Fascism and Satanism
Description, Justification, Philosophies Satanism index page
By Vexen Crabtree 2005 Jan 31 | Read / Write Comments
Fascism and SatanismBy Vexen Crabtree 2005 Jan 31 | Read / Write Comments
This page is a brief comparison between Fascism and Satanism. The emphasis is on the historical Fascist regimes such as Nazi Germany and Mussolini's Italy, not on theoretical "humane" fascist government. In what ways do Satanism and Fascism agree, and how do they disagree?
Satanism and Fascism are sometimes associated together. History has provided cases where this has been true. Anton LaVey and Blanche Barton were questioned on this in an interview:
"Many fear a strong connection between Satanism and some forms of Fascism. Is there any truth to this?"
LaVey: "It's an unholy alliance. Many different types of such people have made contact with us in the past. The anti-Christian strength of National Socialist Germany is part of the appeal to Satanists - the drama, the lightning, the choreography with which they moved millions of people. However, the Satanic attitude is that people should be judged by their own merit - in every race there are leaders and followers. [...] Satanism is a very brutalistic, realistic way of looking at things sometimes."
Blanche Barton: "Aesthetics more than anything else are the common ground between Satanism and fascism. The aesthetics of National Socialism and Satanism dovetail."
From "Lords of Chaos" by Michael Moynihan and Didrik Soderlind.
The Fascists heavily oppressed not only racial groups such as Jews, but many minorities such as gays, occultists and religious minorities. Fascism is anti-freethought and not at all compatible with individualism or Satanism. After mentioning this, the author Gavin Baddeley, a Reverend in the Church of Satan, writes on the paradox on the fascist imagery that appears in fetish scene:
"The SS officer, with his monocle and black leather riding boots, has been transformed into a decadent figure familiar to all popular fetish clubs - partly due to the unhealthy idea that, as the twentieth centuries most infamous oppressors, Nazis make good models for the recreational sadist. Susan Sontag made a detailed study of this sinister idea in Under the Sign of Saturn, in which she writes: "Between sadomasochism and fascism there is a natural link. Fascism is theatre... as is sadomasochistic sexuality.... expert costumers and choreographers as well as performers, in a drama that is all the more exciting because it is forbidden to ordinary people."
The Nazis as an icon of erotic fascination have much to do with their sense of visual drama. As conservative American humorist P. K. O'Rourke puts it, "I've often been called a Nazi and, although it is unfair, I don't let it bother me for one simple reason. No one has ever had a fantasy about being tied to a bed and sexually ravished by someone dressed as a liberal""
The themes of theatre, indulgence and power are natural to a Satanic going about the task of creating visuals and drama, and as such the visuals that fascism and Satanism use are frequently similar and the shock factor or powerful use of this imagery is frequently employed by Satanists. In the words of Blanche Barton, 'The aesthetics of National Socialism and Satanism dovetail'. Beyond this agreement on aesthetic however, Satanism and fascism disagree on pretty much every major line of thought.
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Satanists tend to embrace the imagery and associate themselves with all the bad guys, horror movie villains, devils and demons, serial killers and mass murderers; anything dark and misanthropic.
"The relationship between LaVeyan Satanism and fascism is a complicated one. In his only reference to Nazism in The Satanic Bible, LaVey says: 'From every set of principles (be it religious, political or philosophical), some good can be extracted. Amidst the madness of the Hitlerian concept, one point stands out as a shining example of this - "strength through joy!" [...]
This is certainly a pragmatic attitude to that traumatic episode of history, but not a ringing endorsement."
"Lucifer Rising" by Gavin Baddeley, p149
Despite, then, the aesthetic agreements there is hardly anything that reverberates between both Nazi Fascism and Satanism.
There have been connections in the past between Satanic groups and Fascism, such as in the Black Metal scene and amongst some of the similar groups that sprung up after the Church of Satan's popularity was established.
There is a myth that Nietzsche and Satanic philosophy promote Race genocide. History has proven that monotheistic religions do this fine with or without Satanists. Racism has existed as long as race itself, and has been present throughout all of our history, xenophobia comes easily to the minds of the herd of Humanity.
The Satanic stance on race issues is the common sense Social Darwinism viewpoint: All cultures and races of the Human Race have produced highly intelligent and elite people. This is fact. Cultures continue to change, and adapt, and produce new talent that may one day be valuable. A Satanist judges every person by their actions, as we cannot know by their stereotype how empowered or creative any individual is. No race is inherently superior to any other, and even if one was, we would not be able to overcome our own prejudices to judge which one it was accurately.
