Blood Work They Kiss Horses, Don’t They? / Four Fascist Concepts
Dec 2, 2025
They unpack four core ideas in the fascist imaginary and trace how ressentiment and stab‑in‑the‑back myths fuel political violence. They explore palingenetic rebirth, the fusion of tradition and futurism, and the aesthetic spectacle of mobilization. They dive into misogynistic fantasies, eroticized violence around soldiers and horses, and echoes of these patterns in contemporary manosphere figures.
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Fascism As A Libidinal Machine
- Fascism functions as a libidinal machinic assemblage that captures emotions, drives, and moods and converts them into political momentum.
- Gregory Foley argues this process is amorphous, opportunistic, and becomes dangerous long before formal institutions appear.
Spot Fascism By Motive Forces
- Monitor emotional and cultural motifs, not just institutional signs, to spot early fascist formation.
- Foley urges identifying motive forces and dismantling assemblages before they solidify into full movements.
Resentment Fuels Blame Myths
- Ressentiment and the 'stab-in-the-back' myth supply fascism with a simple object to blame and unify anger.
- Foley shows how that myth mobilized returning soldiers in post-WWI Germany into violent paramilitaries and later Nazi movements.
