Italian fascism
Italian fascism (in
Italian,
fascismo) was the
authoritarian political movement which ruled
Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of
Benito Mussolini. Similar political movements, including
Nazism, spread across
Europe and
Latin America between
World War I and
World War II. Although
Fascism, strictly speaking, refers only to Italian fascism, the word is often used to describe similar ideologies and movements. Italian Fascism is often considered to be a proper noun and thus denoted by a capital letter "F", whereas generic fascism is conventionally represented with the lower-case character "f". Italian Fascism is considered a model for other forms of fascism, yet there is disagreement over which aspects of structure, tactics, culture, and ideology represent a "fascist minimum" or core.
Fascism in Italy combined elements of corporatism,
totalitarianism,
nationalism,
militarism and anti-Communism. In an article in the 1932
Enciclopedia Italiana, written by
Giovanni Gentile and attributed to
Benito Mussolini, fascism is described as a system in which "The State not only is authority which governs and molds individual wills with laws and values of spiritual life, but it is also power which makes its will prevail abroad... For the Fascist, everything is within the State and... neither individuals nor groups are outside the State... For Fascism, the State is an absolute, before which individuals or groups are only relative... Liberalism denied the State in the name of the individual; Fascism reasserts the rights of the State as expressing the real essence of the individual."
[1932 Enciclopedia Italiana]It discussed other political and social doctrines of the time by describing fascism as: "the resolute negation of the doctrine underlying so-called scientific and Marxian socialism... and as rejecting (in democracy) "the absurd conventional lie of political equalitarianism, the habit of collective irresponsibility, the myth of felicity and indefinite progress".
"Fascism is definitely and absolutely opposed to the doctrines of liberalism, both in the political and economic sphere. ... The Fascist State lays claim to rule in the economic field no less than in others; it makes its action felt throughout the length and breadth of the country by means of its corporate, social, and educational institutions, and all the political, economic, and spiritual forces of the nation, organised in their respective associations, circulate within the State."
Another central theme of Italian fascism was the struggle against what it described as the corrupt "
plutocracies" of the time, France and Britain in particular.
Gentile
A Doctrine of Fascism was written by
Giovanni Gentile, a
neo-Hegelian philosopher who served as the official philosopher of fascism. Mussolini signed the article and it was officially attributed to him. In it, French socialists
Georges Sorel,
Charles Peguy, and
Hubert Lagardelle were invoked as the sources of fascism. Sorel's ideas concerning
syndicalism and violence are much in evidence in this document. It also quotes from
Ernest Renan who it says had "pre-fascist intuitions". Both Sorel and Peguy were influenced by the Frenchman
Henri Bergson. Bergson rejected the
scientism, mechanical evolution and
materialism of
Marxist ideology. Also, Bergson promoted
élan vital as an evolutionary process. Both of these elements of Bergson appear in fascism. Mussolini states that fascism negates the doctrine of Marxist socialism and its doctrine of
historical materialism. Hubert Lagardelle, an authoritative syndicalist writer, was influenced by
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon who, in turn, inspired
anarchosyndicalism.
Rerum Novarum, reaction to communism
The fascist concept of
corporatism and particularly its theories of
class collaboration and economic and social relations have similarities to the model laid out by
Pope Leo XIII's
1892 encyclical Rerum Novarum. This encyclical addressed politics as it had been transformed by the
Industrial Revolution, and other changes in society that had occurred during the nineteenth century. The document criticized capitalism, complaining of the exploitation of the masses in industry. However, it also sharply criticized the Marxist concept of
class struggle, and the proposed socialist solution to exploitation (the elimination, or at least the limitation, of private property).
Rerum Novarum called for strong governments to undertake a mission to protect their people from exploitation, while continuing to uphold private property and reject socialism. It also asked
Catholics to apply principles of social justice in their own lives.
Seeking to find some principle to compete with and replace the Marxist doctrine of
class struggle,
Rerum Novarum urged social solidarity between the upper and lower
classes. Its analogy of the state as being like a body working together as "one mind" had some cultural influence on the early Fascists of Catholic nations. It also indicated the state had a right to suppress "firebrands" and striking workers. Further
Rerum Novarum proposed a kind of
corporatism that resembled medieval guilds for an industrial age. This relates far more directly to
Brazilian Integralism form of Fascism than anything in Italy. The encyclical intended to counteract the "subversive nature" of both
Marxism and
liberalism.
