Facism
Intro• Appears in 1890s-Fascia as political
• Given more solid meaning by Mussolini
• Strong Unified Community
• Revolt against western ideas from French Revolution onward
• Focus on Struggle, Leadership, Power, Heroism, and War
Bullet 1-Found in Italy, revolutionary socialistsBullet 2-Paramilitary Armed SquadsBullet 3- “Strength through unity” Individual must be absorbed completelyBullet 4-Popular Sov., Logic, Rationalism
Origins• Appear during the
World Wars
• Appears during 19th Century
• Democracy collapsed, replaced by fascism
Bullet 1- Germany and ItalyBullet 2- Fused by WWI
Origins• No single factor in creation
• New Democracy
• Society disrupted by industrialization
• Propertied class afraid of revolution
• WWI doesn’t fix things
• WWII overthrows fascist governments
Bullet 1b-Lower middle class hurt, membership drawBullet 1c-Blame the Russians Bullet 2-People are afraid of too much freedom, seeks stability in times of trouble
Core Themes
• Hard to define, no rational and coherent core
• Complex phenomenon to nail own due to short lived
• 5 Core themes have been agreed upon
1. Anti-Rationalism• Counter enlightenment/French
Revolution
• Vitalism- Character comes from “life force;” emphasis on instincts and impulse
• Fascism gives voice to anti-rationalism
Bullet 1-Human reason is limited, focus on more powerful urges/emotions
Anti-Rationalism• Anti-Intellectual-No abstract thinking
• Clear in what they oppose, not support
• Without reason, faith is placed elsewhere
• Strength of nation or race is reflection of moral and cultural unity
Bullet 1-“Action not talk” or “Inactivity is death.” MussoliniBullet 2- Link to conservatism. Could also be viewed as extreme nihilism Bullet 3- History, culture, and organic community
2. Struggle
• Social Darwinism places a role
• Only way the best will survive and prosper
• View war as good
Bullet 1- Human existence is based on competition and struggle (Leads to WWI)Bullet 3- “war is to men what maternity is to women” Mussolini
Struggle• Victory is worshiped, weakness is
despised
• Seen in eugenics
• Germany starting in 1939
• Life is a never ending struggle
• Goal of World Domination
Bullet 1- Rid society of the weak, Sacrifice for the common goodBullet 2- Selective Breeding for desirable traitsBullet 2b-forced sterilization, then exterminationsBullet 3- National qualities can only appear through struggle and victory
3. Leadership and Elitism
• Leadership and Elitism are naturally occurring
• Rare Quality
Bullet 1-Some lead, some follow
Leadership and Elitism• 3 Types of people in society
• Supreme Ruler
• Warrior Elite
• Masses
• Supreme leader is unquestionable
Bullet 1a- All seeing, unrivaled authorityBullet 1b- All male and distinguished by heroismBullet 1c- Weak, inert, and ignorant. Bullet 2-Adopts name like Fuhrer, Il Duce
Leadership and Elitism• Leader is viewed as uniquely gifted
• All authority comes from the leader
• All other forms were abolished
• Totalitarian Democracy
• Awaken people to their destiney
Bullet 1- Hitler’s speeches to the massesBullet 2- Guiding principleBullet 2a- No legislature or judiciaryBullet 3- People do hold elections
4. Socialism• Some socialist ideals work with fascism
• Socialists traditionally absorbed to court businesses
• Anti-communism more popular
• Solidarity is important unless it goes against the country
Bullet 1- Capitalism is bad, Collectivism is best, Policies to regulate or control economy.
5. Ultranationalism• Strongly expansionist
• States are not equal
• Intense sense of national identity
• Phoenix rising from the ashes
• Autarky is vital
Bullet 3-Integral Nationalism-BRING BACK NATIONAL PRIDEBullet 4- Reject modernness and bring back greatness of beforeBullet 5-Complete economic self sufficiency, requires expansion
Fascism and the State
• Germany and Italy best examples
• Two very different versions
• Statism vs Racism
Bullet 2- Statism-Italy, Racism-Germany
Totalitarian Ideal• Reached height during Cold War
• Extreme Collectivism
• Leader with unlimited authority
• Monistic System
• Unquestioning obedience and constant devotion
Bullet 2- Loyal, dedicated, and utterly obedient to the stateBullet 3- Politicize the masses (Active Participation and total commitment)Bullet 4-Single Value System and Single Truth
Totalitarian Ideal
• State is ethical
• State views as the means to an end
• Often control all parts of culture
Bullet 1- German Philosopher Hegel, Sympathy of its membersBullet 2- Power comes from the people, not the stateBullet 3- Media, art, education, youth groups, etc.
Corporatism
• Split between Capitalism and Socialism
• No free market, and no central planning
• Belief in business and labor are bound together
• Class relations mediated by state
Bullet 1- 3rd wayBullet 2- Unrestrained pursuit of profit and class warBullet 3- Social classes don’t conflict, work together towards common good of stateBullet 4- National interest takes priority and precedence
Modernization
• State viewed as a way to modernize
• All fascism looks backwards
• Italian Fascism looked towards the future
• Italian Fascism influenced by futurism
Bullet 1- Italy/MussoliniBullet 2- Italy, Imperial RomeBullet 3- Technology, Industrialization, etcBullet 4- Factories, machines, industry glorified
Fascism and Racism• Not all fascism is
racist
• Italy adopted voluntaristic views
• Racist ideas generally coincides
Bullet 1- Nazi Germany best exampleBullet 2- Loyalty to state more important than anything
Politics of Race• Focus on race appears during 19th
Century
• Most racist policies have anomalies
• Idea that there is innate differences in the races
• Imperialism justified by superiority
Bullet 1- Comes with imperialism. No scientific foundationBullet 2- Hitler wasn’t Aryan
Nazi Race Theories• Combo of anti-
semitism and Darwinism
• Nationalism and Imperialism increases Anti-semitism
Bullet 1-Anti-Semitism rooted in 19th Century Christian Europe
Nazi Race Theories• Jews viewed as race rather than
religious group
• Hierarchy of Races
• Different Qualities and Characteristics
• Aryans are most creative and developed
Bullet 2- Developed by Joseph-Arthur GobineauBullet 2b-Fundamentally basic and uncreative
Nazi Race Theories• Nazi’s blamed everything on the Jews
• Nazism broke races into 3 worlds
• Aryans
• Bearers of culture
• Jews
Bullet 1- WWI Loss, Jewish ran banks and caused problems economically, etcBullet 2a-Master CultureBullet 2b-Could use german stuff, but overall uncreativeBullet 2c-Destroyers of culture
Nazi Race Theories• Hitler held a
Manichaean worldview
• Germany could never be safe until Jews were gone
• Holocaust-6 million Jews
Bullet 1- Persian religions of good vs evil. Aryan good, Jews evil
Peasant Ideology• German
philosophy anti-modern
• Germans were suited to live on the land and physical labor
Peasant Ideology• Cities had undermined German spirit and
weakened racial stock
• Germans encourage traditions and craft skills
• Expansion needed to to give German people room
• Deep contradiction in reality
Bullet 4-Constantly bombard with technology and industry
Fascism in Global Age• In traditional sense, didn’t survive the
second half of 20th Century
• As economy stabilized and grew, Fascism disappeared
• Fascism did grow out of fall of communism
• Modern fascism may prosper if disavowing traditional elements
Bullet 1- Modernization and Globalization hurt severelyBullet 3- Yugoslavia and Genocide of MuslimsBullet 4- Overt Racism, totalitarianism, and absolute leadership