The Anatomy of Fascism Reprint Edition

by Robert O. Paxton (Author)

62 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-1400033911

ISBN-10: 1400033918

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What is fascism? By focusing on the concrete: what the fascists did, rather than what they said, the esteemed historian Robert O. Paxton answers this question.

From the first violent uniformed bands beating up “enemies of the state,” through Mussolini’s rise to power, to Germany’s fascist radicalization in World War II, Paxton shows clearly why fascists came to power in some countries and not others, and explores whether fascism could exist outside the early-twentieth-century European setting in which it emerged.

"A deeply intelligent and very readable book. . . . Historical analysis at its best." –The Economist

The Anatomy of Fascism will have a lasting impact on our understanding of modern European history, just as Paxton’s classic Vichy France redefined our vision of World War II. Based on a lifetime of research, this compelling and important book transforms our knowledge of fascism–“the major political innovation of the twentieth century, and the source of much of its pain.”

Editorial Reviews

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"So fair, so thorough and, in the end, so convincing, it may well become the most authoritative . . . study of the subject. . . . A splendid book." –The New York Times Book Review

"Useful and timely. . . . Mussolini and Hitler were the prototypical fascist leaders, and Paxton chronicles their rise to power--and their global influence and ultimate fall--with a brilliant economy." –San Francisco Chronicle

"A deeply intelligent and very readable book. . . . Historical analysis at its best." –The Economist

“[A] helpful contribution, thoughtfully mapping out the descent of a civilized people — first the Italians, then the Germans — into a primal state (and state of being) ruled by mythology, symbol and emotion. . . . Serves as a reminder of our power and responsibility.” –The Washington Post Book World

“Until now there has been no satisfying account of fascism that includes a convincing diagnostic kit for identifying its symptoms. . . . Robert Paxton steps in to restore sanity, with his view that fascism is not what was believed but what was done.” –Los Angeles Times Book Review

From the Inside Flap

From the author of Vichy France, a fascinating, authoritative history of fascism in all its manifestations, and how and why it took hold in certain countries and not in others.

What is fascism? Many authors have proposed succinct but abstract definitions. Robert O. Paxton prefers to start with concrete historical experience. He focuses more on what fascists did than on what they said. Their first uniformed bands beat up enemies of the nation, such as communists and foreign immigrants, during the tense days after 1918 when the liberal democracies of Europe were struggling with the aftershocks of World War I. Fascist parties could not approach power, however, without the complicity of conservatives willing to sacrifice the rule of law for security.

Paxton makes clear the sequence of steps by which fascists and conservatives together formed regimes in Italy and Germany, and why fascists remained out of power elsewhere. Fascist regimes were strained alliances. While fascist parties had broad political leeway, conservatives preserved many social and economic privileges. Goals of forced national unity, purity, and expansion, accompanied by propaganda-driven public excitement, held the mixture together. War opened opportunities for fascist extremists to pursue these goals to the point of genocide. Paxton shows how these opportunities manifested themselves differently in France, in Britain, in the Low Countries, and in Eastern Europeand yet failed to achieve supreme power. He goes on to examine whether fascism can exist outside the specific early-twentieth-century European setting in which it emerged, and whether it can reappear today. This groundbreaking book, based on a lifetime of research, will have a lasting impact on our understanding of twentieth-century history.

From the Hardcover edition.

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Product details

Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (March 8, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1400033918
ISBN-13: 978-1400033911
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 62 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,077 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #12 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > Philosophy > Ethics
- #18 in Books > Textbooks > Social Sciences > Political Science > Political Ideologies
- #19 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Europe

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Frances C. Fowler

What Fascism Really Is

August 20, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

"Fascist" and "fascism" are words that people throw around loosely these days. Many use them as synonyms for "authoritarian," "racist," or "anti-Semitic." In reality, however, "fascist" is a technical term that refers to a rather specific political phenomenon. Using it loosely obscures genuine fascism, making it hard to recognize and fight it.

In "The Anatomy of Fascism," Robert O. Paxton seeks both to identify the key features of fascism and to describe five stages that a fascist movement may pass through. Arguing that fascism cannot easily be located on the traditional left-right political continuum, Paxton argues that its most salient features are: opposition to both the Left and the bourgeoisie; heavy reliance on emotion-filled mass politics; the idea that it represents a chosen nation/race/people; and a willingness to use violence to advance its ends.

Much of the book is devoted to a discussion of the five stages fascism may pass through, illustrated by copious examples, not only from Nazism and Italian fascism--the only fascist movements that have passed through all five stages--but also from unsuccessful fascist movements in such countries as France, the United Kingdom, Norway, Hungary, and Romania. He also discusses fascist movements outside Europe, including in the United States.

According to Paxton, the seeds of fascism exist in every developed or semi-developed country, for it is an outgrowth of modernity. Fascism does not have to display the swastika, use the Nazi salute, or be anti-Semitic.(It does, however, always identify one or more internal enemies which are supposedly preventing the chosen nation/race/people from fulfilling their destiny.) Most fascist movements fail; that is, they never achieve political power. History suggests that they come to power in a severe crisis, when asked to join a political coalition that is already in power.

I strongly recommend "The Anatomy of Fascism" to anyone who is interested in political science or early twentieth century European history. It is quite readable and should be accessible to a fairly broad audience.:

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Gregory J. Casteel

What is fascism?

April 2, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

If you were able to answer that question immediately, off the top of your head, without taking several minutes to think about it, then chances are your answer is wrong, or at least woefully incomplete. Fascism is a far more complex political phenomenon than most people realize, and it is not at all easy to define. Part of the problem is that the word "fascism" has come, in recent decades, to be used as little more than an epithet—a label that people attach to any political viewpoint they vehemently disagree with. Even for those conscientious people who try not to use the word "fascism" quite so loosely, it is easy to conflate fascism with other forms of authoritarianism. But even those scholars who study fascism can't seem to agree about how to define it. Much of the problem is due to the diversity and inconsistency within fascism itself. Italian Fascism under Mussolini was not quite the same thing as German National Socialism under Hitler, and fascist movements in other countries differed in crucial ways from both Italian and German forms of fascism. But even within a single country, a fascist movement would change quite a bit over time. A nascent fascist movement that is trying to attract new followers differs in many ways from an organized fascist party that is trying to gain political power, which differs in many ways from a newly formed fascist government that is trying to consolidate its power, which differs in many ways from an established fascist regime that is trying to govern and carry out its policy agenda. Even fascist leaders and political thinkers couldn't agree on what fascism was all about. It’s no wonder that there is so much misunderstanding and confusion about how fascism ought to be defined.

In this excellent book, Robert O. Paxton takes on the vexing question of how to define fascism. But rather than come up with a proposed theoretical definition of fascism at the beginning and then trying to defend it, Paxton starts by examining what fascism looks like in the real world—how fascist movements actually began, how they took root and attracted a mass following, how fascist parties then rose to power and took control of the machinery of government, how they governed, etc.—and only after thoroughly considering all of these things does he finally, in the last few pages of the book, draw conclusions about what fascism really is.

I highly recommend that you read the entire book for yourself before considering Paxton's definition of fascism—it's the only real way to do justice to his approach to the subject. But for those of you who don't mind spoilers, here is how Paxton ultimately defines fascism, on the antepenultimate page of his book:

"Fascism may be defined as a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy, and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion."

That is a long and complex definition, and it will probably make little or no sense to anyone who has not read Paxton's book. But after reading the book, I feel that it is probably the best definition anyone is likely to come up with.

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