 2010 immigration bill.[4]
Fascism = The Conservative Political Platform of Ronald Reagan.
Fascism = Anti-Semitism

The phrase “Epic Fail” comes to mind when I read such ignorant and uninformed definitions of Fascism. Anyone who truly understands Fascism understands that it is notoriously difficult to define precisely because it CANNOT be primarily defined by means of a positive ideology.

Here is how the late Peter Drucker, who grew up within the philosophical conversation of the Völkish milieu of Austria and Germany and who later fled the Third Reich in 1934, described Fascism:

“Fascist totalitarianism has no positive theology, but confines itself to refuting, fighting and denying all traditional ideas and ideologies...Fascism not only refutes all old ideas but denies, for the first time in European history, the foundation on which all former political and social systems had been built...”[5]

A good illustration would be to liken Fascism to antimatter. Physicists tell us that matter has an evil twin called antimatter and when matter and antimatter come in contact with each other they are both destroyed. Antimatter is difficult for us to comprehend because of the fact that we have only experienced matter. Its difficult to imagine a substance that is the exact opposite of matter. Fascism is equally difficult to understand because its hallmark is NOT that it affirms anything but that it denies practically everything. Fascism is ANTI transcendent truth. Fascism is ANTI individual rights. Fascism is ANTI rational thought. Fascism is man taking his God-given gift of reason and using that reason to deconstruct and debunk reason itself and all societal and religious institutions that rely upon reason.

Said Peter Drucker, “I...realized that the new totalitarianisms, especially Nazism in Germany, were indeed a genuine revolution, aiming at the overthrow of something much more fundamental than economic organization: values, beliefs, and basic morality. It was a revolution which replaced hope by despair, [and] reason by magic...”[6]

Drucker further goes on to state that, “Nazi leaders have prided themselves publicly on their disregard for truth...”[7]

If Drucker is correct, then the very first blitzkrieg of the German Fascists was not waged against Poland, Belgium nor the Netherlands. The very first victims of the Fascist revolution were values, beliefs and basic morality. Once these citadels fell then there were no moral, philosophical or rational obstacles left to stop the Fascists from committing the most unthinkable crimes.

What is historically vital to note about Drucker's description of Fascism is that it was published in 1939 and predates the wartime atrocities committed by the Nazis. Drucker's definition was constructed from his firsthand experiences while living and breathing and conversing with Fascism in the years prior to Hitler's rise to power. Drucker's definition demonstrates that Fascism should not be defined by the brutality that it ultimately engaged in. Instead, it should be defined by the irrational, deconstructive philosophy that it embraced. The logical consequences of this anti-rational philosophy were the unspeakable evils committed by the men who, having been stripped of transcendent truth and morals had no checks upon their sinful human nature. One could argue that the day the Fascists succeeded in deconstructing values, beliefs, basic morality and reason itself was also the day when the foundations were poured for Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Dachau and Bergen-Belsen.

Ernst Nolte, in his book Three Faces of Fascism said, “Georg Lukács in his book, Die Zerstörung der Vernuft... attempts to describe philosophical irrationalism as an essential component of and background to National Socialism, as the ‘reactionary answer to the great problems of the past hundred and fifty years.’ On Germany’s path ‘from Schelling to Hitler’ is to be found practically every name of any stature in German philosophy after Hegel’s death: Schopenhauer and Nietzche, Dilthey and Simmel, Scheler and Heidegger, Jaspers and Max Weber.”[8]

This reaction against rational thought and its corresponding blatant disregard for transcendent truth is precisely what is at the heart of the oft quoted Fascist maxim, “a lie becomes accepted as the truth if it is only repeated often enough”.

Said Drucker, “Fascism, however, goes much further in its negation of the past than any earlier political movement, because it makes this negation its main platform. What is even more important, it denies simultaneously ideas and tendencies which are in themselves antithetic. It is antiliberal, but also anticonservative; antireligious and antiatheist, anticapitalist and antisocialist...—the list could be continued indefinitely.”[9]

Today, Fascism has a new name. Even though the name has changed, the exact same irrational philosophies that helped give rise to the 20th Century totalitarian Fascist regimes of Italy, Spain and Germany are alive and well today. The new name that Fascism has taken for itself is Postmodernity.[10]

From Foucault to Derrida, John Franke to Leonard Sweet, Brian McLaren to Doug Pagitt, Pete Rollins to Tony Jones all of these men are disciples of and dealers in the irrational philosophies of such men as Hegel, Feuerbach, Marx, Nietzsche, and Heidegger.

Just like their 20th Century counterparts these philosophers and theologians are characterized not by their positive ideologies and theologies but by their strident attacks against rational thought, knowable transcendent truth, individual rights, individual salvation, transcendent morals, systematic theology, and the bedrock reasoning upon which all of the societal structures of Western Civilization are built, including Constitutional Republicanism, the free market and the Church.

