There is something incredibly cool about communism and fascism.
I know that these things are inherently evil (yes, I can debate that communism is inherently evil), but the is something that makes these movements inherently fascinating. Is it how captivating the leaders are? Is it the style associated with these movements? Is it the sheer amazement of how large groups of people are so easily manipulated? Is it the purity of their ideals, but the evil of their practice?
Perhaps it is a combination of all of these elements. Last year, we read From Bauhaus to Our House. The book described the growth of modern architecture. The ideal of modern architecture is based off the ideal of simplification and consistency for the average working man. All of the buildings were made with straight lines and geometric shapes using basic materials. Many of these "basic" buildings were complex and impractical. There was one architect who did not want to give his building windows, lest it lose its uniformity. Most people want windows in their buildings though, so he had to compromise. The window shades only had three settings: completely open, halfway, or completely closed. The shades would snap into these positions.
Though I acknowledged how ridiculous these buildings are, I can't help but feel some sort of identification with the ideal such buildings. The simplification of architecture is a metaphor to the simplification of life. If people are evenly organized into identical rooms, perhaps all of society can be organized and clear cut.
That is what many people search for in life: simplicity. You see this all the time in politics. A good example would be the reactions to the Sandy Hook shooting. Obama has proclaimed that "There will never be another shooting again," and he believes that the simple passage of legislation will make this happen. But that is not true. No legislation will prevent every shooting scenario. It is simply not possible to restrict all of the possible variables. You cannot purify the world of killers, sexual assailants, or drug abusers.
People refuse to accept the fact that our world is complex because they can't handle it. That is one of the reasons why these mass movements have such a strong appeal.
Last year, we also saw a documentary on Hitler and Art. The film gave me context into the mental thinking of the Nazis that I never had before. The Nazi movement didn't start with exterminating the Jews. It began with exterminating the handicapped. In the 1930s, Germany was falling apart due to hyper-inflation, in addition to some other issues. People in desperate circumstances targeted those around them. They believed that if their society had the perfect people, then no problems would exist. Handicapped people have trouble operating in society. They believed that problems could be eliminated of the handicapped could be eliminated.
Handicapped people can be a burdon on societies. They require extra attention in education, special transportation mechanisms, and sometimes they are so handicapped that they cannot be independent. Some handicaps can be visually unappealing, and make people uncomfortable. This is true. The problem comes when people believe that these people are issues that need to be "solved," instead of issues to be coped with.
The other problem is that perfectionist thinking spirals out of control. When you solve one imperfection, there's always another one waiting. Once the Germans dealt with the handicapped, they saw the Jews as their next target. They wanted to ethnically cleanse world, and they weren't stopped until 1945.
If the Germans had killed off the Jews, who would they have targeted next? Probably the Slavs. After that, perhaps others. They would never be satisfied.
The only reason I was able to point out the flaw in fascist thinking was because I deliberated the topic of a long time. When I first saw the documentary, the Nazi logic seemed sound, and that disturbed me. I knew that killing Jews was wrong, but other than the basic aphorism "Thou shalt not kill," I didn't know how to disprove their argument until I came up with what I have stated above.
Let me return to my main point. The appeal of fascism and communism is a fallacious logic that can be easily followed. This is the logic.
- A human's main purpose is survival
- In order to survive, it is human instinct to control the variables in the environment
- Society and government are tools created by humans in order to preserve our survival
- Therefore: Society and government should control all of the variables of the environment, in order to preserve survival
Purity and simplification are strongly appealing because they relate directly to our survival instincts.
When we see uniform design in terms of architecture, art, and society, we feel as if we are in control. To be in control greatly improves your chances of survival.
Now here's something quite mind-blowing. I believe that this appeal to communism and fascism is caused by dopamine.
Many people believe that dopamine is the hormone in the human body that is released when we experience pleasure. This is not true. Dopamine is the hormone of anticipation. Dopamine causes a seeking behavior, which encourages us to search for information that will better aid our survival. It also encourages us to eat and have sex. Basically, dopamine is the wanting mechanism in the human body, while opoids are the liking mechanism. Dopamine makes us search for something better but opoids make us stop and enjoy what we already have. The dopamine system is stronger than the opoid system, because one does not survive simply by sitting around and being content.
If you don't control your dopamine, you end up in a dopamine loop where you are constantly seeking out new information. This happens quite frequently with the internet, texting, and other forms of online communication. If you are interested in learning more about dopamine, I recommend reading this article. Actually, I recommend reading this article in general because it's absolutely excellent.
But for now I will turn back to my main argument. This is my working thesis.
Communism and fascism as ideals anticipate a simplified world, which appeals directly to our natural instincts and releases dopamine.
I was going to try and relate this to my bad art project about Stitler, but at this point, I think I've written about something completely and utterly different.
Bibliography
Weinschenk, Susan. 47 Mind-Blowing Psychological Facts You Should Know About Yourself. Business Insider. Business Insider, 22 Nov. 2010. Web. 9 Mar. 2013.
Wolfe, Tom. From Bauhaus to Our House. New York: Picador, 1981. Print.
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