New from Thomas Zimmer: Fascism in America?

[Nevilledog]

https://thomaszimmer.substack.com/p/fascism-in-america

Is Donald Trump adequately described as a fascist? Is it helpful – intellectually, diagnostically, politically – to approach Trumpism as a form of fascism, to situate it in the broader historical and ideological tradition of fascism? Or is all this talk about fascism in America misguided and actually dangerous: An insidious form of liberal alarmism meant to distract us from the real problems?

About a month ago, I was drafted into the fascism wars – a debate that has been raging for years and has recently turned pretty nasty. I was invited to discuss the publication of Did It Happen Here? Perspectives of Fascism and America, a collection of essays edited by Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins, at an event organized by the Illiberalism Studies Program at George Washington University in DC. The event was moderated by political theorist Laura Field, and my fellow panelists were historian Michal Kazin and Steinmetz-Jenkins himself, an intellectual historian of modern global political thought at Wesleyan University. The anthology presents itself as an attempt to take stock of the fascism debate, at “tracing and understanding the dispute,” as Steinmetz-Jenkins claims in his introduction. But Steinmetz-Jenkins belongs to a group of leftwing intellectuals and academics who believe the fascism talk is, at best, silly – and, more often, dangerous. I am not sure if we have yet settled on a good terminology to describe the opposing camps in this conflict, the proponents of the fascism interpretation vs those who object. I have seen the term “Skeptics” or “Deflationists” used to describe those who reject the fascism argument. Political theorist Corey Robin might be the most vocal Skeptic; other prominent figures in this camp are intellectual historians Daniel Bessner and Samuel Moyn – the latter certainly one of the most established leftwing intellectuals in the country.

The fascism debate has been going on since at least 2016. I admit I have no illusions about building bridges between the different sides – nor is that my overriding goal, as I find myself rather strongly disagreeing with the Skeptics. In fact, I fully expect backlash. And if the way the fascism debate has been conducted so far is any indication, the reactions will probably be quite unpleasant.

Why wade in at all then? I am not a fascism scholar – but I have taught twentieth-century German history for many years as an assistant professor in Germany and, in that position, have also been affiliated with and helped advise many research projects on Nazism and the Holocaust. The current fascism debate ultimately concerns the question of how to interpret and contextualize recent developments on the American Right – and that is precisely where my own focus lies. It is also a conflict over the role of history, historical analogies, and our collective imaginary in contemporary politics. As a historian who spends much of his time pondering these questions, I feel a certain obligation to not simply sit this one out.

*snip*

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R