it's good that we're all familiar with the "return to tradition" type of fascist thought, particularly in the way they discuss aesthetics and classical european design—but i think it's led to the conflation of modernist architecture with leftism, which is very silly at best
well it's midnight and i wrote about modern architecture and fascism
le corbusier, a pioneer of modernist architecture, subscribed to the theory that designed environments could "perfect" the human race; it was through his design and urban planning work that he practiced eugenics. one of the clearest examples of this was when he was invited to consult on a new modernist government building in rio de janeiro, which would go on to house the institution that developed dictator getulio vargas' eugenic policies.
another modernist architect, adolf loos, is best known for his essay where he equates ornamentation with degeneration and antiquity, positing that culture can only develop with the removal of ornamented ("primitive", outdated) design. this is evident in his very stark and undecorated architectural work.
and the italian futurists, while not modernist, also preferred sleek and future-forward architecture. they were an explicitly reactionary art movement that called for the total demolition of society in order to complete their vision of a new and technologically advanced world, free from the influences of the past.
this doesn't mean that modernist design is Bad—assigning art movements and styles with either "good" or "bad" is silly. but when we see all those roman statue icons and rosy illustrations of 1950s housewives, it's helpful to remember that these traditionalist images aren't the only aesthetic vector for fascism. and that bringing up someone like corbusier in an attempt to own these retvrn guys is, well, very misguided
