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fascism in the world system

by Eric Mielants

09 December 1999 19:24 UTC


WSN'ers,

I have a specific question. What is 'the' position of World-system people
(IF there is a consensus) on fascist (nazi and far right) movements in the
20th century? Can someone please refer to me to some literature on this?
More specifically, are fascist movements considered by world-system
theorists as 'as systemic as you can get' (let's say the ultimate last
stage of capitalism) or are they considered as anti-systemic (anti-systemic
does not necessarily imply that they are ethically 'good' movements, but
just that they oppose the system) in the sense that racist ideology is so
important for them that fascists historically relegate capitalist
accumulation to a secondary position? While it is true that Hitler, for
example, needed support of 'big capitalists' to come to power, it seems
that by 1942 many of them felt 'betrayed' by him: they could not control
him, and SOME of the nazi decisions can be said as being so wacko extreme
that they actually obstructed the 'smooth' ceaseless accumulation of
capital instead of furthering it. Again, this is an open question.
Did anyone so far analyze the historical role of the far-right in the 20th
century as either 'pro-system' or 'anti-system'?
Thanks for your input,

eric mielants
Soc. Dept.
SUNY-Binghamton

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