...------------------------------------------------- FASCISM ------------------------------------------------- Etymology The term fascismo is derived from the Latin word fasces. The fasces, which consisted of a bundle of rods that were tied around an axe which symbolises strength through unity: a single rod is easily broken, while the bundle is difficult to break. Moreover, Fasces was an ancient Roman symbol of the authority of the civic magistrate. They were carried by his lictors and could be used for corporal and capital punishment at his command. The word fascismo also relates to political organizations in Italy known as fasci, groups similar to guilds or syndicates. Definition +"Everything in the State, nothing outside the State, nothing against the State" - Mussolini +The only official definition of Fascism comes from Benito Mussolini, the founder of fascism, in which he outlines three principles of a fascist philosophy. 1."Everything in the state". The Government is supreme and the country is all-encompasing, and all within it must conform to the ruling body, often a dictator. 2."Nothing outside the state". The country must grow and the implied goal of any fascist nation is to rule the world, and have every human submit to the government. 3."Nothing against the state". Any type of questioning the government is not to be tolerated. If you do not see things our way, you are wrong. If you do not agree with the government, you cannot be allowed to live and...
Words: 3661 - Pages: 15
...The appeal of fascism is often wondered about and discussed when looking at fascism. Because of the historically savage fascist regimes, people tend to believe that fascism cannot reoccur and often don’t understand how, for example, the people of Germany were so easily swayed by the “obvious” Nazi regime. These ignorant people are usually the most susceptible to the transition to a fascist lifestyle. They never see the rise of fascism in their daily lives until it is too late due; they cannot conceive of any such rise. Because of their doubt and prejudice to fascism they become blind to their own fascism and the good it does. The prejudice that because they are so opposed to it, they will never become that which they hate. Fascism’s appeal branches into several categories: strength, community loyalty, change, and hate. The appeal of overall strength and domination draw many in who believe their country to be weak or timid. The population sees their nation as one that does not stand up for itself, does not have a strong economy, or strong military. Due to overwhelming patriotism and nationalism for their country, the people rally around emerging leaders who show an intense desire to strengthen the country and to restore it to its previous greatness. This is mainly due to discontent with the nation’s current state or how its current leaders run the country. The community aspect of fascism appeals to those in the lower working classes. They see themselves as on the outskirts of...
Words: 458 - Pages: 2
...How successful was Fascism in achieving its totalitarianism ambitions? The first time Mussolini used the term ‘totalitarian’ was in a speech at the Fascists Party’s fourth national congress in 1995*1 , he declared the ‘goal that is defined as our ferocious totalitarian will be pursued with even greater ferociousness’*1 . There is no doubt that Benito Mussolini was a very determined dictator. His aim was to create a long lasting Fascist Italy*1. In order to achieve his aim he required the total involvement and participation of every member of the state, in other words he needed to ‘Fascistize the masses’*1. Unfortunately Fascism was a very ambitious plan that failed to properly execute its aims*2. In order to delve deeper into the ways that Mussolini failed in his totalitarianism aims, we must first define what totalitarianism is. The essence of totalitarianism can be seen as a regime’s total control of the everyday life of its citizens, of its control, and more particularly of their thoughts and attitudes as well as their activities *3. A totalitarian dictatorship must have an elaborate ideology, a single mass party which is led by the ‘dictator’, a system of terror, near complete control over weapons of armed combat, control over all means of effective mass communication including the press, radio and cinema, and finally central control over the entire economy*3. While Mussolini dabbled in all of these areas he failed to execute them in an effective manner. It is interesting...
Words: 3158 - Pages: 13
...What is fascism? Fascism is a hard ideology to define because nearly every modern government or political movement has been called ‘fascist’ by somebody. (The writer has directly addressed the essay question in the topic sentence of the first paragraph, noting how it can be identified as being ambiguous, and how it is difficult to define.) I contend that fascism was a political movement unique to the early 20th century, especially in Europe, because its worldview was shaped by events and philosophical ideas from the late 19th century until the interwar period. (Evidence that the writer has considered the words meaning in terms of context and knowledge of what periods of time are referred as) Some people have called states like Saddam Hussein’s Iraq ‘fascist’, but I believe that there is a big difference between authoritarian dictatorship and genuine fascism. (Additional evidence of acquired knowledge, saying that it is the writer’s belief that there is a difference between the two terms ‘authoritarian dictatorship’ and ‘genuine fascism’.) So how did fascism originally develop? (There is a conversational tone, to the topic sentence of each paragraph, asking relevant key questions that the writer has considered. Note, how this afforded question is compatible with the main essay question. The conversational tone, is effective in portraying the fact that the writer has attempted to acquire and integrate knowledge. The first sentence of the second paragraph, has...
