Prolegomena to a “Counter-Ideology” Reflections on the Book: A. V. Shchipkov. Unfinished Nazism. Genesis, Transformations and Related Phenomena

This article offers reflections on A.V.   Shchipkov’s book Unfinished Nazism: Genesis, Transformations, and Related Phenomena. In it, the author proposes a quite paradoxical thesis, identifying liberalism as the ideological “root” of contemporary Nazism. Previously, drawing connections between   liberalism and fascism was an intellectual move typically confined to leftist academic circles. However, the author emphasizes that this particular interpretation of the connection between fascism and liberalism is both original and independent in its own right. As a necessary condition for the discussion, he emphasizes the need to recognize liberalism as an external ideological “protective belt” that shields and legitimizes Nazi doctrines. A serious conceptual framework for understanding modern Nazism, therefore, must be immune to the liberal–neo-Nazi perspective and must exclude any liberal constructs at its very foundation. This methodological distancing enables the author to challenge the most widespread clichés about Nazism. For instance, that it emerged in Europe unpredictably and by accident, as an anomalous exception within Western civilization. In his book, Shchipkov argues instead that Nazism did not arise as a historical reaction to Marxism or communism, but much earlier, as a racist, political-ideological form inherent in the colonial model of capitalism. According to this view, Nazism is not a historical aberration or a systemic failure of society, but a natural product of Western modernity. The imperial and expansionist pathos of fascism, in this light, can be traced back to Europe’s colonial conquests that began in the late 15th century, culminating in the famous notion of the “white man’s burden”. Thus, racism, Nazism, and liberalism share a common value system, one based on the division of the world and the hierarchical classification of “human material”. One of the key points in the book is that the historical kinship between fascism and liberalism — i.e., the European complex of civilizational superiority — ultimately has religious roots, which lie in Protestantism and the Reformation. (This, however, does not imply that individuals with Protestant beliefs and (or) worldviews are inherently inclined toward Nazism or racism). Shchipkov’s attempt to “theoretically complete” the concept of Nazism comes at a time when this sinister phenomenon is not only re-emerging before our eyes but is also receiving comprehensive support from the liberal West. The “battleground” today includes the mental and ideological sphere, where a struggle is underway for the minds and souls of our people. For this reason, Shchipkov’s book also serves an applied purpose: it contributes to the development of a counter-ideology.

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