Warhammer 40k’s Slip From a Satire of Fascism to a Love Letter to It

Summary

Warhammer 40k has evolved from a satire of fascism to a glorification of it, with the Imperium of Man embodying the characteristics of fascism as outlined by Umberto Eco.

Abstract

The article discusses the evolution of Warhammer 40k from a satire of fascism to a glorification of it, with a focus on the Imperium of Man. The author argues that the Imperium of Man has become a fascist state, as evidenced by its adherence to the 14 characteristics of fascism outlined by Umberto Eco in his essay "Ur-Fascism". The article also discusses the challenges of maintaining creative freedom while staying true to the satirical intent of the game, and the potential for fascist elements to attract fascist players. The author also criticizes the glorification of the Inquisition, a real-world historical institution that persecuted Jews and Muslims, in the game.

Bullet points

Warhammer 40k has evolved from a satire of fascism to a glorification of it
The Imperium of Man embodies the characteristics of fascism as outlined by Umberto Eco
The 14 characteristics of fascism outlined by Umberto Eco are: cult of tradition, rejection of modernism, cult of action for action's sake, disagreement is treason, racist by definition, derives power from individual or social frustration, nationalism/tribalism, followers feel humiliated, life is lived for struggle, popular elitism, everybody is educated to become a hero, machismo, selective populism, and language/thought/education control
The author argues that it is difficult to maintain creative freedom while staying true to the satirical intent of the game
The glorification of the Inquisition in the game is criticized for its historical associations with persecution of Jews and Muslims
The author suggests that the game's fascist elements may attract fascist players
The article includes images and links to further reading on the topic.

Warhammer 40k’s Slip From a Satire of Fascism to a Love Letter to It

Warhammer 40k slipped from a satire of fascism to a love letter to it.

“Oldhammer” 40k is very “punk” (a band logo even ended up on some armor, I THINK it was The Cure or something). VERY anti-establishment. It focuses on Rogue Traders flaunting the laws of the draconian Imperium and being generally scummy. As we progress over time we get this almost “tragic Greek Hero” vibe playing out, particularly in stuff like The Horus Heresy. Space Marines go through this transformation from ugly, bulky, hyper-violent thugs in power armor to these like… self-sacrificing, supremely badass, warrior-monks with noble hearts “making the hard choices”. They were absolutely glorified in the older stuff but it was more a “they have big guns and bigger muscles!” kinda deal than the kinda soldier-worship thing with a strong air of fascism backing them up.

The farther we go forward in time, the more Umberto Eco’s seminal essay on the definition of fascism (“Ur-Fascism”, 1995) applies. Read these (very abridged) qualifiers and think about what you know about 40k, space marines, and the Imperium of Man. 1. Cult of Tradition/Traditionalism 2. Rejection of Modernism 3. Cult of Action for Action’s Sake 4. Disagreement is treason. 5. Racist by definition/diversity is bad. 6. Derives power from individual or social frustration. 7. Nationalism/Tribalism/”Appeals to people who feel deprived of a clear social identity” 8. Followers feel humiliated. 9. Life is lived for struggle/life is permanent warfare 10. Popular Elitism/”We are part of the best group/tribe”/Contempt for the weak (aka anyone other than “us”) 11. Everybody is educated to become a hero/death & sacrifice is celebrated. 12. Machismo/power to sexual matter transference/fixation of weapons 13. Selective populism 14. Language/thought/education control. (Full Text)

Tell me this isn’t the Imperium TO THE LETTER. And that’s ok. That’s what the Imperium, EXPRESSLY, is. They even (somewhat) recently said it.

“The Imperium of Man stands as a cautionary tale of what could happen should the very worst of Humanity’s lust for power and extreme, unyielding xenophobia set in. Like so many aspects of Warhammer 40,000, the Imperium of Man is satirical.”

It’s a satire. 100%. I agree with that. That’s their intent though but Games Workshop has… a lot of writers… and a lot of products… and a lot of content (etc). It’s hard keeping everyone on the same page, especially when you want to give your creatives (well) creative freedom. Like who DOESN’T want to write about how damn cool the 8 foot tall, 2,000 lbs, super-soldier, who wears more armor than a tank, and shoots explosives from their guns is?! Like, legit, they’re cool as heck; it’s really hard to portray them as “Ok but they’re also basically just the elite enforcers of a hyper fascist theocracy”.

However, when that starts to flip to jingoistic soldier worship, pro-fascist endorsement (intentional or otherwise),… well then Umberto Eco said it best “the Ur-Fascist hero tends to play with weapons — doing so becomes an ersatz phallic exercise.”

Like “American History X”, despite being ostensibly critical of Neo-Nazi ideology, also embraces that. People will get what they will get out of your work. If you make a game and make the main (most heavily promoted/primary PoV) faction EXPRESSLY fascists, you shouldn’t be surprised when it attracts fascists (like the infamous 40k tournament in Spain where a guy showed up in Nazi regalia with the name “Australian Painter” and his team).

The Inquisition being based on, well, the real world Inquisitions is… really hard to swallow sometimes. Like I get it, “Ooooh cunning ‘I’ll do what I must to save everyone!’, investigating, doing detective work, one man against an army of corruption, etc” vibe is cool as hell. The Pathfinder RPG even has the inquisitor class and it was pretty sick. However, I was raised Jewish. You… know what happened to the Jews during the Inquisition right? Like, guess what Torquemada was hunting, because it sure wasn’t psykers and Chaos followers. It was Jews and Muslims (…and like anyone other than Christians). There is an Inquisitor Lord Literally named Torquemada in 40k.

“They got rid of the fedora-clad, Yin-Yang shirt wearing, neck-bearedy, Inquisitor Obiwan Sherlock Clousseau… for a heroic version of Torquemada”

The most blatant description of how 40k has changed: They got rid of the fedora-clad, Yin-Yang shirt wearing, neck-bearedy, Inquisitor Obiwan Sherlock Clousseau… for a heroic version of Torquemada (he has a sweet golden cyborg eagle, golden artificer power armor, a relic weapon that is one of the most powerful weapons in the game, who is the best at his job ever.)

They dropped the punk for fascism.