Words: 1564 - Pages: 7
...Wiki Loves Africa: share African cultural fashion and adornment pictures with the world! Fascism From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For the original version of the ideology developed in Italy, see Italian Fascism. For the book edited by Roger Griffin, see Fascism (book). "Fascist" redirects here. For the insult, see Fascist (insult). Part of a series on | Fascism | | Core tenets[show] | Topics[show] | Ideas[show] | People[show] | Literature[show] | Organizations[show] | History[show] | Lists[show] | Variants[show] | Related topics[show] | * Fascism portal * Politics portal | * v * t * e | Fascism /ˈfæʃɪzəm/ is a form of radical authoritarian nationalism[1][2] that came to prominence in early 20th-century Europe. Influenced by national syndicalism, fascism originated in Italy during World War I, in opposition to liberalism, Marxism, and anarchism. Fascism is usually placed on the far-right within the traditional left–right spectrum.[3][4] Fascists saw World War I as a revolution. It brought revolutionary changes in the nature of war, society, the state, and technology. The advent of total war and total mass mobilization of society had broken down the distinction between civilian and combatant. A "military citizenship" arose in which all citizens were involved with the military in some manner during the war.[5][6] The war had resulted in the rise of a powerful state capable of mobilizing millions of people to serve on the front lines or provide economic...
Words: 17730 - Pages: 71
...According to fascism, all the power is vested upon the government as the executive branch. Every other branch or institution is subject to the leader. Fascism is also in most cases in the need of an enemy, this is some specific group that people under this form of leadership focus and express their hatred and anger towards. In such a case such as the Germans focused their anger and hatred to the Jews and viewed them as an inferior race. Full control of the media is taken by the leadership as well as full power in arresting everyone who disagrees. This happens without any trial. Fascist states do whatever they want and the subjects are too afraid to resist the acts even if they are heinous. This happens with full control of the media, and this...
Words: 1710 - Pages: 7
...Fascism is defined as socialism with a capitalist veneer. It is centered around heritage, nationalism, militarism, corporatism, and anti-communism. Between the years of World War I and World War II, the concept of fascism became extremely popular; it was a global phenomenon and was demonstrated in countries worldwide. After facing a series of hardships in the early 1900’s, Portugal jumped on the bandwagon and turned towards fascism as a way to solve their problems. Between 1910 and 1926 Portugal had gone through eight presidents and forty-three ministries; the power was so unstable that the longest government of the republic lasted just slightly over a year. Around the same time, the country had faced extreme inflation and a massive devaluation in their currency…there needed to be a change. A coup d’état took place May 28, 1926. Led by General Manuel Gomes de Costa, a group of 15,000 men marched into the city of Lisbon with intent to demolish the country’s current republic. This national revolution was one of the main factors behind the initiation of dictatorship in Portugal. Antonio de Oliveira Salazar-a man recognized for his corporatism and nationalism-worked his way up from the country’s finance minister in 1928 to leading the Estado Nova in 1932, a right wing, authoritarian regime, known as the “New State” or “Second Republic” of Portugal. This authoritarian government was made up of a right-wing coalition. Moderates of almost every political current (with similar political...
Words: 608 - Pages: 3
...Fascism in the Twentieth Century; Hitler and Nazism ‘Fascism’ is one of the most controversial political terms in modern history. The lack of a universally accepted definition for the term has meant that it can and has been applied to a wide variety of political contexts. Fascism developed from the destruction caused by the First World War. Its origins can be traced, however, to the intellectual revolt against liberalism in Europe at the end of the nineteenth century. While there was a revolutionary reaction against the ideals of the French Revolution before 1914, it was the First World War which acted as a real catalyst for the emergence of fascism. The war swept away the Hohenzellern, Halsburg and Romanov dynasties in Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia respectively and sharpened class-consciousness (the idea of lower, middle and upper classes) and increased ethnic tensions, severely weakening the social fabric of many nations. Fascism, in part, was also the result of a reaction by the middle classes against the perceived communist threat caused by the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917. Fascism was the most severe reaction to the post-war political, social and national crisis. The First World War also had a positive significance on the rise of fascism. The survivors of the ‘lost generation,’ (the survivors of the First World War) had become disillusioned and embittered, and were attracted to the direct-action approach of fascist paramilitary organisations. This increased...
Words: 2340 - Pages: 10
...Fascism and The Political Spectrum In todays political world, most politicians and ideologues want to be as far removed from Fascism as is possible. Additionally, these same politicians often attempt to brand their opponents as fascists. This has resulted in fascism being used as more of a insult than an ideological identifier. This is not surprising given the unpopular nature of Fascism in modern society. That said, this name calling creates a great deal of confusion and can leave one wondering “Is Fascism Left or Right?” Fascism — a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism....
Words: 1042 - Pages: 5
...The foundational ideology and primary origins of fascism can be said to stem from absolutism. Absolutism was established to grant the monarchy full power over Europe which would centralize power with virtually no opposition, while fascism was the idea of awarding one leader with all power who would rule with no opposition. Absolutism and fascism were both undemocratic and anti-communist, however, Marxism in contrast, highlighted the importance of freedom and equal rights. In comparison, fascism and absolutism held similar views on religion. Both views held that church and politics should be separate, while maintaining the singular religious importance of the church. This paper will compare and contrast the power structure and views of religion of absolutism with...
