Fascist or Decadent? How Men and Women Go Astray When They’re Wounded
If men become adversarial, are they more likely to turn fascist or decadent? And what about women?
That’s not just a sharp question. It’s the kind of question that reveals fault lines running through our culture — and through every soul.
To answer it, we have to step back and look at two patterns that show up again and again in myth, history, and personal life.
The Two Forms of Collapse
Let’s define the two distortions:
- Fascist (archetypally): Obsessed with order, control, uniformity. Often justified by appeals to lost glory or sacred duty. Prone to enforcing discipline without mercy — in the name of survival, stability, or purity.
- Decadent: Disordered, self-indulgent, emotionally chaotic. Often cloaked in the language of self-expression, freedom, or authenticity. Prone to rejecting all restraint — in the name of healing, pleasure, or liberation.
Both are forms of resistance to reality. Both distort something noble.
Men and the Fascist Drift
When men go adversarial — when they feel wounded, disrespected, or lost — they’re more likely to veer toward fascist patterns.
Why?
Because chaos terrifies men. And when they don’t have purposeful order, they often try to impose rigid order. That might look like:
- Authoritarian posturing
- Rigid hierarchy worship
- Framing every disagreement as war
- Controlling others “for their own good”
It’s a fear-based overcorrection. When healthy strength is lost, they reach for tyrannical strength. They choose control over vulnerability.
Women and the Decadent Drift
When women go adversarial — when they feel unseen, trapped, or used — they’re more likely to veer toward decadent patterns.
Why?
Because stagnation and entrapment terrify women. And when they don’t have meaningful freedom, they often seek radical freedom, even if it becomes destructive. That might look like:
- Romanticizing self-indulgence
- Rejecting moral norms as “oppressive”
- Treating transgression as empowerment
- Disowning duty or commitment
It’s a freedom-based rebellion. When healthy expression is lost, they reach for chaotic reinvention.
But These Aren’t Rigid Rules
Of course, men can be decadent — passive, addicted, emotionally absent. And women can be fascist — hyper-controlling, moralizing, even cancel-driven.
What we’re describing are archetypal tendencies — not destiny.
And most importantly: these distortions arise from wounds.
- The fascist man is often trying to protect something — but without love, his “protection” becomes domination.
- The decadent woman is often trying to reclaim her self — but without truth, her “freedom” becomes chaos.
The Real Battle Is Inside
The adversary isn’t just out there. He’s in you. She’s in you. Every human faces the temptation to twist good desires into destructive reactions.
The answer isn’t to shame men for craving order or women for craving freedom. The answer is to redeem those impulses:
- Let men protect — with strength and humility.
- Let women express — with courage and wisdom.
This is the true Hero’s Journey for both sexes: to face the adversarial energy in the self, and bring it back into alignment with truth, love, and purpose.
Because when we refuse that journey, we don’t become free. We become lost.
Developed with assistance from ChatGPT
Seized by Christ 