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Fascist Mythologies: The History and Politics of Unreason in Borges, Freud, and Schmitt
For fascism, myth was reality―or was realer than the real. Fascist notions of the leader, the nation, power, and violence were steeped in mythic imagery and the fantasy of transcending history. A mythologized primordial past would inspire the heroic overthrow of a debased present to achieve a violently redeemed future. What is distinctive about fascist mythology, and how does this aspect of fascism help explain its perils in the past and present?
Federico Finchelstein draws on a striking combination of thinkers―Jorge Luis Borges, Sigmund Freud, and Carl Schmitt―to consider fascism as a form of political mythmaking. He shows that Borges’s literary and critical work and Freud’s psychoanalytic writing both emphasize the mythical and unconscious dimensions of fascist politics. Finchelstein considers their ideas of the self, violence, and the sacred as well as the relationship between the victims of fascist violence and the ideological myths of its perpetrators. He draws on Freud and Borges to analyze the work of a variety of Latin American and European fascist intellectuals, with particular attention to Schmitt’s political theology. Contrasting their approaches to the logic of unreason, Finchelstein probes the limits of the dichotomy between myth and reason and shows the centrality of this opposition to understanding the ideology of fascism.
At a moment when forces redolent of fascism cast a shadow over world affairs, this book provides a timely historical and critical analysis of the dangers of myth in modern politics.
Federico Finchelstein draws on a striking combination of thinkers―Jorge Luis Borges, Sigmund Freud, and Carl Schmitt―to consider fascism as a form of political mythmaking. He shows that Borges’s literary and critical work and Freud’s psychoanalytic writing both emphasize the mythical and unconscious dimensions of fascist politics. Finchelstein considers their ideas of the self, violence, and the sacred as well as the relationship between the victims of fascist violence and the ideological myths of its perpetrators. He draws on Freud and Borges to analyze the work of a variety of Latin American and European fascist intellectuals, with particular attention to Schmitt’s political theology. Contrasting their approaches to the logic of unreason, Finchelstein probes the limits of the dichotomy between myth and reason and shows the centrality of this opposition to understanding the ideology of fascism.
At a moment when forces redolent of fascism cast a shadow over world affairs, this book provides a timely historical and critical analysis of the dangers of myth in modern politics.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2015
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About the author
Federico Finchelstein
17 books43 followersFederico 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.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 4, 2023
Buen libro, especialmente el capítulo dedicado a Schmitt. Los capítulos dedicados a Borges y Freud más flojillos.
December 31, 2023
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.
December 10, 2024
Very little of substance, seems mostly petty
November 9, 2023
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.
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.
October 31, 2022
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.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews