The thrill of guilt

Antifascism as a crusade against evil

‘Just as the Greeks, according to Aristotle, sought to avoid the snares of Persian despotism and just as the Hebrews were told by the God of the Old Testament not to be like the Egyptians, so too are liberal democratic citizens exhorted not to be fascists.

‘Modern democracies are to be constantly on guard against fascism, and their perhaps unnamed telos is to combat this danger, partly by seeking to act and think in a way that clearly distinguishes democracy from what it opposes. Although the average citizen may not always grasp this telos, social engineers in and outside the media do.’