Fascism

‘Victory is to the strong and the weak must go to the wall’- Adolf Hitler

1. Definition
Fascism believes in the superiority of the nation and sees the state as a conception of the
real meaning of life. It is an organic conception of the world in which the individual,
society and state are closely integrated into one reality and that is the nation.
2. The term ‘Fascism’
The word ‘fascism’ derives originally from ‘fasces’, a bundle of rods carried before
consuls in Ancient Rome to signify their authority. By the 1890s, the word ‘fascio’ was
used in Italy to refer to a political group or band, usually of revolutionary socialists. It
was not; however, until Mussolini employed the term to describe the paramilitary armed
squads he formed during and after the First World War that ‘fascismo’ acquired a clearly
ideological meaning.
3. Origin and Development
Fascism is a child of the twentieth century and specifically of the period between the two
world wars. Fascism emerged most dramatically in Italy and Germany. In Italy, a Fascist
Party was formed in 1919, its leader, Benito Mussolini, was appointed Prime Minister in
1922, and by 1926 a one-party Fascist state had been established. The National Socialist
German Workers’ Party, known as the Nazis, was also formed in 1919, and, under the
leadership of Adolf Hitler, who was later appointed as the German Chancellor, turned
Germany into a Nazi dictatorship.
Fascism emerged out of a complex range of historical forces, present during the inter-war
period. Firstly, due to weak democratic governments in Europe at the time, the rival
attraction of strong leadership brought about by personal rule cast a strong appeal.
Secondly, fascism arose as a ‘revolt of the lower middle classes’ against the growing
power of big business on one hand and the rising power of organized labor on the other.
Thirdly, due to a fear of communist revolution, the bourgeoisie clung to power by lending
support to fascist dictators. Fourthly, rising unemployment and economic failure as result
of the great depression of 1930s, created an atmosphere of crisis and pessimism which
could be exploited by extremists and demagogues. Finally, the First World War had
failed to resolve international conflicts and rivalries, leaving a bitter inheritance of
frustrated nationalism and the desire for revenge. Fascist regimes were not overthrown by
popular revolt or protest but by defeat in the Second World War.
4. Characteristics
Fascism represents the darker side of Western political thought. Unlike other ideologies,
fascism lacks a rational and coherent philosophy. Fascists have commonly despised
abstract ideas and instead revered action. Above all, fascism was a movement. At its core
fascism was revolutionary but did not believe in social revolution. Rather fascism was a
revolution of the psyche, a revolution of the human consciousness, aimed at creating a
new type of human being, always understood in male terms, the ‘New Man’ or ‘Fascist
Man’. He was to be a hero, motivated by duty, honor and self-sacrifice, prepared to
dissolve his personality in the social whole, and if necessary, die for the glory of his
nation or race. In general, fascism has the following characteristics:
a. Anti-rationalism
The emphasis in fascism upon action and movement reflects a rejection of human
reason and of intellectual life in general. Conventional political ideas were based
upon a belief in rationalism. In the late twentieth century, however, thinkers had
started to reflect upon the limits of human reason and draw attention to other,
perhaps more powerful, drives and impulses such as Nietzsche’s ‘will to power’,
Freud’s ‘libido’ and George Sorel’s ‘expression of the will’, that engaged
emotions and provoked action. Hence, fascism reflects a ‘politics of the will’.
Intellectual life is devalued, even despised; it is cold, dry and lifeless. In contrast,
fascism addresses the soul, the emotions and the instincts. Its ideas possess little
coherence or rigor, but seek to exert a mythical appeal.
