When academics try to understand fascism, they rarely stop to consider how fun it is for its adherents. The focus tends to be on the ideology of fascism, as far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist, characterized by dictatorial power and the suppression of opposition. But Yale philosopher Jacob McNulty argues fascism is not persuasive because of its ideas. It works more like heroin: genuinely enjoyable for those caught up in it, but destructive in the end, and very hard to give up. Drawing on Deleuze and Guattari, McNulty argues that liberal moral condemnation of this ideology has proven a dead end because it refuses to reckon with fascism's appeal. Understanding this requires liberals to do something difficult — inhabit the desires of people they deplore. Fascism is exciting and genuinely revolutionary... that's exactly what makes it so dangerous.

When academics try to understand fascism, they rarely stop to consider how fun it is. Deleuze and Guattari’s Capitalism and Schizophrenia is an under-utilized resource for understanding this resurgence of right-wing politics. It cautions against over-intellectualizing political phenomena, like in the classical Marxist theory of ideology, where social forms are partly upheld by belief systems. Instead, Deleuze and Guattari draw on Spinoza for an alternative model that prioritizes affect, the body and experience. This alternative model suggests the gaudy forms of entertainment endorsed by Trump and his followers, i.e. pro-wrestling or MMA, should be central, not peripheral, to our analysis. It also implies a connection to addiction and other pathological forms that the American “pursuit of happiness” takes. Ultimately, though, Capitalism and Schizophrenia is valuable for the unexpected way in which it reinforces a classic Marxist thesis concerning fascism: “whoever is not willing to talk about capitalism should keep quiet about fascism.”

The F-word is back—and in a big way. Consider the “fascism debate,” a recent academic dust-up over whether, and to what extent, Trump is fascist. It drew contributions from scholars and authors of diverse persuasions, often pitting ultra-leftists and Marxists against more conventional liberals. Neither group, of course, wanted to exonerate Trump. Still, the hard left worried that deeming Trump a fascist would make him a kind of historical anomaly, and in so doing excuse the Democratic party’s backslide into plutocracy and cronyism. The center left shot back with reminders of the very real racism, misogyny and authoritarianism of the Trump movement, further provoking the ire of those who viewed the Trump phenomenon through the lens of neo-liberalism and its evisceration of America’s middle class.

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Deleuze and Guattari can address one of the fascism debate’s blind spots: its neglect of just what a rollicking good time right-wing movements are for those caught up in them.

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