The Fascist Question: Part I

Fascism. We hear the term almost daily in the media by the paranoid and the uneducated for the purpose of hurling insults, but ask them what it *is* and you will most likely be disappointed with the answer. In modern times, we associate this complicated ideology with racism or xenophobia, but the consideration of fascism's origins, particularly the aims of Mussolini in Italy, renders these supposed synonyms unsatisfactory. In reality, fascism should be more associated with a national awakening, an ideological force that binds a country together through war and the desire to return a failing state to both past and future glory. Owing to its reputation in the modern world, fascism's rich historical development has been virtually forgotten beyond the academic sphere and while it may never be a cohesive political ideology, it nevertheless deserves more attention than its current pejorative status. This shall be our primary aim.

In one of my earliest posts, I warned of the difficulty in using a strict "left-right" characterization for political ideologies, particularly for those born in contemporary times. We shall discover that this is particularly important for defining fascism, whose characteristics traditionally associated with the "far right" are actually quite scattered among historical regimes identified as fascist. For example, Nazism, an offshoot of traditional fascism, is typically called the far-right, despite being strongly centrist in the socioeconomic spectrum (e.g. right in censorship and artistic control, but left in the state's intervention in the economy). This sort of confusion throughout the masses, exacerbated by the media, is a strong reason for fascism's elusive nature. Once more, history seems an appropriate remedy, as it will allow us to bring together the ideological and societal elements involved in its creation. Perhaps then, we can begin to place it on a more realistic and contemporary foothold.

The turn of the twentieth century was a major time period for political ideology. One the one hand, Europe was engulfed in a nationalist desire for expansion and the resurrection (or preservation) of the monarchical structures that for so long had given its constituent nations their cultural identity. On the other, social democracy was on the rise and Marx's economic theories of labor and denunciation of capitalism was spreading like wildfire. The bourgeoisie, the dominant social class in capitalist society, was on the rise and sparked considerable resistance from those (proletariat) who saw them as suppressors of social mobility. Truly, Europe had become the center of conflict between the left and right, between social liberalism and monarchical conservatism.

Pan-Germanism, the belief that all German-speaking countries should be brought under a single nation, was a particularly potent sentiment at the time of World War I. In many ways, this was a reaction to the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire after the Napoleonic Wars, a state that had kept Germany unified for over a thousand years. Otto von Bismarck would attempt a re-unification of German states in the late nineteenth century, but difficulties with Kaiser Wilhelm II, the last monarch of the German Kingdom, led to Bismarck's fall from political power. This, however, did not stop the desire for a Großgermanisches Reich and matters came to a head in the outbreak of the war. These hopes, of course, were demolished following Germany's catastrophic defeat. The monarchy was abolished, the Kaiser was forced to abdicate, and a leftist democracy known as the Weimar Republic was created in its place, largely at the mercy of the other European powers. German nationalism, for the moment, had suffered defeat.

Lenin amid the Revolution, dread of the German People

Germany's people would not deal well with this turn of events. The harsh demands placed upon the country by the rest of Europe added salt to the already-stinging wounds of humiliation. Germany had been forced to abandon its imperial government, but many people still desired the return of the monarchy. However, the temporary destruction of the conservative powers allowed for Marxism to begin spreading its influence in Germany, striking fear among the classes that stood to lose everything if the communists gained power. The Russian Revolution led by the Bolsheviks added a realistic possibility for a similar seizure of power in Germany. Nationalism and conservatism may have been defeated, but it was not destroyed. The people longed for an autocratic regime that would stand up to the other European powers who has been using the Treaty of Versailles to impose humiliating demands upon the defeated nation. The middle and upper class desired a government that would ensure the destruction of Bolshevism and the purge of the communists from German society. Such sentiment would sow the seeds for the rise of Nazism and Hitler.

This sort of nationalism and hatred of leftist policy was not limited to Germany. Indeed, Nazism was merely an offshoot of an ideology that had grown in Italy, the true birthplace of fascism. Italy was a rather young nation at the time of World War I, its unification having been achieved in 1861 as a constitutional monarchy. Leftist politics began to flourish in the decades to follow, with the Italian Socialist Party rising to prominence and supporting the communist movement in Russia. However, the socialists became divided as to Italy's intervention in the war, with many of their members seeing the war as an opportunity to destroy Italy's monarchy from within, paving the way for a communist revolution. Others, however, desired Italy's territorial expansion and began moving towards the political right of the government, in favor of interventionism. One man in favor of the latter soon found himself at odds with the Socialist Party and began paving the way for a new political awakening in Italy. This man was Benito Mussolini.

Like Adolf Hitler in Germany, Mussolini came from humble origins, being the son of a blacksmith and schoolteacher. From an early age, he had been strongly influenced by the socialist beliefs of his father and espoused socialist ideology in Italy and Switzerland as a writer and editor. An avid reader of Nietzsche and Machiavelli, he became quickly drawn to the idea of violent action as a means of achieving political success. It is likely that these ideas influenced his increasing support for Italy's participation in World War I, despite initial opposition. His support for the war eventually led to his break from the Italian Socialist Party in 1914, by which time he had largely abandoned its political platform. Mussolini would then serve in Italy's military until 1917, when an accidental mortar explosion had him discharged. Returning to civilian life, he had decided that the time had come for a new political movement to revive Italy.

The term "fascism" had been coined in 1914 by revolutionaries who sought to rally support for Italy's involvement in World War I. The term is derived from the fasces, the tightly-bound bundles of sticks that were carried by the consuls and dictators of ancient Rome, their traditional symbols of authority. However, it would not be until 1919 when Mussolini brought fascism into political light, forming a small paramilitary unit (the Blackshirts) to carry out attacks on socialists and further their political agenda. It was at this time that Mussolini sought to solidify the tenets of fascism, as outlined in the Fascist Manifesto, published a few months after the formation of the squadristi.

