Here's What Sci-Fi Can Teach Us About Fascism

Author Bruce Sterling is best known for his futuristic science fiction, but he's equally comfortable writing about the past. His new novella Pirate Utopia is an alternate history set just after World War I, and takes place in the real-life city of Fiume (now Rijeka), which experienced a brief period as an independent state run by artists and revolutionaries. "Believe me, what went on in the Fiume enterprise was truly one of the weirdest things that happened in the 20th century," Sterling says in Episode 238 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. Fiume served as a breeding ground for radical ideas, everything from socialism to anarcho-syndicalism to fascism. Sterling says it's hard for many people to understand the allure of fascism, but that it makes more sense when you look at it sort of like a big-budget sci-fi blockbuster that overwhelms your brain with its dazzling special effects.