Understanding of Fascism must proceed from understanding Marxism as the German freedom movement prior to Hitler who was also inspired by Karl Marx. And writing his Mass Psychology of Fascism, Reich was not only touched by Marxian but also Freudian influences.
Marx "recognised the industrial productive forces as the progressive force of society and that he depicted the contradictions of capitalist economy as they relate to real life." The very same Marxism that kept through the economic crisis of 1929-33 would lead to an ideological "leftist orientation among the stricken masses" and that unfortunately later on, developed into the Right [ideology of broad layers of society of middle class] the ideology of "the proletarian strata of the population." (1)
The misery of the working class was a cause of dilemma in people turning them either to start thinking towards "socialism and barbarism" and if they followed their consciousness and appreciate their importance to the society they would stay within their social importance. Clash between the social situation of the working class and their consciousness of this situation implies that, instead of improving their social position, the working masses worsen it. And it was "precisely the wretched masses who helped to put fascism, extreme political reaction, into power."
From the composition of the classes in Germany and their distribution according to socio-economic structure in that time, it shows that the ideological distribution was different to economic differences that was decisive to chose NSDAP on the German Nationalists (Right) giving them nearly double the amount of the votes more than to Communist and the social Democrats (Left) all together. And so "the political importance of the lower middle class is greater than had been assured."
"The Marxists had failed to take into account the character structure of the masses and the social effect of mysticism." (1) Roots of Reich ideology of sex-economy come from Freud's idea of repressed sexuality of a human being. For Freud consciousness is only a small part of psychic life and it is ruled by psychic processes from unconsciousness and are therefore not accessible to conscious control. Every psychic experience (like dreams) has its meaning and can be understood if we trace its etiology (psychics of the brain, brain mythology). Freud's second discovery was that children develop a non-procreation led sexuality and so sexual and genital are not the same.
Furthermore, the energy of sexuality recognised as "libido" (bodily) is the prime drive of psychic life and therefore biology and social conditions of life overlap in humans mind.
Thirdly, child's sexuality is of which "what is most crucial in child-parent relationship ("The Oedipus complex") is a part, is usually repressed out of fear of punishment for sexual acts and thoughts (...) child's sexual activity is blocked out and extinguished from memory. Thus, while repression of childhood sexuality withdraws it from the influence of consciousness, it does not weaken its forces." (1)
Another of Freudian discoveries was that "man's moral code was derived from educational measures used by parents (...), those educational measures opposed to childhood sexuality are most effective." (1) The conflict between parent's and child's desires later on becomes the one between instinct and morality within a person. Reich "agreed with Freud that sexual development was the origin of mental illness. They both believed that most psychological states were dictated by unconscious processes; that infant sexuality develops early but is repressed, and that this has important consequences for mental health. At that time a Marxist ( Freudo-Marxism), Reich argued that the source of sexual repression was bourgeois morality and the socio-economic structures that produced it. As sexual repression was the cause of the neuroses, the best cure would be to have an active, guilt-free sex life. He argued that such a liberation could come about only through a morality not imposed by a repressive economic structure." (4)
Reich believes that the authoritarian state gains an enormous interest in the authoritarian family, the state's and family's ideology become "molded" (1). Sexual repression in a child makes a child afraid, shy, fearful of authority, obedient and good in the authoritarian sense of the words. It has an incredible effect on man's rebellious forces because every vital life-impulse in now strangled with severe fear and since sex is a forbidden subject, thought in general and following that, a man's critical faculty also become inhibited. (1)
"Reactionary politics automatically makes use of those social forces that oppose progress; (...) not only regressive but also very energetic progressive social forces emerged in the rebelliousness of the lower middle classes which later constituted the mass basic of fascism." (2) The formation of the authoritarian structure takes place through the anchoring of sexual inhibition and anxiety.The symbol of SWASTICA evokes the fantasy of the primal scene and that was a good example of manipulation of masses unconsciousness. (2)
The University of Winchester Journalism Course
History and Context of Journalism, part IV
Inspiration & links:
1. The Mass Psychology of Fascism by Wilhelm Reich
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mass_Psychology_of_Fascism
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Reich
