Essay on Fascism

The idea that America is turning fascist has been popular on the Left for as long as I can remember: in the 1960s, when antiwar radicals raged against the Machine, this kind of hyperbole dominated campus political discourse and even made its way into the mainstream. When the radical Weather Underground went into ultra-Left meltdown and began issuing incoherent "communiqués" to an indifferent American public, they invariably signed off by declaring: "Death to the fascist insect pig that preys on the life of the people!"

Fascism values human nature in a group for the benefit of the community. The group as a whole is called the human will, which is ruled by a select group or one leader, with the power being passed down from top to bottom. Fascism seeks to organize an organization led mass movement in an effort to capture the state power. When the power is in the firm grip of the ruler, or IL Duce, the government will be used to control the population and everything in it so the community will be

Fascism can be defined as a political system with centralization of power under a single-party dictatorship. Fascist dictators maintain authority through strict socioeconomic controls, suppression of the masses through censorship and terrorism, and policies of aggressive nationalism and racism (“Fascism”). Francisco Franco first implemented this government policy in Spain after witnessing its achievements in Germany and Italy. Franco’s strong nationalistic and military upbringing was the basis for his fascist dictatorship. What made Franco the “ultimate fascist dictator” was the fact that he was more palatable to the western countries. His focus was not on world domination, but rather on the consolidation of his own

While people read stories of the horror of fascist governments in books, many are shocked, and believe it will never happen. However some of those people have voted for a fascist man as the president of their country.

Fascism. The name of this movement alone provokes thoughts of hate, racism and evil throughout all modern western civilizations. Never before has one word created such a cultural taboo for nearly two generations. As a people, we immediately think of Fascism as Hitler’s methodical destruction of nearly six million Jews during World War II, but as a movement, there is so much more to be learned. It is the aim of this paper to accurately and without judgement look at Fascism from its creation to modern day applications.

Those who followed fascist ideas and thinking were business leaders, wealthy land owners, and the lower middle class. One of the reasons why fascism was so popular is because it revived national pride and offered a stable government. Fascism was socialism with a capitalist veneer. Some of the characteristics of Fascism was disciple and loyalty, the state is absolute, rooted in extreme nationalism, and individuals to serve the state. The state controlled manufacture, commerce, agriculture, and finance under the fascism government.

In the years after the chaotic “war to end all wars”, fascism rose in Europe as a cause of economic and political stress. Fascism is a form of government led by a dictator who had complete control over the country. At the time, it was intriguing, since governments seemed to collapse as a result of opposing ideals. In Germany, the Weimar system was ineffective due to the different parties in the Reichstag. Germans were not ruled by laws but by orders issued by the president. Italy was also struggling for control, adding to the political turmoil. Due to the world war, there was an economic crisis that led to hyperinflation in Germany. During the inter-war years, fascism appealed to Germans and Italians due to promises of improving the economy, military strength, and the government.

Fascism was a big idea in the 20th century, especially in Europe. Benito Mussolini was the first known fascist because of his control and ideology of governing Italy in the 1920s. Adolf Hitler was also a very well-known fascist for his control of Germany in the 1930s to the end of World War II. The rise of fascism started in Europe when Mussolini rose to power and conquered Italy. Years later, many people throughout Europe also tried to conquer countries, following in Mussolini’s footsteps. Adolf Hitler was a well-known fascist because of the impact he had on the people of Germany who kept him in power, and because of the issues he caused throughout the world. Eventually, the fall and demise of fascism in Europe can be blamed on the deaths and the rulers being over thrown by their own countries (lecture notes). Fascism was the idea of having total government control over property and goods that are sold throughout the country and resources. The idea of fascism is to have the government make choices for the people of the country. Fascism is also known to be on the extreme right side of the political spectrum, and having intolerant views and practices (lecture notes). It also emphasizes the idea that certain racial groups are stronger and smarter than other groups. Nationalism was a strong idea that was practiced by fascist because a concept of fascism is to have the best country out there.

