Marxism, fascism, and totalitarianism : chapters in the intellectual history of radicalism /

Gregor (Univ. of California, Berkeley) provocatively argues that not only Leninism but also fascism finds substantial inspiration in Marxism. The problems and lacunae in Marx's theories of ideology and revolution drove intellectual innovators like Ludwig Woltmann, Georges Sorel, V. I. Lenin, Giovanni Gentile, and Benito Mussolini to formulate new answers to troublesome Marxist questions, and thus to found the totalitarian ideologies of the 20th century. The sweep of Gregor's study is impressive, engaging with primary texts of not only the major thinkers but more minor figures as well. The development of Leninism and fascism is also placed in the historical context of the syndicalist movement, the national question in Europe, and the quarrel in socialist circles over the Great War. But the intellectual history often moves from thinker to thinker without bothering to give solid evidence that one really influenced the next. Moreover, the substantial literature on the history of Marxism is rarely referenced, and the promise early in the book to shed light on the concept of totalitarianism is never really fulfilled. Thus what Gregor's book achieves in its detail and insight, is at times undercut by a lack of clarity and overall coherence. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. J. John Southern Virginia University