How To Compare Fascism And Communism

827 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels chapter 1 essay

Fascism vs. Communism
Communism and fascism are two influential ideologies associated with European totalitarianism in the 20th century. Though communism contributed to the rise of fascism and Soviet Union’s expansion during Cold War, I believe that fascism had more influence at the time: its favor of authoritarianism gave rise to violent dictatorship in fascist nations, its hatred for other races led to the notorious Holocaust, and its ultranationalism stimulated German expansionism which catalyzed the outbreak of WWII; those catastrophes controlled the way people lived, caused great damage to the involved nations and races, and ultimately led to new world order with United States and Soviet Union as sole superpowers. The defining characteristics of the two ideologies were crucial to the nature of the regimes and their influence on the world. Fascism is an authoritarian single-party state based on “mystical nationalism, often with racist elements and especially a charismatic leader who presents himself as a national savior .” Its far-right view turned the fascist regime into a strong but notorious power. For communism, the central idea that Marx and Engels theorized in “The Communist Manifesto” is …show more content…

In fear of the growing influence of the Soviet Union and its communism in the 1920s, fascism grew to emulate the Russian Communists . Also, communism’s sphere of influence expanded into Eastern Europe, East Asia and parts of Africa after WWII. Nonetheless, I think this view overestimates communism’s influence, since communism did not lead to the outbreak of world-changing WWII as fascism did. Even worse, the “communism” Stalin practiced with his regime was actually not the original ideology Marx pursued, but a “perversion,” as Khrushchev denounced in his speech , a brutal totalitarianism which caused millions of political

Show More
Related

  • Account for the responses of the European democracies to the military aggression by Italy and Germany during the 1930s.

    1562 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Doctrine Of Fascism: A Comparative Analysis

    565 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the book written by Adolf Hitler, while he was in prison, Mein Kampf, Hitler states that the Aryan race is the dominate race. While Benito Mussolini’s book The Doctrine of Fascism, shows the views of man in a fascist state. While both the essay by Mussolini and the book by Hitler both show what a person should be like in their country either it is their religion, race or political ideas. Only one shows a more convincing philosophies, because it clearly states what the person wants to get across the world.

    Read More

  • Benito Mussolini Research Paper

    1955 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the years immediately after the First World War, a promising new era of democracy seemed to be unfolding. The autocratic regimes in Russia, Germany and Austria, were all overthrown and replaced by republics. The seven newly created states in Europe all adopted the republican form of government. Democracy seemed triumphant in the post-war world. Yet within two decades, many democratic countries in Europe were taken over by some kind of dictatorship. Italy became a fascist state.

    Read More

  • Rise Of Fascism And Totalitarianism

    1589 Words  | 4 Pages

    Fascism is defined as, “an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization.” Peter Hyland reports that throughout the 1920s and the 1930s, an economic depression was growing and becoming widespread throughout the world. People were losing faith in their democracies and in capitalism. Leaders who gained power supported powerful militarism, nationalism, and initiated the return of an authoritarian rule. J.R. Oppenheimer says that the rise of fascism and totalitarianism in Europe and Russia instigated a “critical step on the path to war.” In 1922, Benito Mussolini held leadership in Italy, promising a proficient and militaristic nationalistic state. During his control as prime minister, he gained a large group of followers, banned the disparagement of government, and used extreme violence against his enemies within the parliament.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Karl Marx's Writing Of The Communist Manifesto

    2472 Words  | 5 Pages

    Karl Marx 's writing of ‘The Communist Manifesto’ in 1848 has been documented by a vast number of academics as one of the most influential pieces of political texts written in the modern era. Its ideologically driven ideas formed the solid foundation of the Communist movement throughout the 20th century, offering a greater alternative for those who were rapidly becoming disillusioned and frustrated with the growing wealth and social divisions created by capitalism. A feeling not just felt in by a couple of individuals in one society, but a feeling that was spreading throughout various societies worldwide. As Toma highlights in his work, Marx felt that ‘capitalism would produce a crisis-ridden, polarized society destined to be taken over by

    Read More

  • Communism vs Fascism

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    The definition of communism is “ a system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people.” The definition of fascism is “A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.” Communism and Fascism are both forms of Totalitarianism, which is when the ruler has complete power over everyone. There is a fine line between the differences of Communism and Fascism, however these next three articles prove that there is a line and there is no gray space. People are either one side or the other, there is no in between, the goals and secular leading may be the same but the inner workings differ by a lot, Krupskaya, Mussolini, and Hitler explain the differences in their following articles.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Communism And Fascism

    730 Words  | 2 Pages

    Communism and Fascism are often mistakenly used interchangeably. However, this is not the case. Although they are similar in authoritarian aspects, they are polar opposites on the economic scale (communism being on the left and fascism on the right). Communism is a system of social organization based on the unified ownership of all property in common with regard to the community or the state. Fascism, however, forcibly suppresses opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism making it centered more heavily on the state rather than the individual. Karl Marx was a large proponent of communism, and Benito Mussolini was a strong proponent of fascism. Despite the common misconception that communism and fascism are believed to be two birds of the same feather, they have distinct differences.

