Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future

Fascist governments begin and thrive by undermining and at times destroying education, according to this uninspiring follow-up to 2020’s How Fascism Works. With a particular focus on authoritarian leadership in Russia, India, and Israel, Stanley, a philosophy professor at Yale, argues that the seeds of nationalism are planted when public education is threatened and replaced with schooling that emphasizes inherent hierarchies, traditional gender roles, and “national innocence” (meaning the absolution of a country’s past sins). The end result is a worldview that presents a clearly defined enemy and a clearly defined victor, which, Stanley suggests, is the essence of the us-versus-them mentality of fascism. The book is filled with examples of various nations that have accomplished this, but sparse on details as to how, and readers may find themselves wishing to hear more about what led governments to succeed or fail at these anti-education goals. Somewhat confusingly muted, the narrative gives an overall impression of mild interest more than the duress one associates with the threat of impending dictatorship, which Stanley does see as a legitimate possibility (“If one looks at what is happening at the best universities in India, one can see a grim but plausible future near term course for America’s”). This warns of an imminent fascist future but doesn’t delve far enough into how to stop it. (Sept.)