This is the third article in the "Unified Theory of Fascism" series. Expanded versions of these articles will appear in the book "Fervent Malice and Humorless Imbecility." The first and second articles in this series are available on this blog.
In prior essays in this series, I have repeatedly used the term "ego maintenance". The nature of the term and the context of its usage hopefully made clear that "ego maintenance" is a process that the neurotic authoritarian employs to try to maintain an image of himself as a useful member of society. In this essay, I will offer a bit more insight into the ego maintenance function. There has been an on-going conflict regarding the exact definition of fascism, and how to identify fascist rhetoric that can have a destabilizing effect on a society. This essay will argue that the key factor that defines a movement as fascist is the existence of the ego maintenance process described here. In the first essay in this series, I suggested that a fascist movement requires a set of elements to be present. Those elements include a population of individuals with innate neurotic and authoritarian tendencies who have recently suffered some economic or social setback, a fascist leader who is the primary purveyor of conspiracy theories that are employed in the ego maintenance process, and a willing band of "propaganda lieutenants" who assist in spreading and assuring adherence to those conspiracy theories and a "target audience" who can be targeted as the "malevolent agents" of cosnpiracy theories, and made into convenient scapegoats. Without all four of those elements, it is not possible to maintain a successful fascist movement.
Before going further I should make clear that I am not a Clinical Psychologist. What I am is a free ranging polymath and bibliophile who is not bound by the carefully guarded domains of modern academia, or the surfeit of caution that comes from trying to assemble analysis by committee. The outline of psychological functions proposed here should be regarded as a hypothesis and a call for study, rather than a definitive diagnosis of the neurosis of fascism.
The language of psychoanalysis is required for explaining the ego maintenance process. Sigmund Freud described the three parts of the human psyche as the id, the ego, and the superego The Id represents our basic animal drives such as response to the body's condition (hot, cold, thirsty, tired, etc.), our desire for social dominance, companionship and avoidance of social rejection (what you might call "herd animal tendencies"). The superego represents the brain's learned functions, and is the center of such concepts as moral propriety, law and order, social etiquette and scientific learning. The ego is described as a moderating force between the id and the superego. As mentioned in the first essay in this series, the primary source of stress for individuals who join fascist movements is a desire to be seen as upright citizens who have met the social expectations of the society in which they live. While plant closures and loss of manufacturing jobs have resulted in many Americans experiencing job related stress, it is not the experience of that stress alone that results in one adopting a fascist ideology. Individuals who lack neurotic and authoritarian tendencies will be able to cope with their trials, and find or create opportunities for themselves, or simply learn to accept a diminished standard of living, and seek to develop skills that help to minimize the psychological impact of that diminished quality of life.
The neurotic authoritarian, when faced with psychological stress, will develop a "neurotic split", characterized by an imbalance in the function of the id, ego and superego. When the ego makes "common cause" with the id, the former becomes a vehicle for carrying out the desires of the latter. It appears that in the budding fascist, that common cause is associated with a subjugation of the superego, which may include either the complete rejection of one's sense of morals and propriety, or a rejection of scientific knowledge, and even the set of facts that we tend to refer to as "common sense". Examples of suppression of the super-ego as a means of permitting extremely violent behaviors or belief in ridiculous cosnpiracy theories include the behavior of guards in Nazi death camps, or the rabid behavior of individuals who stormed the United States Capitol building on January 6th of 2021. Examples of subjugation of scientific knowledge and common sense include the belief that Jews are not human, and are actually lizard-like creatures that have horns and lay eggs, or the idea that the Covid19 vaccine contains "mind-controlling nanobots", or causes people to become magnetic.
Psychologist Leon Festinger described cognitive dissonance as any stress that causes an individual to feel conflicted in their daily functions. Festinger stated that "The existence of dissonance, being psychologically uncomfortable, will motivate the person to try to reduce the dissonance and achieve consonance," and that "When dissonance is present, in addition to trying to reduce it, the person will actively avoid situations and information which would likely increase the dissonance." It appears that in the mind of the developing fascist we must add an additional consideration. The neurotic authoritarian who has undergone the "psychological split" characterized by an imbalance of the id, ego and superego will tend to discount that dissonance expressed by the superego. Though there may be latent feelings of guilt or questions from the superego when the individual engages in acts of violence or rejects basic scientific knowledge, that dissonance is discounted in importance. We will therefore refer to that as "secondary dissonance", as acknowledging secondary dissonance would compromise the individual's attempt to restore their sense of self as a useful member of society. "Primary dissonance" consists of those stresses that drive the campaign by the id and ego, to participate in the fascist movement, in hopes of achieving a new position of authority and prominence in the society that movement hopes to create.
The ego maintenance function is a process for maintaining the neurotic authoritarian individual's self-image as a useful member of society. The adoption of conspiracy theories becomes a mechanism for denying the neurotic's inability to cope with conditions in their lives. The key defining factor which characterizes the ego maintenance process, and which may be described as the key defining factor of fascist movements as a whole is the development of a "psychological split", where the id makes common cause with the ego, and the superego is subjugated. Subjugation of the super-ego can include a complete rejection of morality, scientific knowledge and what we call "common sense", and become a means of permitting the individual to engage in horrific acts of violence, or to profess belief in conspiracy theories that become mind-numbingly stupid. The cognitive dissonance created by subjugation of the superego is of little importance to the budding fascist, as acknowledging that dissonance would force him to face the primary dissonance which motivates his behavior, which is his loss of self-respect and feelings of a lack of agency in the world as it exists, and a desire for a position of prominence and respect in the new world that the movement seeks to create.
Image Credit: Detail from the painting "Sysphus" by Titian. Public Domain Image.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Sisyphus#/media/File:Punishment_sisyph.jpg
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