Themes and ideas developed in
Rerum Novarum can also be found in the ideology of fascism as developed by Mussolini. Although it also contains ideas like "the members of the working classes are citizens by nature and by the same right as the rich" or "the State has for its office to protect natural rights, not to destroy them; and, if it forbid its citizens to form associations, it contradicts the very principle of its own existence," that never fit easily with Italian Fascism.
Syndicalism and socialism
Fascism also borrowed from
Gabriele D'Annunzio's
Charter of Carnaro for his ephemeral
Regency of Carnaro in the city of
Fiume.
Sergio Panunzio, a major theoretician of fascism in the 1920s, had a
syndicalist background, but his influence waned as the movement shed all connection to the working-class autonomy of syndicalism.
Syndicalism had a strong influence on fascism as well, particularly as some syndicalists intersected with D'Annunzio's ideas. Before the First World War, syndicalism had stood for a militant doctrine of working-class revolution. It distinguished itself from Marxism because it insisted that the best route for the working class to liberate itself was the
trade union rather than the party.
The
Italian Socialist Party ejected the syndicalists in 1908. The syndicalist movement split between
anarcho-syndicalists and a more moderate tendency. Some moderates began to advocate "mixed syndicates" of workers and employers. In this practice, they absorbed the teachings of Catholic theorists and expanded them to accommodate greater power of the state, and diverted them by the influence of D'Annunzio to nationalist ends.
When
Henri De Man's Italian translation of
Au-dela du marxisme emerged, Mussolini was excited and wrote to the author that his criticism "destroyed any scientific element left in Marxism". Mussolini was appreciative of the idea that a corporative organization and a new relationship between labour and capital would eliminate "the clash of economic interests" and thereby neutralize "the germ of class warfare.'"
Socialist thinkers,
Robert Michels, Sergio Panunzio,
Ottavio Dinale,
Agostino Lanzillo,
Angelo Oliviero Olivetti,
Michele Bianchi, and
Edmondo Rossoni played a part in this attempt to find a
third way that rejected both capitalism and Marxism.
Early history
Rise to power
Many historians claim that the
March 23 1919 meeting at the Piazza San Sepolcro was the historic "birthplace" of the fascist movement. However, this would imply that the Italian Fascists "came from nowhere" which could be considered false. Mussolini revived his former group,
Fasci d'Azione rivoluzionaria, in order to take part in the 1919 elections in response to an increase in Communist activity occurring in Milan. The
Fasci di Combattimenti were the result of this continuation (not creation) of the Fascist party. The result of the meeting was that Fascism became an organized political movement. Among the founding members were the revolutionary syndicalist leaders Agostino Lanzillo and Michele Bianchi.
In 1919, the fascists developed a program that called for:
* a
democratic republic,
*
separation of church and state,
* a national army,
*
progressive taxation for inherited wealth, and
* development of co-operatives or guilds to replace labor unions.
As the movement evolved, several of these initial ideas were abandoned and rejected.
Mussolini capitalized on fear of a Communist revolution
[ ], finding ways to unite Labor and Capital to prevent
class war. In 1926 he created the National Council of Corporations, divided into guilds of employers and employees, tasked with managing 22 sectors of the economy. The guilds subsumed both labor unions and management, and were represented in a chamber of corporations through a triad comprised of a representative from management, from labour and from the
Partito Nazionale Fascista. Together they would plan aspects of the economy for mutual advantage. The movement was supported by small
capitalists, low-level
bureaucrats, and the
middle classes, who had all felt threatened by the rise in power of the Socialists. Fascism also met with great success in rural areas, especially among farmers, peasants, and in the city, the
lumpenproletariat.
Establishment of the Fascist state
Mussolini's fascist state was established nearly a decade before Hitler's rise to power (1922 and the
March on Rome). Both a movement and a historical phenomenon, Italian Fascism was, in many respects, an adverse reaction to both the apparent failure of
laissez-faire economics and fear of Communism.
