Del fascismo al movimiento nacional-popular: el peronismo y el intercambio Germani-Lipset, 1956-1961

Abstract

This paper explores Gino Germani’s further interpretations of Peronism after considering it a particular case of Fascism (see Working Paper N° 371). A visit paid to American universities in late 1956 or early 1957 put him in touch with leading sociologists, Seymour Martin Lipset among them. Lipset’s work on “working-class authoritarianism” made an impact on Germani’s views. By mid-1957 he wrote a paper on “Authoritarianism and the popular classes”, following and discussing Lipset’s views. Lipset, however, in his book Political Man (1960), accepted to some extent Germani’s first view while defining Peronism as an extreme left-wing phenomenon, a Fascism of the lower classes, and Fascism of the Left. Germani’s dissatisfaction with Lipset’s definitions moved him to look for a new category for Peronism and what he considered similar ideologically hybrid authoritarian phenomena – national-popular movements. This paper studies the Germani-Lipset exchange and the consequences for Germani’s views on Peronism.