-Caveat Lector- >From http://condor.stcloud.msus.edu/~jaz/altruism/fascism.html Copyright �1998 Dr. C. Jazwinski FASCISM Fascism was an authoritarian political movement that developed in Italy and other European countries after 1919 as a reaction against the political and social changes brought about by World War I and the spread of socialism and communism. Its name was derived from the fasces, an ancient Roman symbol of authority consisting of a bundle of rods and an ax. Italian fascism was founded in Milan on Mar. 23, 1919, by Benito MUSSOLINI, a former revolutionary socialist leader. His followers, mostly war veterans, were organized along paramilitary lines and wore black shirts as uniforms. The early Fascist program was a mixture of left-and right-wing ideas that emphasized intense NATIONALISM, productivism, antisocialism, elitism, and the need for a strong leader. Mussolini's oratorical skills, the postwar economic crisis, a widespread lack of confidence in the traditional political system, and a growing fear of socialism, all helped the Fascist party to grow to 300,000 registered members by 1921. In that year it elected 35 members to parliament. Mussolini became prime minister in October 1922 following the "march on Rome" and 3 years of bloody violence. In 1926 he seized total power as dictator and ruled Italy until July 1943, when he was deposed. A puppet Fascist regime with Mussolini at its head nominally controlled northern Italy under the Germans until Mussolini's execution by partisans in 1945 (see ITALY, HISTORY OF). A neo-Fascist party, the Italian Social Movement, was founded after World War II, but its influence was small. The Philosophy of Fascism Fascist ideology, largely the work of the neoidealist philosopher Giovanni GENTILE, emphasized the subordination of the individual to a "totalitarian" state that was to control all aspects of national life. Violence as a creative force was an important aspect of the Fascist philosophy. A special feature of Italian fascism was the attempt to eliminate the class struggle from history through nationalism and the corporate state. Mussolini organized the economy and all "producers"--from peasants and factory workers to intellectuals and industrialists--into 22 corporations as a means of improving productivity and avoiding industrial disputes. Contrary to the regime's propaganda claims, the totalitarian state functioned poorly. Mussolini had to compromise with big business, the monarchy, and the Roman Catholic church. The Italian economy experienced no appreciable growth. The corporate state was never fully implemented, and the expansionist, militaristic nature of fascism contributed to imperialist adventures in Ethiopia and the Balkans and ultimately to World War II. The intellectual roots of fascism can be traced back to voluntaristic philosophers such as Arthur SCHOPENHAUER, Friedrich NIETZSCHE, and Henri BERGSON and to SOCIAL DARWINISM with its emphasis on the survival of the fittest. Its immediate roots, however, were in certain irrational, socialist, and nationalist tendencies of the turn of the century that combined in a protest against the liberal bourgeois ideas then holding sway in Western Europe. Gabriele D'ANNUNZIO, Georges SOREL, and Maurice BARRES were particularly influential. European Fascism Closely related to Italian fascism was German National Socialism, or NAZISM, under Adolf HITLER. It won wide support among the unemployed, the impoverished middle class, and industrialists who feared socialism and communism. In Spain the Falange Espanola (Spanish Phalanx), inspired by Mussolini's doctrines, was founded in 1933 by Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera (1903-36). During the SPANISH CIVIL WAR, the Falange was reorganized as the Falange Espanola Tradicionalista by Gen. Francisco FRANCO, who made it the official party of his regime. Of less importance were the Fascist movements in France and the British Union of Fascists under Sir Oswald MOSLEY. Fascist movements sprang up in many other European countries during the 1930s, including Romania (see IRON GUARD), Belgium, Austria, and the Netherlands. Fascist groups rose to power in many of the countries under German occupation during World War II. In France the VICHY GOVERNMENT of Marshal Philippe Petain was strongly influenced by the ACTION FRANCAISE, a movement that shared many ideas with fascism. The collaborationist Quisling government in occupied Norway also espoused a fascistlike ideology. The defeat of Italy and Germany in the war, however, spelled the end of fascism as an effective, internationally appealing mass movement. Reviewed by Philip Cannistraro Bibliography: Arendt, Hannah, The Origins of Totalitarianism, rev. ed. (1966); Blinkhorn, Martin, ed., Fascists and Conservatives (1990); Cassels, Alan, Fascist Italy, 2d ed. (1985); De Felice, Renzo, Interpretations of Fascism, trans. by Brenda Everett (1977); Gregor, James, Young Mussolini and the Intellectual Origins of Fascism (1979); Payne, Stanley G., Fascism: A Comparative Approach toward a Definition (1980); Smith, Dennis M., Mussolini (1982); Snowden, Frank, Fascist Revolution in Tuscany (1990); Sternhell, Zeev, et al., The Birth of Fascist Ideology (1994); Thurlow, Richard, C., Fascism in Britain (1987). Copyright 1995 by Grolier Electronic Publishing, Inc. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ >From http://www.publiceye.org/pra/eyes/whatfasc.html What is Fascism? Some General Ideological Features by Matthew N. Lyons I am skeptical of efforts to produce a "definition" of fascism. As a dynamic historical current, fascism has taken many different forms, and has evolved dramatically in some ways. To understand what fascism has encompassed as a movement and a system of rule, we have to look at its historical context and development--as a form of counter-revolutionary politics that first arose in early twentieth-century Europe in response to rapid social upheaval, the devastation of World War I, and the Bolshevik Revolution. The following paragraphs are intented as an initial, open-ended sketch. Fascism is a form of extreme right-wing ideology that celebrates the nation or the race as an organic community transcending all other loyalties. It emphasizes a myth of national or racial rebirth after a period of decline or destruction. To this end, fascism calls for a "spiritual revolution" against signs of moral decay such as individualism and materialism, and seeks to purge "alien" forces and groups that threaten the organic community. Fascism tends to celebrate masculinity, youth, mystical unity, and the regenerative power of violence. Often, but not always, it promotes racial superiority doctrines, ethnic persecution, imperialist expansion, and genocide. At the same time, fascists may embrace a form of internationalism based on either racial or ideological solidarity across national boundaries. Usually fascism espouses open male supremacy, though sometimes it may also promote female solidarity and new opportunities for women of the privileged nation or race. Fascism's approach to politics is both populist--in that it seeks to activate "the people" as a whole against perceived oppressors or enemies--and elitist--in that it treats the people's will as embodied in a select group, or often one supreme leader, from whom authority proceeds downward. Fascism seeks to organize a cadre-led mass movement in a drive to seize state power. It seeks to forcibly subordinate all spheres of society to its ideological vision of organic community, usually through a totalitarian state. Both as a movement and a regime, fascism uses mass organizations as a system of integration and control, and uses organized violence to suppress opposition, although the scale of violence varies widely. Fascism is hostile to Marxism, liberalism, and conservatism, yet it borrows concepts and practices from all three. Fascism rejects the principles of class struggle and workers' internationalism as threats to national or racial unity, yet it often exploits real grievances against capitalists and landowners through ethnic scapegoating or radical-sounding conspiracy theories. Fascism rejects the liberal doctrines of individual autonomy and rights, political pluralism, and representative government, yet it advocates broad popular participation in politics and may use parliamentary channels in its drive to power. Its vision of a "new order" clashes with the conservative attachment to tradition-based institutions and hierarchies, yet fascism often romanticizes the past as inspiration for national rebirth. Fascism has a complex relationship with established elites and the non-fascist right. It is never a mere puppet of the ruling class, but an autonomous movement with its own social base. In practice, fascism defends capitalism against instability and the left, but also pursues an agenda that sometimes clashes with capitalist interests in significant ways. There has been much cooperation, competition, and interaction between fascism and other sections of the right, producing various hybrid movements and regimes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Matthew N. Lyons is an independent scholar and freelance writer who studies reactionary and supremacist movements. His articles have appeared in the Progressive and other periodicals. These paragraphs are adapted from Too Close for Comfort: Right Wing Populism, Scapegoating, and Fascist Potentials in US Politics (Boston: South End Press, 1996), which Lyons co-authored with Chip Berlet. � 1995, Matthew N. Lyons. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now, in the true spirit of researching my recollection for specificity of information relating to "FASCISM", I naturally assumed that "National Socialism (NS)" (a 20s/30s/40s term from central Europe) might have something to do with 'fascism'. So, I went looking. And I found this site (that may or may not be representative), http://nsdap.fsn.net/ns.htm wherein is contained several many articles about "NS" from an apparent modern-day perspective. I choose not to produce examples therefrom as I'm not gonna get into some long, drawn out, controversial, misconstrued discussion of the merits of something that officially died some 54 years ago along with its founders (unless they made a break for Argentina or Paraguay). Anyway, for those who are interested, there's the URL. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ A<>E<>R The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority. -Thomas Huxley + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! 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