Fascism was, to an extent, a product of a general feeling of anxiety and fear among the middle class of postwar Italy. This fear arose from a convergence of interrelated economic, political, and cultural pressures. Under the banner of this authoritarian and nationalistic ideology, Mussolini was able to exploit fears regarding the survival of capitalism in an era in which postwar depression, the rise of a more militant left, and a feeling of national shame and humiliation stemming from Italy's 'mutilated victory' at the hands of the World War I postwar peace treaties seemed to converge. Such unfulfilled nationalistic aspirations tainted the reputation of
liberalism and
constitutionalism among many sectors of the Italian population. In addition, such democratic institutions had never grown to become firmly rooted in the young
nation-state.
This same postwar depression heightened the allure of Marxism among an urban proletariat who were even more disenfranchised than their continental counterparts. But fear of the growing strength of
trade unionism, Communism, and socialism proliferated among the
elite and the middle class. In a way, Benito Mussolini filled a political vacuum. Fascism emerged as a "third way" — as Italy's last hope to avoid imminent collapse of the 'weak' Italian liberalism, and Communist revolution.
In this fluid situation, Mussolini took advantage of the opportunity and, rapidly abandoning the early socialist and republican program, put himself at the service of the antisocialist cause. The fascist militias, supported by the wealthy classes and by a large part of the state apparatus which saw in him the restorer of order, launched a violent offensive against the syndicalists and all political parties of a socialist or Catholic inspiration, particularly in the north of Italy (Emiglia Romagna, Toscana, etc.), causing numerous victims though the substantial indifference of the forces of order. These acts of violence were, in large part, provoked by fascist
squadristi who were increasingly and openly supported by
Dino Grandi, the only real competitor to Mussolini for the
leadership of the fascist party until the Congress of Rome in 1921.
The violence increased considerably during the period from 1920-1922 until the March on Rome. Confronted by these badly armed and badly organized fascist militias attacking the Capital,
King Victor Emmanuel III, preferring to avoid any spilling of blood, decided to appoint Mussolini, who at that moment had the support of about 22 deputies in Parliament,
President of the Council. Victor Emmanuel continued to maintain control of the armed forces: if he had wanted to, he would have had no difficulties in booting Mussolini and the completely inferior fascist forces out of Rome. Therefore, it is not appropriate to refer to Mussolini's rise as a "coup d'etat" since he obtained his post legally with the blessing of the sovereign of the nation.
Rule
As Prime Minister, the first years of Mussolini's reign were characterized by a coalition government composed of nationalists, liberals and populists and did not assume dictatorial connotations until the assassination of
Matteotti. In domestic politics, Mussolini favoured the complete restoration of State authority, with the integration of the
Fasci di Combattimento into the armed forces (the foundation in January 1923 of the
Milizia Voluntaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale) and the progressive identification of the Party with the State. In political and social economy, he emanated legislation that favoured the wealthy industrial and agrarian classes (privatizations, liberalizations of rent laws and dismantlement of the unions).
In June of 1923, a new majoritarian electoral law was approved which assigned two thirds of the seats in Parliament to the coalition which had obtained at least 25% of the votes. This law was punctually applied in the elections of
6 April 1924, in which the fascist "listone" obtained an extraordinary success, aided by the use of shenanigans, violence and intimidatory tactics against opponents.
The assassination of the socialist deputy
Giacomo Matteotti, who had requested the annulment of the elections because of the irregularities committed, provoked a momentary crisis of the Mussolini government. The weak response of the opposition (the
Aventine secession), incapable of transforming their posturing into a mass antifascist action, was not sufficient to distance the ruling classes and the Monarchy from Mussolini who, on
3 January 1925, broke open the floodgates and, in a famous discourse in which he took upon himself all of the responsibility for the assassination of Matteotti and the other squadrist violence, proclaimed a
de facto dictatorship, suppressing every residual liberty and completing the identification of the Fascist Party with the State.
From 1925 until the middle of the 1930's, fascism experienced little and isolated opposition, although that which it experienced was memorable, consisting in large part of communists such as
Antonio Gramsci, socialists such as
Pietro Nenni and liberals such as
Piero Gobetti and
Giovanni Amendola.
