Yes, Robert Paxton tries to describe the essence of fascism in his book. While
Hannah Arendt and Erich Fromm described fascism in Germany, and Stanley G.
Payne is an expert for fascism in Spain, Robert Paxton is an expert for fascism
in France during German occupation in WW II. He argues that it can reach
different stages, just like the 5 stages of cancer in various degrees of
severity. Chapter 2 to 6 in Paxton's book are dedicated to the 5 stages. Each
chapter describes one stage, and one stage is a prerequisite for the next. The
5 stages are:(1) the creation of movements(2) their rooting in the political
system(3) their seizure of power(4) the exercise of power (5) radicalization
For the 1st stage, the creation of movements, he describes in chapter 2 a set
of mobilizing passions which are "the emotional lava that set fascism’s
foundations": from "a sense of overwhelming crisis beyond the reach of any
traditional solutions" to "the belief that one’s group is a victim, a sentiment
that justifies any action, without legal or moral limits, against its enemies,
both internal and external".In the final chapter 8 Paxton finally gives a
definition of fascism and argues that "fascism may be defined as a form of
political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline,
humiliation, or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy, and
purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working
in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons
democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical
or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion".He
argues that violence is a important hallmark of fascism: "the legitimation of
violence against a demonized internal enemy brings us close to the heart of
fascism" and that it would be "a phenomenon of failed democracies".-J.
-------- Original message --------From: glen <[email protected]> Date:
5/10/23 4:47 PM (GMT+01:00) To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [FRIAM]
Paxton's stages as a dynamical system I haven't read Anatomy of Fascism. But
one of the things I worry about, even though I make my career from it, is
arguing by analogy. It sounds like Paxton is attempting to essentialize
fascism. Is that the case? We've explored, a bit on this list, some problems
with essentialism and reductionism. While it's good to de-universalize a
concept (because if it applies everywhere, then it's not useful), that
specificity in denotation (e.g. Islamists not being fascist) can be made
observationally or constructively/axiomatically. In alignment with Feynman, if
you can't construct the phenomenon, then you don't understand it.Of course, I
know Paxton can't (and wouldn't) construct a fascist society. That's why
simulation is a good thing. 8^D But does Anatomy of Fascism read as a recipe, a
how-to? Or is it more like a collection of observational case studies?On
5/10/23 03:41, Jochen Fromm wrote:> I don't know much about South Africa but
one direction towards higher stages of Paxton's fascism scale is certainly
democratic backsliding. Democratic backsliding can happen if a country is in a
deep crisis and has a "strongman" leader which longs to stay in power. Orban in
Hungary, Erdoğan in Turkey and Netanyahu in Israel have eroded democracy in
their countries because they wanted to stay in power at all costs. Ruth
Ben-Ghiat wrote about it in her book "Strongmen" [1].> > The more interesting
aspect is to view it as a disorder of the system. Already Plato considered
tyranny as a disease and disorder of a state [2]. He defined a tyrant as a
person who rules without law, using extreme and cruel methods against both his
own people and others. In a tyranny, the city is enslaved to the tyrant, who is
in turn a slave to his desires and uses his guards to remove social elements
and individuals that pose a threat to retain power. He will also provoke
warfare to consolidate his position as leader. Aristotle says tyranny is a
selfish rule by a single individual: "tyranny is a kind of monarchy which has
in view the interest of the monarch only" [2]. He describes it as "arbitrary
power of an individual which is responsible to no one, and governs all alike,
whether equals or better, with a view to is own advantage, not to that of its
subjects, and therefore against their will."> > Obviously it makes a difference
if a country is ruled by a dictator or not. Milan Svolik says tyrants and
dictators live in constant fear they will be overthrown and rely on a number of
allies to govern [3]: "All dictators face threats from the masses, and I call
the political problem of balancing against the majority excluded from power the
problem of authoritarian control. Yet dictators rarely control enough resources
to preclude such challenges on their own - they therefore rule with a number of
allies, whether they be traditional elites, prominent party members, or
generals in charge of repression. A second, separate political conflict arises
[...] the problem of authoritarian power-sharing"> > -J.> > [1] Ruth Ben-Ghiat,
Strongmen> https://wwnorton.com/books/strongmen> > [2] Robert Boesche, Theories
of Tyranny, The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1996> > [3] Milan W.
Svolik, The politics of authoritarian rule, Cambridge University Press, 2012> >
> -------- Original message --------> From: Pieter Steenekamp
<[email protected]>> Date: 5/10/23 9:25 AM (GMT+01:00)> To: The Friday
Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <[email protected]>> Subject: Re:
[FRIAM] Paxton's stages as a dynamical system> > We're facing a difficult
situation in South Africa. The upcoming BRICS summit in Cape Town, scheduled
for August 22-24, includes an invitation to Putin. However, the International
Criminal Court has issued a warrant for his arrest due to allegations of
illicit dealings with Ukrainian children. As a signatory of the ICC, South
Africa is technically obligated to detain him if he appears. While we enjoyed a
positive reputation during Mandela's presidency, the country faced significant
setbacks under Jacob Zuma's leadership. The current president, Cyril
Rhamaphosa, appears to lack power. Well, lacking power could mean we might rate
very low according to Paxton, which is a good thing?> > On Tue, 9 May 2023 at
23:20, Jochen Fromm <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:> >
In Putin's speech on victory day today he argued that Russia is again
fighting against fascism while the country clearly shows increasingly signs of
fascism itself: from the angry dictator and the dread of the nation's decline
under the corrosive effects of individualistic liberalism to the overwhelming
feeling of victimhood almost all of the mobilizing passions defined by Robert
Paxton were present.> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Anatomy_of_Fascism
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Anatomy_of_Fascism>> > Even Prigozhin's
Wagner group reminds me of the Waffen-SS during the time of Nazism: an armed
combat branch of the organization that is responsible for the protection of the
dictator which acts in competition to the regular armed forces and is known for
war crimes and extreme brutality.>
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/09/putin-recycles-old-grievances-on-victory-day-as-russian-army-battered-in-ukraine
<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/09/putin-recycles-old-grievances-on-victory-day-as-russian-army-battered-in-ukraine>>
> I'm interested in understanding this complex process of social evolution
where a country falls back into dark ages in terms of dynamical systems. Why
are the structures always so similar? Why does Paxton's final stage five almost
always end in war, violence and invasion of other countries? Luckily Trump only
reached Paxton's stage three - and hopefully the conviction today will prevent
that he is coming back...> -- ꙮ Mɥǝu ǝlǝdɥɐuʇs ɟᴉƃɥʇ' ʇɥǝ ƃɹɐss snɟɟǝɹs˙ ꙮ-.
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