If you want it from a higher authority, the High Priest of the Church of Satan, Peter Gilmore makes it clear:
“The Nazi movement drew much of its power from a racist doctrine of Aryan superiority. Satanism is far more discerning than that. [...] Even if one comes from promising genetic stock, and by that we mean from ancestors who have proven their abilities to be superior in performance, this does not guarantee an individual's advancement. We recognize individual merit, and ascribe no value to bloodlines. Satanists only deem individuals to be "elite" if they prove it. [...] There are thus outstanding individuals from all ethnic backgrounds, and they are embraced by Satanism for the superior beings that they are - creating a uniquely trans-cultural tribe of carnal people. Satanists treasure individualism, hardly something to be gained by goose-stepping en mass down the street.”
"The Satanic Scriptures" by Peter Gilmore (1992)2
Varying cultures have had their hay day, China remained the most stable, developed, advanced and fair society for centuries before Europe caught up. The Greeks, the Egyptians, the British, all have had great empires, all have produced knowledge that we could not do without. The survival and continued development of our species is vastly sped up and improved by the existence of multiple cultures and races, each one solving problems from a different point of view. Anything else is reducing opportunities for developing our knowledge and power.
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A German philosopher who lived 1844-1900, who challenged the foundations of morality and promoted life affirmation and individualism. One of the first existentialist philosophers. Some of Nietzsche's philosophies have surfaced as those upheld by Satanists. His detractors continue to run a smear campaign, based on genuine malevolence or ignorance, associating Nietzsche with Fascism. Modern day scholars largely refute the idea that Nietzsche would have supported Nazi Germany or its morality, especially given its anti-human, destructive, restricting and oppressive nature.
The most horrific regime of the Nazis, the ideas of supremacy that led to genocide of the Jews, the "lowest" race, was based on a nationalism that predated Nietzsche.
“The important of a distinctive national consciousness was first emphasized in Germany in the late eighteenth century. Writers such as Herder (1744-1803) and Fichte (1762-1814) highlighted what they believed to be the uniqueness and superiority of Germanic culture. [...] Herder believed that each nation possesses a Volksgeist or 'national spirit', which provides its peoples with their creative impulse.”
"Political Ideologies" by Andrew Heywood, p168
“Nietzsche has long been caricatured as a fascistic thinker whose ideas found their eventual expression in the genocidal racial politics of Nazi Germany. In fact, Nietzsche despised nationalism and anti-Semitism and railed against the backwardness of the German Reich from the 1870s onwards. A good deal of the damage done to his reputation was inflicted by his sister Elizabeth Nietzsche (1846-1935), who assumed editorship of Nietzsche's corpus of work after his collapse into insanity in 1889. Elizabeth's political sympathies may be gauged by her marriage to the anti-Semitic political leader Bernhard Forster (1843-89). Her editorship of Nietzsche's work corrupted its content, removed many of the philosophical contexts that gave it its meaning, and prepared it for its appropriation by Nazi ideologues after Nietzsche's death in 1900.”
"Friedrich Nietzsche" by Lee Spinks, p6-7
Satanism is heavily individualistic, personal morals and personal tastes are important, not social taboos or traditional inhibitions. The State, and Satanic hierarchy, is therefore voluntary and multifaceted; any leader of Satanists must accept that he leads a diverse and stubbornly individual cabal. As such, Satanic government could not be a dictatorship; it must be multicultural and tolerant of variant opinions.
“This is not to say that that fascism (a form of government where the State's interests come first, and the people are tools) doesn't have potential advantages, but that those advantages can be obtained through democratic means and without all the aspects of Fascism as has been employed historically, especially the intense restriction of individuality and freedom.”
Satanism and Fascism have some things in common:
But Satanism and Fascism are Deeply Opposed on many points.
Baddeley, Gavin
"Lucifer Rising" (1999). Published by Plexus Publishing Limited.
"Dissecting Marilyn Manson".
Gilmore, Peter
"The Satanic Scriptures" (2007 Hardback). A collection of texts by the High Priest of the Church of Satan (as of 2001+). Published by Scapegoat Publishing, USA.
Heywood, Andrew
"Political Ideologies" (2003 3rd ed). First edition 1992. Published by Palgrave MacMillan.
LaVey, Anton (1930-1997)
"The Satanic Bible" (1969). Published by Avon Books Inc, New York, USA.
Moynihan & Soderlind
"Lords of Chaos" (1998). Published by Feral House, Los Angeles, USA.
Spinks, Lee
"Friedrich Nietzsche" (2003). From 2nd 2004 print. Published by Routledge, London, UK. [About Nietzsche].