Both modern sociological understandings of identity and fascism are, in a sense, products of postmodern thought, particularly in their rejection of universal, objective truths. However, they diverge in how they handle that relativism. Modern sociological identity theory takes this to mean that all identities, cultures, and knowledges are socially constructed, multiple, and equally valid. Fascism, paradoxically, embraces the idea that truth is relative but asserts that only its own constructed truth should reign supreme.

Fascism today often borrows from postmodernist critiques of truth but applies them selectively. It argues that liberalism, democracy, and science are just “narratives” while insisting that its own nationalist or reactionary narrative is the only legitimate one. This is why contemporary fascist movements often weaponize postmodern skepticism—undermining truth while claiming a monopoly on it.