Summary
Dominique Pagani first asks what should rightly be called fascism. In his view, misuse of the word, in 68 as today, trivializes real fascism and has a counter-revolutionary effect1. He distinguishes it from anti-liberal populism2 and holds that it should not be defined by the ideas of its representatives; its dangerousness should be measured from the victims' point of view3. Historically, he traces its birth to a petty bourgeoisie, overwhelmed by the proletariat, rallying to big business during major economic crises, in Italy and then in Germany4. He identifies one constant: hostility to everything that comes from the French Revolution, together with anti-communism, hatred of the State and anti-Jacobinism5. He distinguishes two fascisms: a local fascism, identitarian and puritanical, and a globalized, Atlanticist fascism of the elites, which relies on the former. For him, their fusion is the gravest danger6. In the 2026 sessions, he adds that this fascism is all the more effective when it advances masked, sometimes wearing a left-wing face7.
- 1The return of fascism4 Feb 2026 · 4:36
- 2Neo-fascism and the ideology of desire: Clouscard, as relevant as ever2 May 2024 · 3:13
- 3For a “fresh and joyful” apocalypse?24 Jun 2024 · 16:23
- 4Neo-fascism and the ideology of desire: Clouscard, as relevant as ever2 May 2024 · 1:12:19
- 5The return of fascism4 Feb 2026 · 18:49
- 6After the vote: entering a zone of turbulence11 Jul 2024 · 4:34
- 7Their “Europe” means war28 Feb 2026 · 27:41
Summary produced automatically from 13 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.
Cycle 14 · 28 Feb 2026Their “Europe” means war- 11:48Fascism is never as effective as when it does not appear as fascism. Yet it remains the ultimate foil.
- 27:41The present originality is the mask: the worst of fascisms wears a left-wing face. Today the masks are falling.
- 34:18Two fascisms are contending for the world: local, puritan fascism, and the globalized fascism of the elites. They are sociologically and economically different.
Cycle 14 · 4 Feb 2026The return of fascism- 4:36One must ask what should rightly be called fascism: the abusive use of the word, as in '68, trivializes it and produces a counter-revolutionary effect.
- 18:49Its constant is hostility to everything that comes from the French Revolution; to this are added anticommunism, hatred of the state, and anti-Jacobinism.
- 51:10It takes power in the wake of the greatest economic crises, in Italy then in Germany; the current crisis gathers the same conditions.
Cycle 12 · 11 Jul 2024After the vote: entering a zone of turbulence- 4:34One should never speak of fascism without specifying which one: the local fascism of the traditional far right or the global fascism; the most serious danger is their fusion.
- 1:17:29Today's fascism does not correspond to a determined economic population; without concrete analysis, antifascism remains Pavlovian verbiage.
Cycle 12 · 24 Jun 2024For a “fresh and joyful” apocalypse?- 6:39There are two far rights that get confused; they should not be defined by what their representatives have in mind.
- 16:23The dangerousness of a fascism is measured from the standpoint of its victims, not its ideas.
- 31:19A planetary Atlanticist fascism, not nationalist, seeks out local identitarian and hypernationalist fascisms everywhere.
Cycle 12 · 2 May 2024Neo-fascism and the ideology of desire: Clouscard, as relevant as ever- 3:13Crying fascism over trifles trivializes real fascism, which is not an anti-liberal populism and which is returning to power in Europe.
- 1:12:19It is born of the petty bourgeoisie's rallying, overwhelmed by the proletariat, to big business, as in Germany, unlike the Popular Front.