To what extent is fascism a product of the failure of modern politics? Is fascism still a threat to western society in the 21st century?
When democracy breaks down, people turn to extreme forms of government. Europe between World War I and World War II experienced a phenomenal growth in the popularity of extreme right wing political parties, particularly Benito Mussolini’s Fascismo movement in Italy and Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party in Germany.
The rise of Fascism in Italy is commonly attributed to the failure of democratic government, Italian liberalism and a fear of Bolshevism after the Russian revolution of 1917 (Linz 1998, pp.177-178). However, long before World War I and long before the threat of Bolshevism, Italian Fascism found support from farmers on large agricultural estates.
Corner points out that violence and unrest had been commonplace on these estates as far back as 1880. Peasant workers lived and worked in subhuman conditions, and to the landowners the threat of rebellion was never far away. The failure of the Italian government to respond to regular shootings of rebellious peasants by landowners led to massive anti-government and anti-state sentiment among the peasants. The state and its institutions seemed distant and irrelevant, and this problem worsened as the years went on. Mussolini’s fascist party appealed to the angry and alienated peasants, promising them better treatment, and won enormous support (Corner 2002, pp.277-278).
The liberal Italian government of the early 20th century had allowed class divisions in Italian society to grow, between peasants and landowners in the countryside and between the working class and the middle class bourgeois in the cities. Mussolini promised to unite Italian society...
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... Democracy After the First World War”, International Fascism: Theories, Causes and the New Consensus, London, pp. 177-178
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These were pivotal times in the annals of world history in the 20th century. Mussolini and Hitler’s rise to power was clearly a threat to the freedoms of the United States and its Allies. Through God’s grace and omnipotence, the US alliance, industrialization and intellectual might, we had the resources required to overcome the fierce and mighty threat of Fascism in the Free World.
Gottfried, Ted, and Stephen Alcorn. Nazi Germany: The Face of Tyranny. Brookfield, CT: Twenty-First Century, 2000. Print.
Ginsborg P (1990). ‘A History of Contemporary Italy: Society and Politics: 1943-1980’ Published by Penguin; Reprint edition (27 Sep 1990).
To understand why Fascism gained such popularity after WWI, it is essential to find a working definition of what Fascism actually is. According to Benito Mussolini and his document What is Fascism, Fascism is “the conception of the state, its character, its duty, and its aim.” It is concerned primarily and totally with the affairs of state rather than those of the individual. The chief duty of a man in a Fascist nation is to do what he can to elevate the state to higher power or assist the state in whatever means necessary in its goals. As is evident to anyone studying this period in history, Fascism “repudiates the doctrine of Pacifism…” meaning that it is most certainly not afraid to use force or war to accomplish its objectives. A Fascist, especially a male Fascist, aspires to be a hero to his country and an ally to the state or nation of which he is a part. A woman ...
In today's society if there was another depression like in the 1920's, and 1930's, it would take a lot for this world to turn to fascism. We have seen what happened in the past, and I don't think that anyone would want to repeat it. There would have to be a lot of hunger, and loss of jobs. The only ways fascism could happen is if there was nowhere else to turn. With the world today I think we have many options to choose from before we will ever have to face fascism again.
7 May 2010 “Fascism in Germany and Italy.” Online Essays. 10 July 2007. 7 May 2010 “Italian Fascism.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.
The ideologies of the Axis Powers were brief excerpts that gave us a small glimpse into the mind and thought processes of Adolf Hitler as well as the fundamental thinking patterns of the Japanese authoritarian regime. The questions that will be addressed in this essay are: From what concrete conditions did the ideas expressed in these documents arise? Why did they achieve such widespread popularity? To what extent might persons even in the Western democracies find such ideas persuasive in the 1930’s?
