Greetings, textual deviants!
In this week’s episode of Texting, Tomek and I discuss the essay “Ur-Fascism” by Italian author Umberto Eco. Our chat is a bit meandering and runs significantly longer than an hour, but this is a consequence of our determination to comment upon each of the 14 elements of fascism which Eco highlights in his essay. Guided by Eco’s bullet points, we have occasion to reflect on the fascistic tendencies of historical and political figures such as Mussolini, Hitler, Trump, Biden, Thatcher, Putin, Lenin, Julius Caesar, and FDR. In addition, we ask whether it’s possible to conceive of a “benevolent fascism” or a “matriarchal fascism,” and we consider the relationship between fascism and fashion, among other things. Where appropriate, I note intertextual correspondences between Eco’s essay and Jason Stanley’s book How Fascism Works.
Next week’s text will be Björk’s song “Jóga.” Look for a post titled “Emotional Landscapes” in your inbox next Monday night (Taipei time)!
MW
"Fuzzy Totalitarianism"