Fascist ideas and leaders become popular from people wanting to feel valued and social issues being exploited with propaganda, but failed democracies also pushed the nation towards a government with a strict

Fascism has an underlying, Darwinist outlook, that nations, races and people, are constantly in a struggle where it is survival of the fittest and the strong survive by conflicting with the weak. This argues that the only way for a nation to be successful is to weed out the weak (sick, poor, Jewish, etc.) that pull down on the nation while simultaneously promoting the strong. The problem with mixing biological theories (Darwinism) and political theories (Fascism) is just that, they are two different areas and need different considerations.

Fascism became very prevalent following the first World War. This is a system in which the state was totalitarian and heavily revolved around nationalism, militarism, racial superiority, and imperialism. Fascist states showed immense pride in their countries and built up strong, powerful militaries. Additionally, this caused fascist states to believe their race was more superior than others and, consequently, did many things in the attempt to purify the race. To increase the living space for the so-called “superior race,” the governments relied on imperialism. Fascist leaders believed the sole purpose of the government was the preservation and advancement of a society of a single uniform race.

In this way, Fascists and Nazis were committed to promoting, protecting and expanding the nation. Such militant nationalism was underpinned by a desire to return to a “Golden Age” of the past. Indeed, Nazis and Fascists emphasised the moral and cultural decadence of modern society, stressing the possibility of rejuvenation of the nation, like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Griffen refers to this as “palingenesis”. Both Hitler and Mussolini promoted the glories of the past reflected in the greatness of the Roman

According to “The First World War and the Rise of Fascism”, two world wars destroyed Europe and their economy. In 1901, Winston Churchill made a prediction; the European war would end but at the cost of the people which Churchill lived to see his prediction come true twice. Europeans viewed combat as something great, but when the war began, people were dying. The young men that signed up for the war, rotted and shivered in the trenches. The men that survived had amputated limbs and gas lungs. Shortly after the war, influenza began to spread to the population and killing 2 or 3 times more than the war. Russia, Germany, Austria, and Turkey empires fell which resulted in the citizens fighting for their freedom. According to, “The Second World War” video, in August of 1939, Germany and Russia signed a non-aggression pact which resulted in Britain and France being closely watched. In 1940 Germany invaded France, and the country collapsed in 7 weeks due to a poorly led army. On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor which brought the United States into World

Fascism is a “form of radical authoritarian nationalism” (Wikipedia). Simply put, fascism is where there is one charismatic authority figure that controls all decisions for the state and is in complete control. Having a single dictatorial leader is totalitarianism, and is only one part of the philosophy behind fascism. To be a fascist state, the absolute jurisdiction has to be in the state, where all entities are a part, however the state is more powerful than the sum of entities. With a rigid social order and classes, lawlessness is prevented which jeopardizes the unity that is so fundamental in this type of government. Unity, however, does not mean equal or peaceful ; each individual has a specific place in society and there is a hidden intention

Generalissimo Francisco Franco came into power after his victory in the Civil war in 1939 and ruled over Spain till his death in 1975. In this 40-year period Spain was massive changed that causes much debate as to the political nature of Franco’s regime whether it is fascist or something different, Francoism. To understand if Franco’s regime was fascist, fascism must first be defined. There are many working definitions of a fascist regime, Stanley Payne’s states that the dictator must alien his regime to the idea of anti-isms, them being aintiliberalism, antidemocratic, anticonservatism, anticommunism and antidemocratic. Payne states these are fundamental in the description of a fascist regime. Another useful definition is Robert Griffin, stating that a fascist regime will use symbolism, violence to pursue its political aims, with the importance aimed at expansionism. Finally Griffin also states the need of the dictator to implement an authoritarian and totalitarian government. All these help to create a fascist regime and more importantly a truly fascist dictator. There is little doubt Franco holds to some of these definitions yet in later year the idea of Francosim becomes more viable however to understand if Franco was a truly fascist dictator we must look to the similarities and differences and determine by examining Franco’s rise politically his general style of government and finally his foreign policies it will determined whether Franco was a truly fascist dictator.