Fichte and the "Humanist Fascism" in the Characteristics of the Present Age

The argument I develop in the following pages is based on the identification of a humanist form of life. There are at least three forms of humanism: individualistic, hedonistic and collectivistic. Of these, the collectivistic humanist is one who makes the development not only of himself but of humanity as a whole (albeit through gradually expanding groups) the purpose of his life. My first goal is to show that collectivistic humanism is well represented in authors such as Johann Gottlieb Fiche, and especially, though not exclusively, in his The Characteristics of the Present Age _ (1806). My second aim is to show how this humanism in the German philosopher is driven by the fascist principle of the sacrifice of the individual to the state. This particular realisation of the life of a community I call it ‘humanist fascism’.