While failing to outline a coherent program, fascism evolved into a new political and economic system that combined corporatism, totalitarianism, nationalism, and anti-Communism in a state designed to bind all classes together under a capitalist system. This was a new capitalist system, however, one in which the state seized control of the organization of vital industries. Under the banners of nationalism and state power, Fascism seemed to synthesize the glorious Roman past with a futuristic utopia.
Despite the themes of social and economic reform in the initial
Fascist manifesto of June 1919, the movement came to be supported by sections of the middle class fearful of socialism and communism. Industrialists and landowners supported the movement as a defense against labour militancy. Under threat of a fascist
March on Rome, in October 1922, Mussolini assumed the premiership of a right-wing coalition
Cabinet initially including members of the pro-church
Partito Popolare (People's Party).
The
regime's most lasting political achievement was perhaps the
Lateran Treaty of February 1929 between the Italian state and the
Holy See. Under this treaty, the
Papacy was granted temporal sovereignty over the
Vatican City and guaranteed the free exercise of Roman Catholicism as the sole state religion throughout Italy in return for its acceptance of Italian sovereignty over the Pope's former dominions.
In the 1930s, Italy recovered from the
Great Depression, and achieved economic growth in part by developing domestic substitutes for imports (
Autarchia). The draining of the malaria-infested Pontine Marshes south of Rome was one of the regime's proudest boasts. But growth was undermined by international sanctions following Italy's October 1935 invasion of
Ethiopia (the
Abyssinia crisis), and by the government's costly military support for Franco's Nationalists in
Spain.
Invasion of Ethiopia
|
La Difesa della razza ("The Defence of the Race"), cover of the eponym magazine, September 1938. The anti-Semitic aspects of Fascism were frequently seen in the media. |
The invasion of Ethiopia was accomplished rapidly (the proclamation of Empire took place in May of 1936) and involved several atrocities such as the use of
chemical weapons (
mustard gas and
phosgene) and the indiscriminate slaughter of much of the local population to prevent opposition.
The armed forces disposed of a vast arsenal of grenades and bombs loaded with mustard gas which were dropped from airplanes. This substance was also sprayed directly from above like an "insecticide" on to enemy combatants and villages. It was Mussolini himself who authorized the use of the weapons: "Rome,
27 October '35. A.S.E. Graziani. The use of gas as an
ultima ratio to overwhelm enemy resistance and in case of counterattack is authorized. Mussolini." "Rome,
28 December '35. A.S.E. Badoglio. Given the enemy system I have authorized V.E. the use even on a vast scale of any gas and flamethrowers. Mussolini." Mussolini and his generals sought to cloak the operations of chemical warfare in the utmost secrecy, but the crimes of the fascist army were revealed to the world through the denunciations of the International Red Cross and of many foreign observers. The Italian reaction to these revelations consisted in the "erroneous" bombardment (at least 19 times) of Red Cross tents posted in the areas of military encampment of the Ethiopian resistance. The orders imparted by Mussolini, with respect to the Ethiopian population, were very clear: "Rome,
5 June 1936. A.S.E. Graziani. All rebels taken prisoner must be killed. Mussolini." "Rome,
8 July 1936. A.S.E. Graziani. I have authorized once again V.E. to begin and systematically conduct a politics of terror and extermination of the rebels and the complicit population. Without the
legge taglionis one cannot cure the infection in time. Await confirmation. Mussolini."
The predominant part of the work of repression was carried out by Italians who, besides the bombs laced with mustard gas, instituted forced labor camps, installed public gallows, killed hostages, and mutilated the corpses of their enemies. Graziani ordered the elimination of captured guerrillas by way of throwing them out of airplanes in mid-flight. Many Italian troops had themselves photographed next to cadavers hanging from the gallows or hanging around chests full of detached heads. One episode in the Italian occupation of Ethiopia was the slaughter of Addis Ababa of February, 1937 which followed upon an attempt to assassinate Graziani. In the course of an official ceremony a bomb exploded next to the general. The response was immediate and cruel. The thirty or so Ethiopians present at the ceremony were impaled, and immediately after, the black shirts of the fascist Militias poured out into the streets of Addis Ababa where they tortured and killed all of the men, women and children that they encountered on their path. They also set fire to homes in order to prevent the inhabitants from leaving and organized the mass executions of groups of 50-100 people.
