[lbo-talk] weimar shadows

[Chris Doss]

I was thinking about the common Marxist (really Marxist-Leninist, not Marxist) definition of Fascism as (paraphrasing) "the last defense of the big bourgeousie." This isn't really a definition of Fascism. This is what an Aristotelian would call a moving or an efficient cause, that is, the cause of Fascism, not what Fascism is. It's akin to defining Maexism as "a combination of German Idealism, British economics, and French socialism," without actually mentioning any of Marx's beliefs. Certainly defending the big bourgeoisie was not a part of Fascist ideology -- I don't think it makes an appearance anywhere in the Fascist ideological or philosophical documents that I have read. Just the opposite.