Fascism
definition, origins, characteristics,
fascist state, corporative state
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Fascism - definition
A totalitarian philosophy of government
that glorifies the state and nation and assigns to the state control
over every aspect of national life. The name was first used by
the party started by Benito Mussolini , who ruled Italy from
1922 until the Italian defeat in World War II. However, it has
also been applied to similar ideologies in other countries, e.g.,
to National Socialism in Germany and to the regime of Francisco
Franco in Spain.
Origins of Fascism
While socialism (particularly Marxism)
came into existence as a clearly formulated theory or program
based on a specific interpretation of history, fascism introduced
no systematic exposition of its ideology or purpose other than
a negative reaction against socialist and democratic egalitarianism.
The growth of democratic ideology and popular participation in
politics in the 19th cent. was terrifying to some conservative
elements in European society, and fascism grew out of the attempt
to counter it by forming mass parties based largely on the middle
classes and the petty bourgeoisie, exploiting their fear of political
domination by the lower classes. Forerunners of fascism, such
as Georges Boulanger in France and Adolf Stöker and Karl
Lueger in Germany and Austria, in their efforts to gain political
power played on people's fears of revolution with its subsequent
chaos, anarchy, and general insecurity. They appealed to nationalist
sentiments and prejudices, exploited anti-Semitism , and portrayed
themselves as champions of law, order, Christian morality, and
the sanctity of private property.
Emergence after World War I
The Russian Revolution (1917), the collapse
of the Central Powers in 1918, and the disorders caused by Communist
attempts to seize power in Germany, Italy, Hungary, and other
countries greatly strengthened fascism's appeal to many sections
of the European populace. In Italy, particularly, social unrest
was combined with nationalist dissatisfaction over the government's
failure to reap the promised fruits of victory after World War
I. The action of Gabriele D'Annunzio in seizing Fiume ( Rijeka
) was one manifestation of the discontent existing in Italy. Appealing
to the masses and especially to the lower middle class through
demagogic promises of order and social justice, the fascists could
depend upon support, financial and otherwise, from vested interests,
who could not muster such popularity themselves.
Governmental paralysis enabled Mussolini
in 1922 to obtain the premiership by a show of force. As leader
of his National Fascist party, he presented himself as the strong-armed
savior of Italy from anarchy and Communism. Borrowing from Russian
Communism a system of party organization based on a strict hierarchy
and cells, which became typical of fascism everywhere, he made
use of an elite party militia-the Black Shirts-to crush opposition
and to maintain his power.
In Germany at about the same time a fascist
movement similar to that in Italy steadily gathered strength;
it called itself the National Socialist German Workers' party
(Nazi party). Its leader, Adolf Hitler , won support from a middle
class ruined by inflation, from certain elements of the working
class, especially the unemployed, and from discontented war veterans;
he also gained the backing of powerful financial interests, to
whom he symbolized stability and order. However, it was not until
1933 that Hitler could carry through his plans for making Germany
a fascist state and the National Socialists the sole legal party
in the country.
The military aggression so inherent in
fascist philosophy exploded in the Italian invasion (1935) of
Ethiopia, the attack (1936) of the Spanish fascists (Falangists)
on their republican government (see Spanish civil war ), and
Nazi Germany's systematic aggression in Central and Eastern Europe,
which finally precipitated (1939) World War II .
Fascism since World War II
The Italian Social Movement (MSI), a minor
neofascist party, was formed in Italy in 1946. It won wider support
when the pervasive corruption of the governing parties was exposed
in the early 1990s, and it became a partner in the conservative
government formed after the 1994 elections. In 1995, however,
the MSI dissolved itself as it was transformed into a new party
headed by former MSI leader Gianfranco Fini and including the
majority of former MSI members. Fini's right-wing National Alliance
rejected fascist ideology, including anti-Semitism, and embraced
democracy as one of its principles and has participated in center-right
governing coalitions.
