-THE DISCUSSION CONTINUED
427
novelty and its economic strength and stability. In conclusion,
therefore, I want to sketch out briefly an approach to the broader
problems raised by the rise of fascism. A serious discussion of
these points must be left to another time, ·but here I can at least
indicate a point of view.
This may perhaps best be done by posing, and answering,
three
question~:
{1)
Is this a new form of society analogous to capitalism,
and
does the Nazi revolution stand to the old capitalist order as the
bourgeois revolution stood
in
relation to the old feudal order?
{2)
What are fascism's chances for stability and historical
perm(]Jl,ence? Are they comparable to those of the bourgeoisie at
the
end of the middle ages?
{3)
Is this a specifically German phenomenon or is it a
worldwide tendency?
To (1) I should say No. As I have already pointed out in
PARTISAN
REVIEW (July-August, 1940), the fascist 'revolution' is
of an entirely different order than the bourgeois revolution. The
latter was politically progressive, introducing concepts ('Liberty,
Equality, Fraternity') and forms (parliamentary democracy}
which were at least an improvement on those of feudalism; the
former both politically and culturally represents a historical re–
gression so drastic that the Rights of Man proclaimed in 1789 have
once more taken on a revolutionary character. Economically, the
bourgeois revolution introduced a completely new mode of produc–
tion; the fascist 'revolution' represents merely a partial reorganiza–
tion of the existing mode of production, superior to capitalism but
much inferior to socialism. In achieving their revolution, the bour–
geoisie struck the feudal fetters off the peasantry and the workers
as well; the Nazi 'revolution' frees no other class, but on the con–
trary means an intensification of the autocratic tendencies of
monopoly capitalism. Finally, the basic difference between the
two revolutions is that the bourgeois was a conscious process,
developing according to a consistent rationale which challenged
the old feudal system sharply at every point, whereas the fascist
movement has an unconscious, improvised character, lacking any
consistent ideology-"a patchwork of old concepts ... which have
no consistency and no aim beyond the utility of the moment." The
brute pressure of the needs of
Wehrwirtschaft,
the impossibility of
