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FASCISM
An Overview
Definition
An ultra-nationalist, totalitarian ideology
opposed to democracy, Liberalism and
left-wing dissent. Highly authoritarian
and militaristic, desiring a monopoly of
power centred on a single leader.
(See ‘General Features’ below)
Origins
The term originates from Latin – fasces
Fasces was a symbol from ancient
Rome – signified social unity and was
carried before the consuls
Mussolini adopted the name for the
movement he brought to power in Italy
in 1922
General Features
Ultra-nationalism
Hostility to democracy and other values of
Enlightenment
Cult of leader
Respect for collective organisation
Love of symbols and parades
Anti-communist and anti-liberal
Explicitly totalitarian
General Features
Nazis were distinctively anti-semitic
The term now is generally used as a
catch all term of abuse – usually
directed towards right-wing or
authoritarian targets
Main Fascist Regimes
Mussolini in Italy (1922 – 1943)
Hitler in Germany (1933 – 1945)
Franco in Spain (1936 – 1975)
Mussolini
“ The keystone of fascist doctrine is the
conception of the state, of its essence,
of its tasks, of its ends. For fascism the
state is an absolute before which
individuals and groups are relative.
Individuals and groups are ‘thinkable’
insofar as they are within the
state…When one says fascism one
says the state.
Mussolini – contd.
“…The Fascist conception of the state is all
embracing; outside it no human or spiritual
values can exist, much less have
value…Thus understood, Fascism is
totalitarian, and the Fascist
state…interprets, develops and potentiates
the whole life of a people…This is a
century of authority, a century tending to
the ‘right’, a Fascist century”
(Fascism:Doctrines and Institutions, 1932)
Core Ideas:
Human Nature
Pessimistic view
Masses considered to be weak, apathetic and
ignorant
Strong leader needed for masses to follow
People will forego some freedoms to gain
security and strong leadership
Fascism usually prospers at times of
insecurity – e.g. economic crisis
Core ideas:
Nationalism
The nation is the most important structure in
human affairs
Nation must be strong and united to avoid
being at mercy of other nations
Fascists seek to subordinate capitalism to
needs of nation
Fascists believe they can unite a nation and
lead it from degeneracy to national greatness
National regeneration usually involves
territorial expansion, war and
imperialism
Core ideas:
Anti-Leftism
Violently opposed to left-wing and
egalitarian movements and ideas
Internationalism of socialism threatens
national unity, as does class-base
Organised labour – and trade unions –
also threaten unity
Race and nation more important than
class
Anti-Leftism
Liberal Democracy is divisive
Liberalism encourages individualism,
democracy, civil rights, constitutionalism
– all weaken sense of national unity and
obedience to leader
Fascist regimes invariably outlawed
non-government parties and
movements
Development of Fascism
Although essentially a 20th. Century
ideology, some of the intellectual and
political roots of fascism can be traced
to the nineteenth century, and the ideas
of ultra-conservatism, anti-semitism and
eugenics
Roots:
Ultraconservatism
Philosophers such as the German
Nietszche, and the Italians Pareto and
Mosca, provided some of the intellectual
ballast for the ultra-conservative
tradition.
Nietzsche believed in the need to create
a ‘superman’ by collective experiments
in discipline and breeding.
Pareto (1848-1923) and Mosca (18581941) were sociologists who believed in
laissez-faire economics, but also that
democracy was a dream, stressing the
superiority of elites in society.
Ultraconservatives (e.g. in France and
Germany) were authoritarian and strongly
opposed democracy and liberal traditions
They embraced racist ideologies, such as
that of Count Joseph Gobineau (1816-1882)
– “Races which retain their purity are superior
to others. Best of all is the Aryan race”
Ultraconservatism and
Racism – contd.
Houston Stewart Chamberlain (18851927) was the composer Wagner’s sonin-law, and Englishman who became a
naturalised German – a leading theorist
of German racial superiority and Jewish
inferiority
Richard Wagner himself (1813-1883)
was also a fierce anti-semite
In France, ultra-conservatives were fiercely
patriotic, anti-republican and nostalgic for
past glories
Some ultras were also keen to establish antisemitism as a popular force
The Dreyfus Affair of 1894 proved an
opportunity to do this – Dreyfus, the sole
Jewish member of the French general staff,
was falsely accused of spying.
The Dreyfus Affair divided France, and
revealed anti-semitism as a populist
force. Although ultra-conservative
movements in Europe were near
success in the late nineteenth century,
economic recovery in the 1890s led to a
falling away of support. Their
ideologies, however, were still ready for
incorporation into fascism.
Fascism so far
Ultra-nationalist ideology
Opposed to Enlightenment ideas
Anti-rationalist
Totalitarian
Doctrine of single leader
Social Darwinism/Struggle
Philosophical roots in continental ultraconservatism
Fascism so far
Key historical period – inter-war to
1945.
Key leaders – Mussolini and Hitler
Philosophical contributors include –
Gentile; Nietzsche; Houston
Chamberlain.
Key Issues in Fascism
Will to Action/Struggle
Warfare
Leadership
Racialism
Nationalism
Totalitarianism
Will to Action
Derives from Nietzsche’s ideas, as
expressed in “The Will to Power”.
Concept of Ubermensch – ‘superman’
He proposed that a society may
produce one individual who
demonstrates higher qualities than
others
The Ubermensch principle
This ‘superman’ would demonstrate his
superior will to power by rising above
the masses. He would stand above
concepts such as good and evil. All that
matters is that he should act, and
inspire others to act, in a decisive way.
Great men, Nietzsche insisted, can
inspire the collective instincts of the
people.
Will to Action (contd.)
Thus, fascists driven by desire to achieve
great deeds, and transform whole societies.
Such decisive action could only be realised
through the leaders
Acting decisively involves struggle against
those forces which threaten the will of the
individual – democracy, intellectualism, selfinterest, religion.
Struggle
Nations as well as individuals are
involved in this struggle
Italian fascists pointed out the example
of ancient Rome, which succeeded in
conquering virtually the whole of the
known world.
The struggle of wills gives rise to social
Darwinism – ‘survival of the fittest’.
Giovanni Gentile
Fascism wants men to be active and to
engage in activity with all their energy; it
requires that they should be manfully
aware of the difficulties besetting them
and ready to face them. Life is
conceived as a struggle in which a man
is bound to win for himself a really
worthy place…As it is for the individual,
so it is for the nation, and for all
mankind.
Warfare
Warfare is the ultimate expression of
many fascist values – struggle, survival
of the fittest, will to action…
“The nation that gives up war and
conquest is ripe for democracy and rule
by shopkeepers..” – Nietzsche.
Fascist nationalist ambitions also
endorse warfare.
Key questions in
Fascism
What are the main distinctions between
fascism and Nazism?
Can fascists claim to be democratic?
Why do fascists honour war and
conquest?
Why are fascists irrational?
What links fascism and socialism?
How coherent is fascism?