Historical fascisms may be said
to have resulted from the conjuncture of two heterogeneous processes: the re-composition
of the bourgeois class from a historical position of weakness; and the de-composition
of the working masses as a class, under the hegemony of bourgeois ideology.
These circumstances can be seen in the popular overthrow of socialist political regimes. Former socialist ruling coalitions have re-articulated themselves as national bourgeoisies, but under the conditions of globalized capitalism and intensive military-political (EU, NATO) and economic (IMF, WB, WTO) pressures from “Euro-Atlantic” capitalism, this project was doomed to fail in the majority of countries, as these new bourgeoisies were “weak” by definition.
Labour movements, although strong in some countries, were dis-organized in several ways: by juridical and ideological fragmentation along ethnic and religious lines, carried out by governments and the ideological apparatuses of church, school, media; by anti-communist ideologies, such as the civil society, human rights, and dissidents; and above all, by the state restoration of capitalist institutions, especially the market in labour, which triggered commodity fetishism. In most post-socialist countries, neo-fascist movements emerged with varying intensities and were variously connected to official political institutions and their practices. With the decline of Euro-Atlantic core capitalism, we see the EU containing the development of fascism by performing its functions, through the introduction of innovative juridical-political and economic arrangements. The Euro-Atlantic bourgeoisie has thus re-composed itself in a hierarchical way, whereby it disciplines national bourgeoisies and represses labour and contestation movements. Certain elements resist liberal integration however, such as migration policies and the level of tolerance shown to local fascisoid policies.