Words: 1201 - Pages: 5
...The Positive Effects of Fascism Mussolini's march on Rome, the horrors of the Holocaust, Japanese extreme forms of nationalism, burning crosses and neo-Nazi skinheads; These moments are as haunting, and even fewer ideologies as malicious, as fascism. And yet, people are not aware of the progressive effects of fascism. There has never been a regime in history that has not had at least some positive effects to its credit, and fascism was no exception. Had it compiled only failures and crimes, it would have had to rest entirely on massive terror in order to stay in power, and this was clearly not the case. Fascism did in fact, satisfies certain needs and desires of wide sections of society and, at least in some respects, gained its support, respect, and even enthusiasm. Despite its violent ideals, people still attracted to fascism. It is known that fascism has a positive effect on the economy, a stronger nationality of people, and national safety and order Fascism is an ideological ideal in effect gave economic benefits to both the country and its citizens. A fascist government sets goals for consumer goods, capital formation, organizing production and determining income. Although a fascist government controls almost all aspects of the economy, there are many benefits to an economy that follows fascist policies. First of all, a fascist country faces no unemployment. All citizens in Italy during Benito Mussolini's rule had a job and an income. This made it easier for many families...
Words: 1719 - Pages: 7
...Compare and contrast Nazi and Italian Fascist views on race and national identity Despite both pertaining to the political ideology of fascism and sharing many similar characteristics, the regimes of Nazi Germany and Italy under Mussolini can be seen to differ slightly. One aspect where this becomes apparent is views on race; the differences in attitudes and policy with regards to race for both examples must be discussed as it provides a key distinction between Nazism and Italy’s own brand of Facismo. With regards to national identity, it is possible to concede that both regimes share similar characteristics; however they attempt to achieve their goals of national identity in fundamentally different ways. The central thesis of this paper will contend that Italian Fascism’s views on race contradict that of the Nazi’s, and that while similar aspects and views of national identity are held, there are differing means of establishing national identity. Moreover, this paper will illustrate that Nazism and Italian Fascism are in fact unique phenomena. Examples and evaluative comment will be provided in order to provide a clear comparison and distinction. Firstly, comparison between Italian and Nazi views on race must be discussed at they provide notable differentiation. Racial theory proved to be of paramount importance to 19th century German science and academics which strongly influenced Nazi ideology, ‘Volkish theorists found a theory of race in the writings of Kant which was...
Words: 2048 - Pages: 9
...Fascism and Antifac Orwell was among the first writer to recognize that the communism was not a revolutionary force, but conversely a new dangerous form of “totalitarianism”, a powerful tool for controlling the masses . While we see this playing out in the way the left-wing groups / organization like Antifa and the tactic that they deploy accordingly utilize on their opposition to the right-wing conservative movements. The Antifac is following what Orwell argued back in 1940 – “the autonomous individual is going to be stamped out of existence”. The theme of the destruction of the individual by the all-powerful state is the aim of the left-wing movement. Orwell, by 1942, had developed additional ideas, along with a growing fear that the...
Words: 352 - Pages: 2
...Amanda Kobner The Famous Magic Trick: Fascism Thomas Mann, a German novelist and author of Mario and the Magician, fled to Switzerland once the Nazis obtained power in 1933. Mann is known for his ironic and symbolic novels that analyze and criticize Europe. The government had led the people to believe that their country had been winning World War I, but many faced confusion and felt alienated when Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, fascism had risen in many European countries and seemed like the perfect solution to reinstate hope and encouragement back into the lives of the people. Mario and the Magician reflects the political state in Italy and Germany at this time, openly discussing the ideas behind a fascist government. Through the author’s use of figurative language, the reader can easily identify comparisons and contrasts of a fascist regime. Mario and the Magician is a story narrated by an individual who describes his family’s trip to Torre di Venere, Italy. From the onset of the story, the reader is exposed to similarities that exist between the narrator’s family and a fascist regime during the 1920s and 1930s. The narrator describes an ominous atmosphere in the town as his family feels unwelcome. He describes that the family feels uncomfortable from the beginning of their trip and “from the first moment the air of the place made [them] uneasy” (Mann 133). The Italian people are absorbed in nationalism and...
Words: 1439 - Pages: 6
...did not share their ideals. By 1922 Mussolini had enough power to demand representation in the actual government of the country. When this demand was turned down, Mussolini and his followers decided to make the challenge of force. On 28th October 1922 supporters of Mussolini converged on the city of Rome from various parts of the country, in what was to be called "La Marcia su Roma" (The March on Rome). King Victor Emanuel III and the army refused to resist them, and they enetered Rome unopposed. The King then asked Mussolini to form a government and assume the post of prime minister. This famous march on Rome heralded the rise of Fascism to importance in Italy. The fascist Party was formed in Milan by Mussolini in 1919 and its members were known as "camicie nere" (the Black Shirts), because of the black shirts they wore as uniforms. The word fascism is derived from the Latin "fasces", a bundle of rods round an axe which was carried before a magistrate in Ancient Rome, denoting authority, power and discipline. The term "fascio" was the Italian form of the word...
Words: 764 - Pages: 4
