As the wise Plato once said, “Tyranny naturally arises out of Democracy.” It appears Plato was in fact wise beyond his years. He must have known that something in may prove him right in the future. This proof comes from Fascism during the years between World Wars. Fascism thrived during the interwar years because its eloquent leaders made the people to whom they spoke feel important to the common cause. In Italy and Germany especially, Hitler and Mussolini gave the people tasks in order to make them believe that they were significant. All of the events that transpired because of these two men played out when the leaders targeted the emotions of the people. Two men changed the face of history forever with powerful oratories, intricate parades, and clever propaganda meant to make the people of their respective countries feel in control, significant, and powerful.
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 ...
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...d a position in a mass of supporters that worked for their leaders as a whole to accomplish their political agenda. This is why Fascism was so successful between World Wars. Those who had nothing suddenly thought they were important to something. This is what began the brainwashing of the Aryan Nation and the faith in Mussolini and his army. These two men made the small feel important.
In conclusion, Fascism was successful after WWI because the people no longer had their sense of nationalism, did not have a stable economy, and overall felt defeated. Someone came along in Germany and Italy and promised the downtrodden that they would no longer feel this way, and that their country would again prosper. The people were susceptible to this because of how low they felt. They found the leaders they desperately hoped for and never for a second challenged their motives.
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.
Italian Fascism became an extremely important phenomenon under the reign of Benito Mussolini during the Second World War. With a run of 22 years, Fascism and its creator became the focal point of Europe during this time. Many Italian citizens, as well as critics believed that Fascism could be a third option, or the in between of Capitalism and Communism, two ideals that Mussolini refused to accept. With the Allies landing on the shores of Italy in their advance to Fascist capital, Mussolini fought for his ideals while the Allies aimed to liberate the country and the citizens who did not follow Mussolini’s government. Why did Italy change from a fascist government to a new government in the siege of Italy during WWII between 1943-45? Italy fought to create a new government in place of the fascist government headed by Benito Mussolini because of the multiple failed promises including a new Roman Empire as a means to overpower King Victor Emmanuel, and to improve on the poverty. The bombing of Rome, the fascist capital of Italy, was targeted by Allied troops entering Italy in order to capture Mussolini, and the armistice that the Italian citizens believed would eradicate Benito Mussolini and Fascism with the help of the Allied powers.
Fascism is one of the great political ideology in the 20th century. It is a kind of authoritarian government that, according to Wikipedia, “considers the individual subordinate to the interests of the state, party or society as a whole.” Two of the most successful and to be in the vanguard of fascism government is Italian fascism – led by Benito Mussolini, and Nazi Germany – led by Adolf Hitler. Fascism in Italy and Germany, though in many regards very similar - have the same political ideologies, still have many aspects to them that make them different from each other.
...nstead the state consists of rulers who behave like subjects and subjects who behave like rulers. The people begin to desire a strong leader, who will make the difficult decisions for them and bear the consequences: the Democracy has become a Tyranny.
Firstly I will look at some of the effects of fascism, starting with one of the most devastating tragedies the world has witnessed, the holocaust. It is not known who first proposed the term holocaust, but we can draw assumptions as to why it was adopted. The Jewish community are likely to have adopted this name in order to distinguish it from what unfortunately, become the routine cases of war crimes and genocide. When we look at the figures of deaths in the holocaust, we do not even need to examine the way in which many of the victims died, to understand just how horrific the effects of fascism had been.
A longstanding debate in human history is what to do with power and what is the best way to rule. Who should have power, how should one rule, and what its purpose should government serve have always been questions at the fore in civilization, and more than once have sparked controversy and conflict. The essential elements of rule have placed the human need for order and structure against the human desire for freedom, and compromising between the two has never been easy. It is a question that is still considered and argued to this day. However, the argument has not rested solely with military powers or politicians, but philosophers as well. Two prominent voices in this debate are Plato and Machiavelli, both of whom had very different ideas of government's role in the lives of its people. For Plato, the essential service of government is to allow its citizens to live in their proper places and to do the things that they are best at. In short, Plato's government reinforces the need for order while giving the illusion of freedom. On the other hand, Machiavelli proposes that government's primary concern is to remain intact, thereby preserving stability for the people who live under it. The feature that both philosophers share is that they attempt to compromise between stability and freedom, and in the process admit that neither can be totally had.
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.
