This is from the pamphlet by Trotsky - Fascism: What It Is And How to Fight It.
For me the fact the description of fascism as a mass movement is important.
A harsh military dictatorship can do a great deal to repress resistance. A
fascist government with supporters in your neighbourhood, on your block, can be
even more effective in suppressing resistance. It has eyes and ears, and
advocates, that reach into a neighbourhood in a way that the police and army
cannot.
ken h
https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/works/1944/1944-fas.htm
What is fascism? The name originated in Italy. Were all the forms of
counter-revolutionary dictatorship fascist or not (That is to say, prior to the
advent of fascism in Italy)?
The former dictatorship in Spain of Primo de Rivera, 1923–30, is called a
fascist dictatorship by the Comintern. Is this correct or not? We believe that
it is incorrect.
The fascist movement in Italy was a spontaneous movement of large masses, with
new leaders from the rank and file. It is a plebian movement in origin,
directed and financed by big capitalist powers. It issued forth from the petty
bourgeoisie, the slum proletariat, and even to a certain extent from the
proletarian masses; Mussolini, a former socialist, is a “self-made” man arising
from this movement.
Primo de Rivera was an aristocrat. He occupied a high military and bureaucratic
post and was chief governor of Catalonia. he accomplished his overthrow with
the aid of state and military forces. The dictatorships of Spain and Italy are
two totally different forms of dictatorship. It is necessary to distinguish
between them. Mussolini had difficulty in reconciling many old military
institutions with the fascist militia. This problem did not exist for Primo de
Rivera.
The movement in Germany is analogous mostly to the Italian. It is a mass
movement, with its leaders employing a great deal of socialist demagogy. This
is necessary for the creation of the mass movement.
The genuine basis (for fascism) is the petty bourgeoisie. In italy, it has a
very large base – the petty bourgeoisie of the towns and cities, and the
peasantry. In Germany, likewise, there is a large base for fascism ...
It may be said, and this is true to a certain extent, that the new middle
class, the functionaries of the state, the private administrators, etc., can
constitute such a base. But this is a new question that must be analyzed ...
In order to be capable of foreseeing anything with regard to fascism, it is
necessary to have a definition of that idea. What is fascism? What are its
base, its form, and its characteristics? How will its development take place?
It is necessary to proceed in a scientific and Marxian manner.
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