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.