Was Fichte a Proto-Fascist?

Abstract

In the varied and diffuse reception history of Fichte’s political philosophy, the most widely discussed episode is the appreciation of Fichte in national socialist Germany. In this article, I reassess some aspects of that reception with an eye to determining whether Fichte could be called a proto-fascist. I begin this reassessment by first outlining Fichte’s account of political economy and nationhood. I then discuss the scholarship on fascism and national socialism more generally, with a particular focus on the theories of three scholars—Roger Griffin, Roger Eatwell, and Zeev Sternhell. I then analyse Fichte’s views on three central topics—the economy, Germany, and anti-Semitism—and conclude that, on the basis of the scholarly insights on fascism, Fichte was not a proto-fascist, though certain aspects of his writing and his style had a strong appeal to fascists.