PHIL 456BLiberalism and Fascism

Catalog

What makes a government legitimate? Why should its citizens agree to follow its rules, and accept its orders? In this course we will explore the answers to these questions given by two modern political ideologies, one successful and one failed: liberalism and fascism. Under liberal justice, citizens' claims that the government is unjust challenge that government's right to rule. A fascist instead attempts to claim legitimacy with a narrative based on a natural right of some group to rule others, and none of its actions can challenge that authority. Fascism's strategy has led to some of the most horrific atrocities and wars in modern history, while liberalism is the underlying justification for modern democracy. Why does liberalism's legitimacy claim succeed, while fascism fails to be legitimate? We will first examine the foundations of political legitimacy as a concept. Then, using examples and case studies from contemporary and modern history, we will compare liberal and fascist theories, and answer questions such as how they compete against and reject each other, which specific varieties of legitimacy are best suited to modern political institutions, and why fascism cannot succeed as a legitimate form of government, while liberalism can.