The ‘hidden roots’ of neoliberal fascism: race, gender and the intensification of neoliberal hegemony

With the rise of authoritarian figures such as Donald Trump, Nigel Farage, Marine Le Pen and Viktor Orban, several scholars have examined the linkages between neoliberalism and contemporary fascism. While some argue that fascism’s emergence must necessarily mean the revolutionary break from (neo)liberal ideals, others have excavated ideological overlaps between the two projects. We utilize insights from the Black Radical tradition, which highlight continuities between liberal racial capitalism and classical fascism; insights from Social Reproduction Theory, which concern the reproduction of variegated racial and gender capital relations; and a Gramscian understanding of neoliberalism and fascism as forms of hegemony to demonstrate their internal continuities. Such continuities are not mere ideological overlaps between two distinct forms of capitalist hegemony, but also essential material elements of their productive regimes. Neoliberalism re-accumulates gendered divisions of labour and naturalizes patriarchal dominance while utilizing carceral border regimes to organize racialized labour hierarchies. These material divisions reflexively interact with ideologies of nationhood, whiteness, and patriarchy to create fertile terrain in which new fascisms can arise. This implies that anti-fascist action must not aim to reestablish (neo)liberal ideals, but offer a fundamental break with the system from which fascism is emerging.