Hi! Carl!  Wednesday, 15th of Sept., 8.34 PM

We just returned from my seminar, Political Psychology, and we dealt with Marcuse, Fromm and Reich, concerning their theories of fascism. Unfortunately, the expositions of the students were not so excellent. But they tried to establish a superficial comparison to the current situation in Venezuela, concerning the rise of Hitler (Germany) and Chavez (Venezuela). It was fun though! Regards, Franz

Hi Franz: Wednesday, 15th of Sept.,

'Glad you enjoyed your Political Psychology class. Is Venezuelan society currently marked by unreason, self-sacrifice and collectivism? Do the majority of its professionals promote these beliefs? Is its economy similar to that of the Weimar Republic in a world depression created mainly by corruption and inept Governmental controls? I think that these conditions are necessary for the rise of fascism. Unless different conditions can lead to fascism today with a rock-star as dictator.

Cheers, Carl.
 

Hi! Carl! Wednesday, 15th of Sept.

An A+ for your contribution to our Political Psychology class. On all counts, you hit the nail
on its head.

                    Regards, Franz.
 
 
 

Dear Carl,                        Thursday, 16th of September 1999

it’s Jutta writing. In the aftermath of yesterday’s discussion within our Political Psychology Seminar here at the University of The Andes in Mérida, Venezuela, which was not satisfactory at all, as students usually have a unilateral approach towards the topics in question, I would like to offer the following reflections as a posting for our marx.com debate space:
 

Some Observations on Fascism / Political Psychology
 

The common understanding of fascism, as exposed by the majority of our Meridanian students here, is that of fascism being sort of a unique accident in history. Furthermore, the phenomenon is in first place associated with German mentality, in the sense that fascism is considered to have mainly been the product of the specific, German mentality. This "biological approach" towards fascism is widespread, and, during the years when I was working as an air hostess and travelling all over the planet, I have been confronted with this approach in nearly all parts of the world. I almost could not believe, that, in about 70% of the cases when people would be coming in touch with a German person, the first topic they would raise was "Hitler and the German mentality".

This mentality approach sees fascism as the product of a biological, natural constant, such as the "German character". It maintains, that "German nature" has innate character traits, such as authoritarianism, sadism, bloodthirstiness and evil.
Ironically, the argument used here to qualify fascism as a matter of  "nature" and "character", backs the very same argumentation line of fascism itself, which defined itself as "politically applied biology" (Social Darwinism).

In yesterday’s seminar discussion, following two expositions on the psychological factors of authoritarianism, mass manipulation and -psychology as exposed by Marcuse, Fromm and Reich, all students were utterly convinced, that such a phenomenon of mass manipulation as seen in Nazi Germany could never ever occur in Venezuela, due to the "different" Venezuelan mentality. Although having dealt in our Seminar of Political Psychology exactly with the socio-psychological theories of fascism, which study the socio-economically determined, psychological dispositions that underlie authoritarianism and mass manipulation, none of the students was able to see, that the potentially fascist, basic patterns of mass manipulation and mass hysteria are to be found all over the world, and are much rather a carefully cultivated product of the socialization process in capitalism itself, than of the "nature" of any specific "national character".

Anybody, who observes what happens at any public musical event such as a Pop or Rock concert, with the public audience in total ecstasy, hysteria and almost hypnosis, will come to the same conclusion as Carl, when he states, that "different conditions can lead to fascism today with a rock-star as dictator". The public’s behaviour at soccer games all over European countries shows another example not only of potentially, but manifest fascistic mass-minds and -acts, beating the different parties each other up with clubs after or during the games.

One of the most radical exponents of the socio-psychological theories of fascism, Wilhelm Reich (1897-1957), analyses the psychological impacts of the (social) relations of production on the individual psyche, and identifies the authoritarian family, which is a replica of the authoritarian State in microcosmos, as the primordial reproduction factor of reactionary thinking and irrationality. The authoritarian State, according to Reich, is represented in each and every family through the figure of the father. The father within the family holds exactly the same position than the superior with regard to the father in the production process. Thus, the submission attitude towards authority is perfectly being reproduced in the family’s children, especially the sons. It is, however, the doublerelation as being at the same time subordinate (towards the "stronger" State's authorities) and authority (with regard to the "weaker" family), in combination with sexual repression fostered by religion, churches and educational institutions of the State, as well as social norms on a whole, that create the typical, authoritarian, sadomasochistic psyche, that characterizes the social classes that formed the backbone of fascism.

Today, in global capitalism, where the National State is withering away as it has become a hindrance for the imperative free movement of capital, goods and labour, the family as it’s central sub-entity is also fading away. Yet, the typically authoritarian combination of subordination and aggression, along with sexual repression expressing itself in sadomasochism, keeps existing and is actively being promoted much more openly than ever before. A close look at the modern "family substitute", that is, MTV, TV -"Entertainment" (rather torture!) and Video Games, shows a sick combination of pleasure and torture,  "sexuality" and destruction, if not slaughter. If sexual repression is one of the cornerstones of  fascism as identified and analysed by Wilhelm Reich, then, today's society on a world scale is 100% conditioned for fascism.

The way the "human" psyche has been and continues being conditioned in millions of subtle and also direct ways towards a combination of "normal citizen" and "psychopath" is devastating to an extent, that 20th Century Fascism will be a joke in comparison to the destruction potential of billions of sick psyches of the 21st Century's world population, that only needs the respective stimuli in order to be released.

Other than that, the problem of 20th Century Fascism as occurred in Nazi Germany, is much more complicated and multifacetical, as a whole number of analytical components have to be taken into consideration, in order to arrive at an adequate scientific approach towards the phenomenon. Among others, the most important components are:

1. The international context: Crisis of Capitalism on a world scale:
    World Economic Crisis in the late 20’s.
2. Interests of German Industrial and Finance Capital:
    destruction of the worker's movements, belated, imperialistic
    interests in overseas.
3. Historic, that is, economic, political and social conditions that
    favoured the rise of fascism in Germany.
4. Analysis of the class structure of German society and the social basis
    of fascist movements (middle class and "declassified groups").
5. Socio-Psychological disposition for fascism, analysed in its historical
    context.

                                    Regards, Jutta.
(CONTINUED)