About this title: In this classic study, Reich repudiates the concept that fascism is the ideology or action of a single individual or nationality, or of any ethnic or political group. Instead he sees fascism as the expression of the irrational character structure of the average human being whose whose primary biological needs and impulses have been suppressed for thousands of years.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: 11th Printing
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Noonday Press, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, N. Y
Date Published: 1995
ISBN-13:9780374508845ISBN:0374508844
Description: Near fine thus. 400 pp., incl. index; 8vo; white wrappers. Slight crease to front cover. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Date Published: 1971
ISBN-13:9780374508845ISBN:0374508844
Description: Collectible: Good. Trade paperback-4th printing, 1971-GOOD condition, with a faint crease to corner of front cover. An Early Printing of this "classic" work in the field (you can always claim you knew the value of this book "then" instead of now). read more
"First written in Germany in 1932 as Hitler was coming to power, then revised in the US in 1944, this is a classic study of the characteristics of fascist movement. Reich, a former Marxist from the Frankfurt School, emphasizes that fascism is not unique to Germany or Japan or Italy, but is instead "the basic emotional attitude of the suppressed man of our authoritarian machine civilization and its mechanistic-mystical conception of life."
In other words it's not enough to blame Hitler or the Nazis or any political party for the rise of fascism, we have to understand why millions of people have been, and continue to be, drawn to the movement (its mass character is what distinguishes fascism from simple authoritarianism). Finding its base in the Middle Classes, fascist movement feeds upon authoritarian patriarchal structures in society, especially the father-dominated family, which prepares children to obey and even revere a harsh "leader."
But what was most interesting to me about this book is the politics of sexuality. Reich as a psychiatrist observed that the repression of sexuality in society, especially from a young age, prepares people for lifetimes of neurotic self-hatred as some of their most basic and healthy life functions become embedded with deep shame and guilt. I would add, sexual assault and child abuse add much fuel to this fire. Reich stresses that children and adolescents and women are perpetually denied control over their sexual feelings and bodies, which is what gives the patriarchal father so much power in the family, and therefore the repression of masses of people becomes the seed that grows authoritarian/fascist political movements.
(I will write more on this train of thought in my review of Yes Means Yes!)
There's a lot more in this book. Reich also dissects the Soviet Union and tries to explain why worker's self-management breaking down led to dictatorship and state capitalism. He also quotes at length from Nazi and Soviet propaganda to illustrate his points. Finally, I need to point out that a fair portion of this book is spent on Reich's ideas of the "orgone", which he believed was the fundamental component of life, work, love, and knowledge. He's been accused of pseudoscience, but if you look at it from a spiritual point of view, it doesn't matter what you call that force inside each of us which strives for freedom, the point is to unleash it.
"Freedom does not have to be achieved - it is spontaneously present in every life function. It is the elimination of all obstacles to freedom that has to be achieved.""
"great look at what it takes to make a fascist state, how the people behave individually as well as as a whole, what pieces need to be in place and how a government or society can cultivate certain elements to insure that the populace goes along with whatever the plan might be, it also eerily familiar."
"This book is about the philosophical underpinnings of Hitler and National Socialism in Germany. It is a work that passionately argues against Nazism and strives to understand and debunk Fascism. Ultimately, Reich believes that all humans have a natural inclination toward Fascism and it is the responsibility of individuals, educational authorities, governments, etc. to actively combat this natural urge.
Though this book is admirable, it is also very dated. Marcuse wrote a book ten years later called "Eros and Civilization" which similarly mixed Marx and Freud but in a more thoughtful and intellectual manner. It also seems kind of thin on the feminist side of things. Reich vaguely talks about matriarchy for a few sentences, but for the most part he actively decries authoritarian father figures without really thinking much about gender beyond that."
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