Fascism was not defeated on the battlefields of Western Europe. Their armies were defeated. But, Fascism lived on. It lurked in the shadows for decades and was ultimately imported to the United States and the European democracies through universities and institutions of higher education. Fascism took a new shape in the field of literary criticism through the postmodern deconstructionism of Derrida and has now grown like a cancer that has spread from literary criticism to philosophy to politics to economics to religion. Once again the very foundations of thought are under assault. Once again the rights of the individual are being deconstructed and the idea of the primacy of the community (Gemeinschaft) is being exalted. Once again all transcendent truths and morals are being deconstructed and attacked. They are being replaced with an irrational epistemology founded upon subjective feelings (authenticity) with a hatred for so-called meta-narratives. Once again free market capitalism is under assault and being accused of causing the oppression of the poor and creating an unfair system that creates haves and have-nots. Once again there is talk of ‘creating the millennial Kingdom of God’ here on earth by destroying or ‘redeeming’ all the political and economic structures of society.

The Postmodern conversation has taken place before. It was the philosophical conversation of the 20th Century European Fascists. Its a conversation that had no answers but only deconstructing questions. The same is true today. But the big difference between 20th Century Fascism and 21st Century Postmodernity is that this time the conversation is global.

---

1 Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Dir. Peter Jackson. 2001. DVD. Taken from the narration in the prologue to the film.

2 See Poewe, Karla, and Irving Hexham. "The Völkisch Modernist Beginnings of National Socialism: Its Intrusion into the Church and Its Antisemitic Consequence." Religion Compass 3.4 (2009): 676-96. Print.

3 Mussolini, Benito. Fascism; Doctrine and Institutions. New York: H. Fertig, 1968. Print. see 31.34.n2

4 "Ellison: Arizona Immigration Law ‘fascist, Racist’ «." Minnesota Independent: News. Politics. Media. Web. 3 May 2010. 

5 Drucker, Peter F. The End of Economic Man: the Origins of Totalitarianism. New Brunswick, N.J., U.S.A.: Transaction, 1995. 11. Print.

6 Ibid. xxii

7 Ibid. 19

8 Nolte, Ernst. Three Faces of Fascism: Action Française, Italian Fascism, National Socialism. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1966. 22. Print. emphasis added

9 Drucker, 13

10 Veith, Gene Edward. Modern Fascism: the Threat to the Judeo-Christian Worldview. St. Louis: Concordia, 1993. Print.



Comments

[Jack]

It's no coincidence that Paul de Man, one of the major figures of deconstructionism, wrote propaganda for the Nazis as a young man.

[Arwen]

Thank you!

[Melba]

This is excellent! I would share on FB, but I have liberals there who either: 1) would not understand it (but be sure to comment anyway); or 2) would undergo a brain strain leading to a cerebral explosion of epic proportions -- and I just can't open myself up to that liability. ;-)

[David]

I read your article today and I really appreciated it. I wanted thank you,

David

[Kurt Hutchison]

Wow, powerful article, really got me to thinking.

I read Mussolini's Doctrine of Fascism (1932):
http://www.worldfuturefund.org/wffmaster/Reading/Germany/mussolini.htm
and I see where you are coming from, but I also see another parallel too:

Fascism saw the primary goal of the state as survival, in a pseudo-darwinian survival of the fittest state paradigm. War was natural to them.

Fascism also admits that myth is the proper tool to control the masses, and clear thinking and access to information is reserved for those in control. The single-party system of rule was designed to enforce the common myth through all levels of society and to suppress individualism in favor of the state's goals. All other forms of philosophy (as you asserted) were explicitly called out and rejected.

While fascism rejected communism, their methods were identical (single-party rule, and enforcement of a common myth across society). They only differed on economic policy and myth content.

The myth was carefully chosen, it had to support the goal by defining one's enemies, and marshaling the masses.

Fast forward to today, and the new goal is survival of humanity as a whole in an envronmental paradigm. The new myth is postmodernism. Socialism is the promise of utopia to seduce the masses to surrender control of their lives to the state. Why bother to reconcile and compromise different perspectives if we can just sweep them all away with relativism? Absolutism and environmental carelessness are the new enemies.

And as before, gentle methods will be used until more brutal ones become necessary. Ultimately, those who refuse the myth may be branded as "enemies of mankind" - The same charge Hitler levelled against the Jews, and the Romans used to persecute Christians in their day.

But this can only occur if the new myth becomes dominant and universally enforced.

Frankly I see as strong a parallel with Christian dominionism as I do with liberalism (of which I consider emergents a subset). The NAR's 7-mountain agenda sounds like across-the-board myth enforcement to me. But neither is a threat unless one becomes totally dominant.

[Diane R.]

I just got through reading the best book on Fascism vs. Christianity I've found. It's entitled, "Modern Fascism: The Threat to the Judeo-Christian Worldview" by Gene Edward Veith. It contains much of the same thing in your article plus much, much more and I recommend it highly.

[shannon]

Excellent article. Most people just can't make the connection between post-modern/emergent theology and how they are inseperable from what is taking place politically. You did a great job of connecting the two. Very clear. I hope many people read this article. In my opinion this article would help people express why they think everything is being turned up on its head.politics,morality,theology etc.. IT is not by accident. Actually when articulated as it was in this article how could you conclude anything other than what the author concluded? Global Facism would seemingly have to be the political ideology that would have to be a dominating philosophy throughout the world that would assist in the rise of Global Messiah/dictator etc... ala the ANTI_Christ...