"Italian Fascism" would thus form the original doctrine from which all of its variants would follow and for this reason, understanding its fundamentals perhaps allows for one of the most realistic understandings of fascism in general. Contrary to popular belief, it was never conceived as a far-right movement--Mussolini often heralded it as the "Third Way", a compromise between socialist and capitalist doctrine, whose appeal to both sides of the socioeconomic spectrum would allow for a unified nation. Italian Fascism, in fact, should never be thought of as more than a center-right movement, though this interpretation rests partially on if one subscribes to a two-dimensional interpretation of the political spectrum (compass).

Without question (and indeed for the entirety of fascist doctrine), nationalism was perhaps the single most important element. Mussolini would frequently draw upon Italy as the cultural center of Europe, due to its influential history as the site of the former Roman Empire. The push for Italy to extend its influence over Mediterranean nations, often by conquest, was a primary aim during the fascist regime; its justification was based upon the belief that Italians were the cultural heirs of Europe and only by binding its people together, could this be achieved. Events of post World-War I partially influenced this belief. For example, in 1919 the literary poet Gabriele D'Annunzio seized a primarily Italian city in modern Croatia known as Fiume, out of anger for Italy's surrender of territories after the war. Declaring Fiume as a city-state, D'Annunzio briefly ruled in a traditional Roman style: he addressed his troops as "legionaries", gave the Roman salute, and referred to himself as Duce (leader). Such theatrics would greatly influence fascism's public presentation and added to its belief in returning to Italy's glorious past.

Benito Mussolini at a Rally

While nationalist sentiment created a right-wing stratification among Italy and her cultural rivals, Mussolini simultaneously sought to eliminate class conflict within the populace, believing it to be at odds with the goal of uniting the nation. The primary method of doing was through a state takeover of major industries and trade unions, under an economic philosophy known as corporatism. This was effectively the belief that national interests could be achieved by binding enterprise to the State, which resulted in an increased emphasis on central planning and the settling of disputes between businesses and trade unions by the government. Large businesses and industrialists were appeased through the abolition of certain taxes, outlawing unions, and removing workers' right to strike. State intervention in the economy helped to soften the blow of the Great Depression, though this may have been more due to the fact that Italy was largely an agrarian nation and simply did not have the capacity to be hit as hard as more industrial nations, such as Germany.

Large-scale public works programs also characterized many of the State's undertakings during Mussolini's reign as a means to provide mass employment, as well as bring about what was seen as a much-needed cultural awakening. This may have been inspired by Italy's Roman past, as the initiation of construction projects were often done for the sake of both highlighting the achievements of Roman politicians and to honor the Gods via remarkable cultural displays. Efforts of such magnitude were similarly done under the Fascist's so-called "Battle for Grain" and "Battle for Land", aimed at bolstering the agricultural sector by subsidizing farmers and resettling those in need on the newly-drained Pontine Marshes.

Such economic policies, seeking to appease both the entrepreneur and working class, largely accounted for the centrist nature of Fascist Italy. The nationalist desire to extend its cultural influence throughout Europe, often through conquest or other forms of subjugation, pushed it farther towards the socioeconomic Right. Thus, we should safely classify it on the horizontal axis of the political plane as Center-Right. What about the vertical?

Undoubtedly, the more controversial aspects of Fascism are its authoritarian elements. From its beginning, Fascist philosophy focused on the destruction of opposition, largely through violent intimidation, the censorship of public media, and widespread crackdowns on subversive political groups. This also included the overall aim to construct a single-party totalitarian state, under the rule of a dictatorial head of state. Despite the strong, modern connotations associated with totalitarianism, Italian Fascists espoused it as a means of achieving national unity in which the efforts of the people and their leader were synonymous with the desire to achieve greatness. Only by binding all societal aspects to the state could a nation achieve its maximum potential.

War was an integral part of the Fascist society; Mussolini described war as bringing

"up to their highest tension all human energies" and imposing "the stamp of nobility upon the peoples who have the courage to make it". In other words, it was among the highest events of human history, capable of forging powerful states through conquest and expansionism, as well as binding people together for a common purpose. This was not a particularly original viewpoint; much of previous human history has centered around conquest and the growth of empires, from the rule of the Caesars, to the Napoleonic Wars, to British Colonialism. Fascism simply sought to romanticize it in a modern fashion, seeing it as the solution to uniting people against the threats of socialism, pacifism, and liberalism.

Indeed, Fascism is highly anti-democratic and opposes most social elements of the Left. That is, it rejects egalitarianism (equality for all), parliamentary democracy, multi-party systems, freedom of the press, and often opposed women's rights (supporting conservative marriage structures). These ideas, it is believed, foster unnecessary diversity and create divisive, opposing factions among society. Fascism holds that only a strong state can secure the greatest prosperity for its citizens and considers the attempt to maximize liberty among a citizenry to be an illusion.

Multiculturalism likewise suffers under Fascism, for its nationalist philosophy fundamentally disregards the interests of foreign nations, particularly those that the State deems culturally subordinate or inferior. Xenophobia stems naturally from this viewpoint, though it should be noted that the degree to which it was implemented in the fascist states of World War II varied greatly, ranging from outright barbarism in Nazi Germany, to mere disdain in Fascist Italy (becoming worse only when Italy became a Nazi puppet state in later years). An equality among races and cultures, in fascist doctrine, is impossible if the nation state is to survive--one thus anticipates a hierarchy in the social order.

We shall now pause and direct further consideration to the second half of this post.