It is difficult to create a solid definition of fascism. Throughout its history, fascism has manifested in many different ways. Some historians believe that there is no definition of fascism or that it is simply a conglomerate of a lot of other ideologies. However, acknowledging fascism as having an ideological basis is historically significant. To truly understand what fascism is it is essential to look at specific historical contexts of the distinct movement/party/regime. There is a central core ideology to fascism, even in its various manifestations. There is not a checklist of ideas that one can follow to decide whether a certain movement can be classified as fascist. What is found, however are a variety of characteristics that are in an intimate relations with one another – they are inseparable characteristics to fascism that shape the core of the ideology. Fascism is a chauvinist, militaristic, expansionistic and ultranationalist ideology. However, to explain fascism in this specific context fascism is going to be engaged in a gender perspective. We will see how chauvinism was built in masculine forms; how militaristic ideas reinforce that and get women to produce soldiers for the nation; how expansionism was the goal of forming a highly militarized society and how ultranationalism affected women who fit within the nationalist vision and those who did not in very different ways. Fascism in this context, then, can be defined as male centered ideology that reinforced traditional patriarchal views of a woman’s proper place as being in the home; and the only the proper woman could produce soldiers for the organic community. However, we cannot forget that these characteristics are the core of fascism and are always ...
... conclusion Plato's idea of the emergence of tyranny from democracy is true. Tyranny evolves from democracy because of the unequal ability to realize desires lawfully present in society. The idle envy the prosperous and invest their support in popular leaders to ensure their well being in other way. The popular leaders do so, and some commit acts of violence and injustice to do so better. This encourages them to commit further acts of violence for both their supporters interests and their own, until they reach a point where they must commit acts of violence purely out of the interest of self preservation. The live in constant fear of the world around then, ironically chained away from the pleasures they pursued by committing acts of tyranny. Democracies possess protection against tyranny chiefly bureaucracy and the ability to keep citizens informed and interested.
Plato views the democratic state as a city “full of freedom and freedom of speech[,]” where its citizens “have the license to do [whatever they] want” and the right to self-determine. Plato however, sees this insatiable desire for freedom at the expense of neglecting everything else as the downfall of democracy. To clarify, a society that is staunchly protective of its equality and freedom will be particularly sensitive towards any oppositions that seem to limit them, to the point where it actively attempts to “avoid [obeying the law and] having any master at all.” Thus, “unless the rulers are very pliable and provide plenty of that freedom, they are punished by the city and accused of being oligarchs.” Since those in power fear the accusations of those being ruled, they become docile and submissive. On the other hand, those who are ruled are encouraged by their rulers’ meekness and, convinced of their inherent right to freedom, begin to behave as their own rulers. Thus, this blind chase for unconditional freedom will propagate disorder across the society, and eventually cause the people to see “anarchy [as] freedom, extravagance [as] magnificence, and shamelessness [as]
When we heard about fascism, Germany and Italy enter our mind on the basis of the fact that these countrie's leaders caused the worst results which affected nearly all World.Today, however, most people believe that fascism is not a threat any more and there will be no leader who may like Mussolini or Adolf Hitler but I highly consider that fascism still pose a danger and in Europe the new fascist leaders may rise like in Turkey.But what is Fascism and leaders are really playing an important role ? I think firstly we should answer these questions.Fascism may refer to general social movement of right wing revolutionary conservatism in Europe.The term ''fascist'' was first applied to a political movement which combine ultranationalism with hostility and conservatism by Mussolini in 1919.The first fascist movements occured in Italy during World War I and it united right wing positions and elements of left wing politics.Fascists seek to bring together their nation through a totalitarian state which developed the huge mobilization of the national community.
It was 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”.
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. Yes, during World War II the social axiom “Freedom Isn’t Free!” was definitely validated and verified.... ...
According to Hitler, there were three types of newspaper readers: those who believed everything, those who believed nothing, and those who analyzed and judged what they read (240). Hitler unequivocally believed that the majority of people belonged to the first group (240). He firmly asserted that in order for any movement, political or otherwise, to be successful, it must first win the support of the masses (101). Therefore the most important aspect of an idea is not the idea itself, but how easily the masses can understand it (342). By following these ideals, Hitler created propaganda geared toward the common man, rather than the intellectual elite.
Having known little to nothing about fascism with the exception of movies, documentaries, and occasional book about World War II, this book has provided me with a general picture about what it means to be fascist. I respect Passmore as a learned man and admire his research while writing this book. His use of language and the way the chapters flowed seamlessly from one to the next kept me enthused throughout the book. While this book was very insightful, perhaps the topics that interested and impacted me the most were the issues of nationalism, femininity, and socialism. I also agree with most of Passmore’s assertions, however, I remain unclear with some fascist reasoning as explained in the book.