b. Struggle
The Darwinian image of species developing through a ‘process of natural
selection’ was extended into the political sphere by Herbert Spencer into the idea
of the ‘survival of the fittest’, the belief that competition amongst individuals
would reward those who worked hard and possessed talents and punish the lazy or
incompetent. Social Darwinism had considerable impact upon fascism. In the first
place, fascists regarded struggle as the natural and inevitable condition of both
social and international life. Hence, if the testing ground of human existence is
competition and struggle then the ultimate test is war, which Hitler described as
‘an unalterable law of the whole of life’. Secondly, fascism equates ‘goodness’
with strength and ‘evil’ with weakness. Power and strength are worshipped for
their own sake while weakness and the weak are despised. Fascism respects a
different set of martial values: loyalty, duty, obedience and self-sacrifice. Finally,
fascism’s conception of life as ‘unending struggle’ gave it a restless and
expansionist character. National qualities could only be cultivated through
conflict and demonstrated by conquest and victory as was evident from Hitler’s
quest for world domination.
c. Leadership and Elitism
Fascism also stands apart from conventional political thought in its hostility to the
very idea of equality. Fascists are attracted to the idea of a supreme and
unquestionable leader. Fascism was both elitist and ferociously patriarchal; its
ideas were founded upon the belief that elite rule was both natural and desirable.
Human beings were born with radically different abilities and attributes, a fact
that would emerge as those with the rare quality of leadership rose, through
struggle, above, those capable only of following. Fascists believed that society
 was composed broadly of three elements. First, a supreme and all-seeing leader
who possessed unrivalled authority. Secondly, an elite, exclusively male and
distinguished by its heroism, vision and capacity for self-sacrifice. Finally, there
were the masses, who sought guidance and direction, and whose destiny was
unquestioning obedience. The ‘leader principle’ is the guiding principle of a
fascist state. Fascist regimes placed enormous emphasis upon the role of the
leader. Fascist leaders emancipated themselves from any constitutionally defined
notion of political leadership. The leader possesses both unlimited constitutional
power and unquestionable authority. The leader was the symbolic embodiment of
the people. The leader’s authority is absolute and unquestionable because he and
he alone, understand the real will of the people. In fascist theory, ‘true’
democracy is therefore an absolute dictatorship. In this way, fascists fused the
notion of absolutism and popular sovereignty into a form of ‘totalitarian
democracy’.
d. Socialism
Both Mussolini and Hitler portrayed their ideas, at times, as being ‘socialist’.
Mussolini had previously been an influential member of the Italian Socialist Party
and editor of its newspaper Avanti, while the Nazi Party espoused a philosophy it
called National Socialism. To some extent, this represented a cynical attempt to
elicit support from urban workers. In a number of ways, capitalism and fascism
are incompatible. Firstly, it is because fascism places the community above the
individual while capitalism is based upon self-interest. Secondly, fascists despise
the materialism which capitalism fostered: the desire for wealth or profit ran
counter to the idealistic vision of national regeneration or world conquest which
inspired fascists. Thirdly, capitalism was thought to be ‘plutocratic’, dominated
by wealth and money, while fascists believed that leadership should be based
upon nobility, honor and sense of duty. Hence, fascist regimes were anti-
individualistic and anti-bourgeois. However, fascist socialism was also
profoundly anti-communist. It objectives was in part to seduce the working class
away from Marxism and Bolshevism, which preached the insidious, even
traitorous, idea of international working class solidarity, and upheld the misguided
values of cooperation and equality. Fascists were dedicated to national unity and
integration, they wished the allegiance of race or nation to be stronger that those
of social class.
e. Militant Nationalism
Fascist nationalism did not preach respect for distinctive cultures or national
traditions, but asserted the superiority of one nation or race over all others, most
boldly expressed in the ideas of Aryanism, the belief that the German people were
a ‘master race’. Fascism sought to achieve more than mere patriotism, the love of
one’s country; it wished to establish an intense and militant sense of national
identity, what has been called ‘integral nationalism’. Fascism embodied a sense of
messianic or fanatical mission: the prospect of national regeneration and the birth
of national pride. However, in practice, national regeneration meant the assertion
of power over other nations through expansionism, war and imperialism. For
example, Nazi Germany looked to build an empire in Eastern Europe; Italy sought
to found an African empire through the invasion of Abyssinia in 1934; and Japan
occupied Manchuria in 1931 and looked to found a ‘co-prosperity’ sphere in a
new Japan-led Asia.
‘War is to men what maternity is to women’- Benito Mussolini