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Fascism: Italian Fascism
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Fascism is right-wing, fiercely nationalist, subjectivist in philosophy, and totalitarian in practice. It is an extreme reactionary form of capitalist government. Fascism began in Italy (1922-43), Germany (1933-45), Spain (1939-75), and various other nations, starting generally in the time between the first and second world war. The origin of the term comes from the Italian word fascismo, derived from the Latin fasces (a bundle of elm or birch rods containing an ax: once a symbol of authority in ancient Rome). Benito Mussolini adopted the symbol as the emblem of the Italian Fascist movement in 1919.
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One of the main currents of Italian Fascism was the glorification of power and strength. This can be seen in the near-worship of all things martial within Fascism, and the emphasis on militarization and conquest. For example Fascist Italy believed in having an empire not only for economic reasons, but ... to return to Italy’s position of strength possessed during the Roman Empire. This glorification of strength and power can be witnessed in the status Mussolini possessed during his dictatorship. Referred to as “il duce” (“the leader”), Mussolini possessed a cult of personality that portrayed him as a figure similar to Nietzsche’s “Übermensch” (“Superman”, literally “over-man”, a figure superior to normal humans by virtue of being entirely his own master), and who would embody the collective will of the nation. Propaganda involving Mussolini would portray him in a strong, masculine, or messianic role (one author talked of Mussolini as “a Messiah”), and anything that could contradict this view of him would be censored.
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Fascism certainly had its critics in the 1920s and 1930s. Ernest Hemingway was skeptical of Mussolini almost from the start. Henry Miller disliked Fascism’s program but admired Mussolini’s will and strength. Some on the so–called Old Right, like the libertarian Albert J. Nock, saw Fascism as just another kind of statism. The nativist Ku Klux Klan—ironically, often called “American fascists” by liberals—tended to despise Mussolini and his American followers (mainly because they were immigrants). Interestingly, the hard left had almost nothing to say about Italian Fascism for most of its first decade.
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Fascism emphasizes nationalism, but its appeal has been international. It first flourished between 1919 and 1945 in several countries, mainly Italy, Germany, and Spain. In a narrow sense, the word Fascism applies only to the Italian party that originally coined it, but it has been expanded to cover any comparable political ideology. Japan similarly endured in the 1930s a militarist regime exhibiting strong fascist characteristics. Fascist regimes ... existed for varying lengths of time in many other countries. Even such liberal democracies as France and England had important fascist movements during the 1920s and 1930s.
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Italian Fascism began on the left, seeking to combine strong nationalism with modern developmentalism and an aggressive new style of activism that prized violence, idealism, and anti-materialism. While reenforcing Italian colonialism, Fascism originally embraced national liberation and rejected extreme imperialism and racism. Mussolini did not create the movement but skillfully guided himself to power as its Duce (Dux, or leader), at the same time moving the party to the right and engaging in practical compromise with Italy's established institutions. Though Fascists invented the term "totalitarian" for their new system, Mussolini was unable to complete a Fascist revolution and instead presided over a somewhat limited, semi-pluralist political dictatorship.
"Fascism is distinguished from the broader category of extreme right-wing politics by its willingness to defy public civility and openly violate the law. As such it represents a radical departure from the tradition of ultra-conservatism. The latter aims to preserve established social relations, through enforcement of law and reinforcement of authority. But the fascist organizations of Mussolini and Hitler, in their conquests of power, showed no reluctance to rupture peace and repudiate parliamentary and other institutions; the fascists employed terror against both the existing political structure and society at large. It is a common misconception of political science to believe, in the manner of amateur Marxists, that Italian fascists and Nazis sought maintenance of order, to protect the ruling classes. Both Mussolini and Hitler agitated against "the system" governing their countries.
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Italian Fascism