[Brenda]

Great article! Very eye opening. I have a question, though. If Drucker was able to understand and define fascism, how is it that he became, together with Buford a leading mind in Leadership Network, that gave birth to Emerging Church movement? Atraction to mysticism perhaps?

[Chris Rosebrough (@PirateChristian)]

Brenda,

Drucker was an Existentialist to the end. And what few understand is that Existentialism is the doorway into the irrational philosophies of Hegel, Nietzche and Heidegger.

Rick Warren, Bob Buford and Bill Hybels are Existential Pragmatists. They've created the antechamber into the Emergent Church.

The Emergent Church (aka Modern Fascism) is a powerful thought destroying cocktail of Existentialism, Romanticism, Evolutionism via the Hegelian Dialectic, and irrational philosophy (especially Heidegger's brand).

Although Drucker grew up in the heady intellectual and philosophical conversations of Germany during the Völkish period he saw the dangers of Fascism but never seemed to have made the connection that Existentialism leads you on the road TO Fascism. As a result the young Drucker repudiated Fascism but the aged Drucker may not have even realized that over the course of his lifetime that he was drifting further and further back into it.

It certainly is a difficult puzzle to crack because Drucker's book "The End of Economic Man" was read by Winston Churchill and he made it required reading for all the officers in the Royal Army and Navy during the war. Yet, it is one of Drucker's own organizations, Leadership Network, that is almost single handedly responsible for launching a brand of neo-Fascist ideology on the church.

Is this just coincidence? It it just irony? Was Drucker even aware of what postmodernity really is?

I don't have the answers to any of these questions. Yet.

[george]

the only issue i see with this connection is that postmodernism denies corporate thought in the first instance. i think also the comparison can be equally valid for fundamental christians or any religion for that matter. if anything we can take away from this is the danger of getting too close to what we believe and making that god, rather than allowing God to be God on his terms.

[Danny]

Thankyou for this most excellent article. It was very eye-opening and so clear and direct in its exposure of things that wish to remain hidden. You have a clear prophetic (in the truest sense of the word) calling - please do not stop.

[Steve]

In a book that I am reading called "Lutherans Against Hitler" by Lowell Green, the writer spends a chapter to the "theology of fascism" which he points to several characteristics of fascist theology:

1. A new portrayal of Jesus which casts Jesus in terms of race or politics.

2. Tendency to oppose Christian dogma (doctrine) and the Church

3. Concept of the religious soul with places God only within a person and to not in means such as Holy Baptism and Holy Communions

4. A focus on the will of the individual to make a decision over the will of God. God's will is dependent on our decision.

5. A view that defines humans based on a view of humans as a biological creature and not a spiritual creature (Darwinian view of man)

6. A rejection of Original Sin.

7. A rejection of imputed righteousness but a focus on our righteous actions.

Sounds little like that we are hearing from many "Christian" leaders today.

[Eric Ramer]

Steve:
It sounds EXACTLY like the excerpt I've heard from Brian McLaren's "A New kind of Christianity".
Chris/Brenda:
This puts me in mind of the old Star Trek episode where the Federation Guy introduced Nazism to an alien world, thinking he could control it or clean it up to make it functional and salutary (I'm not a "trekkie" so I can’t name the episode of give it's number or offer a better synopsis than that). Maybe that's the type of phalacy Drucker was operating under...

Finally, WRT the question “How does a society comprised of reasonably well educated citizens, modern technology and an affluent culture turn into a collective pack of murderous thugs devoid of a moral compass or conscience?”, a history Prof I had in college used to warn us that post WWI Germany had the most well educated populace in the modern industrial world (more college degrees per capita). They had the foundational ideas and thought patterns implanted in their native universities. There seems to be a parallel in our current educational system, but with it spilling over into our pulpits, there's nowhere where the populace can be safe. Even the willfully ignorant can't escape it, and in fact are more susceptible if they hear it from those who they think are smarter or more educated. Then again, considering our fallen nature, do we really need to be led to depravity? Wow,,, I just rambled down a pretty dark road, sorry. Keep shining the light on this Chris, and I for one will send it to everyone I think might listen.

Respectfully,

[JohnH]

Just a recommendation. There is a great book our there that documents this development:

Building the Kingdom of God on Earth by Martin Erdmann

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Building-Kingdom-God-Earth-Contribution/dp/1597521353/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275782362&sr=8-1

[Jill]

My church just finished a study on Revelation and shortly after that I listened to the lecture Chris had on by Ken Samples. Ken Samples pointed out that John was showing the final anti christ figure would be as bad as Nero, but global. ..the very last sentence of this article just sent a cold shiver down my spine.

[Jim Kahler]

I have read Veith's book and am waiting for Goldberg's. Ther is a greta book on the spiritual side of what went on with Hitler. It's called "Hitler's Cross" by Erwin W. Lutzer who was senior pastor at Moody Memorial Church. It's well worth your time to read it.