Introduction: The Extremes of Englishness
Introduction: The Extremes of Englishness
This book examines the reasons for the failure of fascism in Britain and suggests that British proto-fascist ideas may be found in large part in the Nietzsche and eugenics movements representing the ‘extremes of Englishness’. The phrase ‘extremes of Englishness’ implies that the ideas of the writers discussed in this book, particularly Oscar Levy and Anthony Mario Ludovici, indicate ways of thinking which, when combined, give rise to an indigenous proto-fascism. Levy's Nietzschean critique of an effete western ethic and Ludovici's call for a ‘masculine renaissance’ are just two examples of elements of a reactionary, sometimes revolutionary-reactionary, ideology which, in combination, come very close to satisfying the criteria that constitute fascism. The book also considers the reception of Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche in Britain and how the early Nietzscheans are linked to eugenics, a scientific attempt to manipulate human breeding patterns with the aim of producing a stronger race.
Keywords: Britain, fascism, extremes of Englishness, race, eugenics, Oscar Levy, Anthony Mario Ludovici, proto-fascism, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, masculine renaissance
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