World War II
International isolation and their common involvement in Spain brought about increasing diplomatic collaboration between Italy and
Nazi Germany. This was reflected also in the Fascist regime's domestic policies as the first
anti-semitic laws were passed in 1938. From that year on, with the publication of the
Manifesto degli scienziati razzisti (Manifesto of the Racist Scientists) (in reality about 90% written by Mussolini himself), fascism declared itself explicitly anti-Semite.
Italy's intervention (
June 10 1940) as Germany's ally in World War II brought military disaster, and resulted in the loss of her north and east African colonies and the
American-
British-
Canadian invasion of Sicily in July 1943 and southern Italy in September 1943.
Mussolini was dismissed as prime minister by Victor Emmanuel III on
July 25th 1943, and subsequently arrested. He was freed in September by German paratroopers under command of
Otto Skorzeny and installed as head of a puppet "
Italian Social Republic" at
Salo in German-occupied northern Italy. His association with the German occupation regime eroded much of what little support remained to him. His summary execution on
April 28th
1945 during the war's violent closing stages by the
northern partisans was widely seen as a fitting end to his regime.
After the war, the remnants of Italian fascism largely regrouped under the banner of the neo-Fascist "
Italian Social Movement" (MSI). The MSI merged in 1994 with conservative former
Christian Democrats to form the
"National Alliance" (AN), which proclaims its commitment to
constitutionalism,
parliamentary government and political pluralism.
Fascism did not spring forth full-grown, and the writings of Fascist theoreticians cannot be taken as a full description of Mussolini's ideology, let alone how specific situations inevitably resulted in deviations from ideology. Mussolini's policies drew on both the history of the Italian nation and the philosophical ideas of the 19th century. What resulted was neither logical nor well defined, to the extent that Mussolini defined it as "action and mood, not doctrine".
Nonetheless, certain ideas are clearly visible. The most obvious is nationalism. The last time Italy had been a great nation was under the banner of the
Roman Empire and Italian nationalists always saw this as a period of glory. Given that even other European nations with imperial ambitions had often invoked ancient Rome in their foreign policy, architecture and vocabulary, it was perhaps inevitable that Mussolini would do the same. This included creating a new Roman empire, demolishing medieval Rome to create grand vistas of ancient monuments (eg connecting
Piazza Venezia and the
Colosseum with the
Via dei Fori Imperiali), co-opting original sites (eg the
Ara Pacis) and using ancient Roman architectural styles, with or without a modern twist (eg the
Museum of Roman Civilization at the
EUR).
Following the
fall of the Western Roman Empire, Italy had not again been united until its final
unification in 1870. Mussolini desired to affirm an Italian national identity and therefore saw the unification as the first step towards returning Italy to greatness and often exploited the unification and the achievements of leading figures such as
Garibaldi to induce a sense of Italian national pride.
The Fascist cult of national rebirth through a strong leader has roots in the
romantic movement of the 19th century, as does the glorification of war. For example, the loss of the war with
Abyssinia had been a great humiliation to Italians and consequently it was the first place targeted for Italian expansion under Mussolini.
Not all ideas of fascism originated from the 19th century. For example, the use of systematic
propaganda to pass on simple slogans such as "believe, obey, fight" and Mussolini's use of the
radio both were techniques developed in the 20th century under the influence of the artistic and literary movement called
futurism. Futurism was an early twentieth century intellectual movement in Italy which forcefully emphasized three main ideas:
technology,
speed, and
violence. Similarly, Mussolini's corporate state was a distinctly 20th-century creation.
*
Me ne frego, literally "I frig myself about it," closer, in meaning, to "I don't give a damn": the Italian Fascist
motto. Best rendered, "I couldn't give a fuck."
*
Libro e moschetto - fascista perfetto, "The book and the musket - make the perfect Fascist."
*
Viva la Morte, "Long live death (sacrifice)."
* The above mentioned
Tutto nello Stato, niente al di fuori dello Stato, nulla contro lo Stato, "Everything in the State, nothing outside the State, nothing against the State."