    Read More

  • The Nature of Communism and Nazism

    854 Words  | 2 Pages

    Two totalitarian systems, Communism and Nazism were the two most frightening totalitarian political systems in the history of mankind. They were the systems most brutal to its political adversaries but also to its own people and other races and/or religions. Unfortunately our own country, Croatia faced both of them during the 20th century, and some of bad influences we still feel today.In my essay I will do my best to examine these two totalitarian systems, describe their nature in essence and answer question "How did Communism and Nazism influence the societies".

    Read More

  • Russian Revolution Essay

    2340 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...eeded in putting communism on the political map of the world. Governments across Europe and Latin America emulated Stalin and instituted their own brands of communism within their respective countries. Yet, what was to be the permanent revolution, has infected and affected the world for almost an entire century. Every year since 1917 has seen people in revolt. Economics, austerity, and political corruption have been the common causes of popular uprisings across the world, and whether the revolutions have been peaceful or violent, the result has nearly always been a change in the political structure and the redrawing of boundary lines. The continued presence of Russian-backed revolutions combined with the cries of the European people for independence and security reflect the ongoing influence of the Russian Revolution on the whole of Europe and, possibly, the world.

    Read More

  • The Pros and Cons of Marxism

    1906 Words  | 4 Pages

    The word “communism” is generally linked with “Marxism”. Since Marx along with Friedrich Engels published the cutting-edge thesis, The Communist Manifesto in the middle of the 19th century, it conceived the new dimension for both politics and economics. Before turning to the principles of the Manifesto, it is useful to present the brief historical background of the era, and understand why it affected the ideology. Predominantly the Industrial Revolution (IR) and the Great Revolution in France (FR) transformed the society as follows; creation of conditions for capitalism by destroying feudalism. Period between 1820 -1840 marks the beginning of the IR, which altered the whole meantime s...

    Read More

  • Marxism And Fascism

    1641 Words  | 4 Pages

    In this essay I am going to discuss whether or not Marxism and Fascism are still relevant to today 's political life. Marxism is, (according to American Heritage dictionary of the English language) The political and economic philosophy of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels which believes the idea of class struggle has an essential role in understanding society 's (allegedly) inevitable development from bourgeois oppression under capitalism to a socialist and completely classless society. Fascism according to the Oxford dictionary is, an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization.

    Read More

  • Democratic Revolution At The Cold War's End Summary

    1702 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the 20th century, the rise of communism sparked rage in people throughout the world. More towards the end of the 1900's the fall of communism and dictatorships was just the beginning of what would eventually be a large democratic change for several countries. 1989: Democratic Revolutions at the Cold War's End, speaks about the change brought to several different countries from the 1980's-1990's and plans to show "the global transformations that marked the end of the cold war and shaped the era in which we live"(Pg V). During the cold war, communist had power and control over a large area and spread communism throughout several continents. This book specifically hits on six different studies of where communism and dictatorship affected these areas and what they did to stop it. Poland, Philippines, Chile, South Africa, Ukraine, and China throughout the end of the 20th century created revolutionary movements which brought them all one step closer to freeing themselves and creating democratic change.

    Read More

  • Communism in the American Education System

    2386 Words  | 5 Pages

    At the time of Marx, communism stiff fell under the category of socialism. During the last twenty-five years of the nineteenth century, there was a split in the Socialist Party, and communism began to be recognized as a movement of its own. The original Communists were small extremist grou...

    Read More

  • Totalitarianism Essay

    1538 Words  | 4 Pages

    For a historian, the 20th century and all the historic events that it encompasses represents a utopia with endless sources of inspiration for the analysis of political figures, events and their consequences. Political figures such as Benito Mussolini of Italy, Adolf Hitler of Germany, Mao Zedong of China and Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union are all names we are familiar with due to the time period that they influenced; this time period after the trauma and atrocities of World War I and the Great Depression led to completely new forms of government in Europe and beyond. These “manifestations of political evil”, commonly known as totalitarian states, should not be considered as mere extensions of already existing political systems, but rather as completely new forms of government built upon terror and ideological fiction. Therefore, this was also a time in which political philosophers such as Hannah Arendt, the author of the standard work on totalitarianism, “Origins of Totalitarianism”, could thrive. When looking at totalitarianism as a political philosophy, two initial questions have to be dealt with: what is totalitarianism and what kind of effect it had on countries ruled by totalitarian regimes. The reasons for its occurrence have briefly been mentioned above, although there are much deeper ideological, social and economic reasons including imperialism and anti-Semitism. In order to fully understand it, we must also contrast it to other political systems like authoritarianism and dictatorship, which are similar to a certain extent, but lack crucial elements that are in the core of totalitarian ideology. Out of the many examples of totalitarian regimes in the 20th century, Nazi Germany, Communist China and the Soviet Union stan...

    Read More

  • Analysis of The Communist Manifesto

    2947 Words  | 6 Pages

    Karl Marx (1818-1883) was one of the most influential thinkers and writers of modern times. Although it was only until after his death when his doctrine became world know and was titled Marxism. Marx is best known for his publication, The Communist Manifesto that he wrote with Engels; it became a very influential for future ideologies. A German political philosopher and revolutionary, Karl Marx was widely known for his radical concepts of society. This paper give an analysis of “The Manifesto” which is a series of writings to advocate Marx ‘s theory of struggles between classes. I will be writing on The Communist Manifesto, published in 1848, which lays down his theories on socialism and Communism.

    Read More

More about How To Compare Fascism And Communism

Open Document