Mitologías fascistas

by Federico Finchelstein

«En nuestro propio presente, en el que el mito y la mentira regresaron al centro de la política, las críticas antifascistas de Borges y Freud vuelven a tomar fuerza». Para el fascismo el mito podía ser más real que la realidad. Las nociones fascistas de líder, nación, poder y violencia, impregnadas de imaginería mítica, tenían inscripta la fantasía de trascender la un pasado primordial mitificado inspiraría el derrocamiento heroico de un presente degradado para lograr un futuro violentamente redimido. Asumiendo que comprender acabadamente lo distintivo de la mitología del fascismo es condición de posibilidad para la explicación de su peligro en el pasado y en el presente, Federico Finchelstein acude a una sorprendente combinación de pensadores para dar cuenta del fascismo como una maquinaria de creación de mitos políticos. Así, muestra cómo la obra literaria y crítica de Borges y la escritura psicoanalítica de Freud sirven para entender las dimensiones míticas e inconscientes de la política fascista, lo mismo que el análisis de variedad de intelectuales latinoamericanos y europeos, con especial énfasis en la teología política de Carl Schmitt. En un momento regresivo en que los asuntos mundiales tienden a ensombrecerse cada vez más, el análisis crítico de los peligros del mito en la política contemporánea que aquí se presenta puede leerse como herramienta para la resistencia.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Federico Finchelstein is Professor of History at the New School for Social Research and Eugene Lang College. He has taught at the History Department of Brown University and he received his PhD at Cornell University. Finchelstein is Director of the Janey Program in Latin American Studies at NSSR.

Reviews

[Lorién Gómez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buen libro, especialmente el capítulo dedicado a Schmitt. Los capítulos dedicados a Borges y Freud más flojillos.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit on the turgid side at times, but overall Fascist Mythologies is a great primer regarding the use of myth in fascist ideology. This one gets deep into the marrow of how the unreason of myth is central to the emotional, brutish fascist consciousness and conception of history, and (although not explicitly mentioned) how we ought not to imagine better treatment than violence and primordial brutality from extreme far right leaders like those ushered into the American mainstream via Donald Trump in the present.

[Mads Floyd · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very little of substance, seems mostly petty

[Aldous · Rating 4 out of 5]

Should have been longer.

At a slim 120 pages, this thought-provoking book is something of a missed opportunity. After finishing, I feel like Finchelstein has assigned us homework rather than explaining his points thoroughly. Perhaps for fellow scholars of fascism, the works of Borges, Freud and Schmitt are so familiar that they require no explanation, but for a lay audience this was difficult going.

The middle section of Borges was more meaningful after reading his short story, “The Immortal.” The chapter on Freud relies heavily on “Moses and Monotheism,” and so, again, it seems like the reader needs to be familiar with that work to truly appreciate what Finchelstein is saying here.

Maybe that’s to be expected, but there are some other notable loose ends. Finchelstein references the myth of Prometheus many times, but he waits until the conclusion to do an exegesis of the myth itself. Likewise, he hints at the importance of a “sun myth” (perhaps represented by the swastika?) to Nazism, but he does not explain what this myth is!

Finally, Finchelstein provides a laundry list of myths that were important to Nazi philosopher, Carl Schmitt, but he does not thoroughly unpack these myths.

[Enrique · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author has a way of writing like he is throwing words to the garbage. If you finished the book like I did, particularly because someone dear to me spent time looking for this book, you would realize that if the book has anything relevant is to point out some stories from Borges that would be worth reading if you haven’t and some anecdotal reference to the life of Freud.