*
Credere, Obbedire, Combattere ("Believe, Obey, Fight")
References
*"Labor Charter" (1927-1934)
*
Mussolini, Benito.
Doctrine of Fascism which was published as part of the entry for
fascismo in the
Enciclopedia Italiana 1932.
*
Sorel, Georges.
Reflections on Violence.
General
*
De Felice, Renzo Interpretations of Fascism, translated by Brenda Huff Everett, Cambridge ; London : Harvard University Press, 1977 ISBN 0674459628.
*Eatwell, Roger. 1996.
Fascism: A History. New York: Allen Lane.
*Hughes, H. Stuart. 1953.
The United States and Italy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
*Mises, Ludwig von. 1944.
Omnipotent Government: The Rise of the Total State and Total War. Grove City: Libertarian Press.
*Paxton, Robert O. 2004.
The Anatomy of Fascism. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, ISBN 1400040949
*Payne, Stanley G. 1995.
A History of Fascism, 1914-45. Madison, Wisc.: University of Wisconsin Press ISBN 0299148742
*Reich, Wilhelm. 1970.
The Mass Psychology of Fascism. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
*
Seldes, George. 1935.
Sawdust Caesar: The Untold History of Mussolini and Fascism. New York and London: Harper and Brothers.
*
Alfred Sohn-Rethel Economy and Class Structure of German Fascism,London, CSE Bks, 1978 ISBN 0906336007
Fascist ideology
*
De Felice, Renzo Fascism : an informal introduction to its theory and practice, an interview with Michael Ledeen, New Brunswick, N.J. : Transaction Books, 1976 ISBN 0878551905.
*Fritzsche, Peter. 1990.
Rehearsals for Fascism: Populism and Political Mobilization in Weimar Germany. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195057805
*
Griffin, Roger. 2000. "Revolution from the Right: Fascism," chapter in David Parker (ed.)
Revolutions and the Revolutionary Tradition in the West 1560-1991, Routledge, London.
*
Laqueur, Walter. 1966.
Fascism: Past, Present, Future, New York: Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
*
Schapiro, J. Salwyn. 1949.
Liberalism and The Challenge of Fascism, Social Forces in England and France (1815-1870). New York: McGraw-Hill.
*Laclau, Ernesto. 1977.
Politics and Ideology in Marxist Theory: Capitalism, Fascism, Populism. London: NLB/Atlantic Highlands Humanities Press.
*
Sternhell, Zeev with Mario Sznajder and Maia Asheri. [1989] 1994.
The Birth of Fascist Ideology, From Cultural Rebellion to Political Revolution., Trans. David Maisei. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
International fascism
*
Coogan, Kevin. 1999.
Dreamer of the Day: Francis Parker Yockey and the Postwar Fascist International. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Autonomedia.
* Griffin, Roger. 1991.
The Nature of Fascism. New York: St. Martin's Press.
* Paxton, Robert O. 2004.
The Anatomy of Fascism. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
*
Weber, Eugen. [1964] 1985.
Varieties of Fascism: Doctrines of Revolution in the Twentieth Century, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, (Contains chapters on fascist movements in different countries.)
* Wallace, Henry.
"The Dangers of American Fascism".
The New York Times, Sunday,
9 April 1944.
External links
*
Fascism and Zionism - From The Hagshama Department - World Zionist Organization*
Fascism Part I - Understanding Fascism and Anti-Semitism*
The Functions of Fascism a radio lecture by
Michael Parenti*
Manifest of the Scientific Racists (in Italian)Anti-fascist websites
*
British anti-fascist website *
The Political Economy of Fascism - From Dave Renton's anti-fascist website*
Antifašistická Akcia Bratislava-Antifascism Action Brataslava. Slovak anti-facism websiteLibertarian and Paleoconservative websites
*
The Problem of Fascism by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
*
Liberalism vs. Fascism by Roderick T. Long
*
The Economics of Fascism, Supporters Summit 2005,
October 7-8, 2005, Mises Institute, Auburn, Alabama.
*
Economic Fascism by Thomas DiLorenzo
*
Fascism by Sheldon Richman - discusses economic fascism
Proponents
*
The Doctrine of Fascism by Benito Mussolini (complete text)
