Some reasons why you should read this:-Reich is one of the most radical figures in the history of psychiatry-many of the ideas here were reprised by current humanities champions Foucault and Deleuze.-banned by the Nazis and the US-but mainly to to try to understand why many (including myself) think that Reich was right when he said: It is the mechanistic-mystical character of modern man that produces fascist parties, and not vice versa.There are some negatives though. It has a complete ignorance...

First written in Germany in 1932 as Hitler was coming to power, then revised in the US in 1944, this is a classic study of the characteristics of fascist movement. Reich, a former Marxist from the Frankfurt School, emphasizes that fascism is not unique to Germany or Japan or Italy, but is instead "the basic emotional attitude of the suppressed man of our authoritarian machine civilization and its mechanistic-mystical conception of life."In other words it's not enough to blame Hitler or the Nazis...

A wonderful book. Through his Freudian-Marxist anlaysis, Reich shows how the sadistic character of race ideology is an extreme expression of patriarchal and opressive family structure. As he puts it, 'fascist mentality is the mentality of the subjugated "little man" who craves authority and rebels against it at the same time'.

When speaking on "Fascism" Reich seems to mean traditional authoritarian structures. He critiques this form of authoritarianism through the Marxist/Freudian lens. Reich believes mankind has been turned into mindless machines suppressing sexual urges through thousands of years of authoritarian rule (priests, kings, dictators, politicians..etc) According to Reich, the only way to undo this authoritarian cycle is to sexualize women & children/destroy the nuclear family/ kill all forms 'mysticism'

A very interesting analysis of sexuality and mass psychology and how it relates to Fascism, sociology, and politics generally. Reich has a very particular use of language which is both interesting and can be obfuscating if one isn't familiar with or accepting of his premise in writing. A long read, but well worth it - on a personal note although I disagree with some of his assertions and analysis here, I think he is largely on point with his ideas. This book is sadly very poignant to understandi...

With the recent rise of the New Right (viz the Tea Bag and Patriot movement), Wilhelm Reich proves himself as much of a prophet of Marx. Writing in 1933, during the rise of Hitler, he predicts the failure of the Left to engage the working class - without a total transformation in their organizing strategy. He also predicts the steady creep of western democracy towards greater and greater authoritarianism - accompanied by a steady increase in the passive, non-voting majority of the population.He

One of the best, and likely most important books I have ever read. I took my time, because it felt important to really sit with Reich's words and understand the importance of the message.Writing near the end of WWII and having Hitler and Mussolini as case studies served as the catalyst for this work, but was not the only focus of analysis. In addition to European fascism, he took a close look at Russia post-revolution and how the best intentions led to the same old collapse into an autocratic me...

I wanted to read some Reich since I first read about him in Kerouac and Burroughs and Robert Anton Wilson. He was as weird as I expected. He made me think about some things in totally new ways which was fun. Sometimes it felt outdated and dry or just too nutty (cosmic orgone, etc). So I alternated between 5 stars and 2 stars. I liked the idea of fascism being made possible because of the psychological sickness of the masses. Irrationality, sexual repression, a patriarchal society, and mysticism

"Every effort must be made and all means employed to guard future generations against the influence of the biologic rigidity of the old generation."There is a lot of value here, if you're fascinated by Reich like I am, it's a must-read. Of course character structure is as important as class - or even more important! Especially in his diagnoses, Reich is onto something: don't concepts like "emotional plague" and "mechanized culture" describe something real? Don't generations of patriarchy and sex...

good for the synthesis of Marx and Freud, a simpler predecessor to Deleuze & Guattari. bad for the rampant assumptions: 1) sexual repression during childhood is the root of all evils 2) people are innately good 3) there is an objective rationality which is evident to all once their illusions are stripped away. None of these are sufficiently defended, and Reich makes the typical mistake of overestimating the importance of his own discoveries.

(This is an old review that I wrote in 2002 and thought that I had copied here, but hadn't. I haven't read Reich since then so I'm not sure what I would think now.)As you may know, Reich was a student of Freud who's now known as a colorful crackpot (or, in California, a genius) who believed sexual life-energy could cure cancer, change the weather, etc. He was also a crusading anti-fascist and anti-Stalinist, and he thought dangerous politics were a side effect of unconscious contradictions in so...

I often wonder if I am a fascist, and I know people who for sure hate Fascism to their very bone, yet I believe that they are fascists in their heart. In fact I wonder if Fascism is somewhat in our DNA. I often think the family trait, the love of animals, and a sense of order is somehow tied in to Fascism. And especially with the family we feel with other living beings. The need to belong to some social group. Isn't it better to join than be apart? Isn't our very sexual need is to be with someon...

An incredibly important, but seemingly forgotten book--and one that is of pressing importance to a world in which what Reich would term "political irrationalism" is again getting out of hand, particularly with the rise of Trump in the U.S. and the far-right in Europe. To begin with, Reich starts with the premise that Fascism is not limited to one specific place or time in history, i.e. to Italy or Germany in the 20th century's first half; rather it is a natural though hideous outgrowth of the ir...

Very interesting read, especially bearing in mind that it was written in the middle of WW2 when Fascism was not just still a strong political force across Europe but a real threat. While I'm not sure I buy (or even fully understand) his theories of sex economics (the orgasmotrom and orgone theories - and its related accumulator don't appear in this book particularly), his analysis of not only the rise of fascism, but authoritarian regimes in general are fascinating: he pays particular attention

There is a thin line between genius and madness. This book has one foot set firmly on each side of that line.

A very deep analysis of what leads the average person to fascism. He links a lot of his theory to his "sex-economy" beliefs so it helped that I have already read a couple of this books on that topic. This was first written in 1932 just as Nazism was rising, and much of it still holds up well.

Fascism through a Freudian and Marxist lens.

I have mixed feelings about Wilhelm Reich's controversial book. On one hand it is a work of genius, having been able to anticipate and make pretty accurate predictions about Fascism and how it works, but on the other hand it reads like Psychobabble. I would reiterate the comment that some other reviewers have made; That you don't need to venture far more than quarter way across the book before things begin to sound ridiculous.If you were to ask for the summary of the book it would be this -The p...

Reich confronts the thorny problem of why so many people working people in the turbulent opening decades of the 20th century sided with the elite interests that were oppressing them against people from their own social and economic background in the intense class struggles of that epoch. In Germany at that time the mass of the working class was supporting either the Communist or the Social Democratic party, but a significant and growing segment chose to back the reactionary tide which eventually...

A very ambitious and far-reaching read. Reich does a great job of presenting very hard hitting criticisms of Fascist ideology and culture as well as Leninist Vanguardism. He synthesizes Freudian Psychology and Marxism in a very refreshing and honest way.Some of his analyses unfortunately can be repetitive to the point exhaustion and at other times he presents his conclusions as complete and holistic when they actually focus too narrowly on a particular dimension of social life.Much of the work i...