In postwar West Germany, neofascism appeared
in the form of the temporary growth of the nationalistic National
Democratic party in the mid-1960s. Following German reunification,
neo-Nazi groups in the country gained increased prominence, with
new members being drawn to the organization as a result of social
upheaval and economic dislocation, and the nation experienced
an increase in related violence, especially attacks on immigrants
and foreigners. Neo-Nazi groups also exist on a small scale in
the United States, and right-wing nationalistic movements and
parties in countries such as France, Russia, and some republics
of the former Yugoslavia have political groups with elements of
fascism. For many of these parties, however, ethnic and racial
animosity is often more significant than fascist philosophy.
Characteristics of Fascist Philosophy
Fascism, especially in its early stages,
is obliged to be antitheoretical and frankly opportunistic in
order to appeal to many diverse groups. Nevertheless, a few key
concepts are basic to it. First and most important is the glorification
of the state and the total subordination of the individual to
it. The state is defined as an organic whole into which individuals
must be absorbed for their own and the state's benefit. This "total
state" is absolute in its methods and unlimited by law in
its control and direction of its citizens.
A second ruling concept of fascism is
embodied in the theory of social Darwinism. The doctrine of survival
of the fittest and the necessity of struggle for life is applied
by fascists to the life of a nation-state. Peaceful, complacent
nations are seen as doomed to fall before more dynamic ones, making
struggle and aggressive militarism a leading characteristic of
the fascist state. Imperialism is the logical outcome of this
dogma.
Another element of fascism is its elitism.
Salvation from rule by the mob and the destruction of the existing
social order can be effected only by an authoritarian leader who
embodies the highest ideals of the nation. This concept of the
leader as hero or superman, borrowed in part from the romanticism
of Friedrich Nietzsche , Thomas Carlyle , and Richard Wagner
, is closely linked with fascism's rejection of reason and intelligence
and its emphasis on vision, creativeness, and "the will."
The Fascist State
Fascism has found adherents in all countries.
Its essentially vague and emotional nature facilitates the development
of unique national varieties, whose leaders often deny indignantly
that they are fascists at all. In its dictatorial methods and
in its use of brutal intimidation of the opposition by the militia
and the secret police, fascism does not greatly distinguish itself
from other despotic and totalitarian regimes. There are particular
similarities with the Communist regime in the Soviet Union under
Joseph Stalin. However, unlike Communism, fascism abhors the idea
of a classless society and sees desirable order only in a state
in which each class has its distinct place and function. Representation
by classes (i.e., capital, labor, farmers, and professionals)
is substituted for representation by parties, and the corporative
state is a part of fascist dogma.
Although Mussolini's and Hitler's governments
tended to interfere considerably in economic life and to regulate
its process, there can be no doubt that despite all restrictions
imposed on them, the capitalist and landowning classes were protected
by the fascist system, and many favored it as an obstacle to socialization.
On the other hand, the state adopted a paternalistic attitude
toward labor, improving its conditions in some respects, reducing
unemployment through large-scale public works and armament programs,
and controlling its leisure time through organized activities.
Many of these features were adopted by
the Franco regime in Spain and by quasi-fascist dictators in Latin
America (e.g., Juan Perón ) and elsewhere. A variation
of fascism was the so-called clerico-fascist system set up in
Austria under Engelbert Dollfuss . This purported to be based
on the social and economic doctrines enunciated by Pope Leo XIII
and Pope Pius XI, which, however, were never put into operation.
Corporative state
The economic system inaugurated by the
Fascist regime of Benito Mussolini in Italy. It was adapted in
modified form under other European dictatorships, among them Adolf
Hitler's National Socialist regime in Germany and the Spanish
regime of Francisco Franco. Although the Italian system was based
upon unlimited government control of economic life, it still preserved
the framework of capitalism. Legislation of 1926 and later years
set up guilds, or associations, of employees and employers to
administer various sectors of the national economy. These were
represented in the national council of corporations. The corporations
were generally weighted by the state in favor of the wealthy classes,
and they served to combat socialism and syndicalism by absorbing
the trade union movement. The Italian corporative state aimed
in general at reduced consumption in the interest of militarization.
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