The Anatomy of Fascism
Sunday, May 13th, 2007 @ 23:45
by Robert O. Paxton (2004)
In this book, Paxton claims that the way to understand fascism is to observe it in action. Dividing the book in chronological sections, Paxton observes the evolution of fascism from its invention and creation, the “common thread”, the social and political space and conditions, the seeds and the full blooms in different countries, and the potential of fascist re-emergence in modern world.
Unfortunately, Paxton fails to deliver the promised clear dissection of fascism — in itself a notorious field for an elusive phenomenon that has evaded definitions and frustrated historians of many generations. For a start, Paxton didn’t give his own definition until the end of the book (since it’s “inherently limiting” and portray as “frozen ’statuary’” something that is better understood as a process). Which would probably have been more credible had he provided more basis for his choice of regimes, but taking “generally accepted” ones (especially when the concept “generally accepted” is hotly debated) considerably weakened his argument and posed a questionable tautology.
Additionally, his accusation of the generic “stereotyped abstract” study of fascism, contradicts his own emphasis on fascism as a violent and wilful purification led by a cult authority in the face of perceived crisis and corrosion. For a field notorious for its mulish diversity and aberrant definition, this book seems rather audaciously empty in its claim to dissect how fascism works. Its recentness, however, provides extensive up-to-date list of bibliographical essay and end notes (almost one third of the book itself).