Mussolini, Benito. “The Political and Social Doctrine of Fascism.” The Human Record . By Alfred J. Andrea and James H. Overfield. Vol. 2. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2011. 2 vols. 399-400.
militaristic government" (Webster's). March 23, 1919 marked the ascension of the Fascist party in Italy. For many, young Benito Mussolini was a symbol of law and order in a time of political and social turmoil. Mussolini's "Fasci di Combattimento", the re-organization of his Fascia group, was accepted and admired by all, especially those Italians longing for the end of unemployment, inflation, and the fear of a communist revolution. In Italy, many members of the government, as well as a few aspects of society, gained from Fascism. However, despite those who gained, more Italians suffered as a result of Fascist government.
Mussolini’s population policy was a clear effort to exercise his authoritarian control over the people of Italy, regulating the most personal and private details of their lives. In his bid for complete control, he used new laws, propaganda, and sometimes brutal tactics in order for his wishes to be recognized. It is during the 1920’s to the 1940’s that totalitarian control over the state escalated into full dictatorships, with the wills of the people being manipulated into a set of beliefs that would promote the fascist state and “doctrines.”
In the late 1930s complaisant European nations were lulled into the jaws of the very dangerous “victim/slave mentality.” Weak democracies tried placating and accommodating the tyrannical proponents of the Communist, Socialist and Fascist ideologies and Europe soon found itself in jeopardy with maniacs like Stalin, Hitler and Mussolini threatening the existence of taken-for-granted freedom and human rights. Thanks to the intervention of the United States Hitler and Mussolini were defeated (despite incredible adversity) and Europe was salvaged from the scourge of Fascism. But Nazi Fascism did not go away meekly. Its defeat required intensive struggle, sacrifice and perseverance with over 50 million military and civilian deaths occurring during the widespread devastation.
"The manner in which Mussolini and the Fascist Party gained possession of the government was regarded in most foreign circles as an illegal act of violence." (3) As the nation of Italy began to suffer great debts, Mussolini had been summoned by the King to form a government to aid in the economic needs. This marked the birth of the Fascist Party in Italy. In the beginning of his rise to the top, Mussolini was popular amongst his people. His popularity was high, and people began to trust in his judgment and ideas. (4) He was, in essence, saving the people from the turmoil that had ensued the nat...
Since the beginning of its existence as a country, Italy has faced enormous challenges in establishing itself as a unified political and social entity. The geographic, economic, and linguistic differences between its various regions and the artificial manner in which they were amalgamated created a legacy of internal divisions that continues to dominate the country's political climate to this day. Italy's numerous historical fiascoes, such as its disastrous involvement in the two World Wars and the rise of fascism, further escalated the domestic problems that had haunted it since the Risorgimento. At first, the anti-fascist Resistance movement, which dominated the end of World War II, seemed to bring Italy a ray of hope, promising a new era of freedom, reform, and democratic representation. However, this hope was quickly extinguished, as widespread poverty, government corruption, and deep divisions between regions and classes persisted and no true social reform was attained. These harsh conditions were depicted by a group of Italian film directors whose neorealist works have since been celebrated as masterpieces of world cinema. One of the most prominent of these is Vittorio De Sica's The Bicycle Thief. This 1948 film discusses the prevalent themes dominating Italy's social and political history, within the context of the unsettlingly poor post-War urban proletariat.
The goals of these two leaders were also very alike because of their fascist ideas. The keystone of the fascist political system was the leader: every person and every group, every lobby, lay beneath him on the same level. The Italian and German fascist movements tr...
Nazism and Fascism where both successful political parties in Europe because of the bullying tactics used by their leaders during a compromising time in Europe. The interwar period of Europe between 1918 and 1939 was a time many European countries encountered uncertainty as Europe struggled to recover from the devastation of the First World War and the destabilizing effects of that loss. Between the end of World War I and the commencement of World War II, the interwar period, many European countries faced dramatic rise in popular support for extreme political values. Of the many political parties that were birthed in that era, Benito Mussolini and the fascism party were widely popular in Italy whereas Adolf Hitler and the