Plato once wrote, “The heaviest penalty for declining to rule is to be ruled by someone inferior to yourself”. It would be impossible for him to guess this quote would be taken very literally among ruler after ruler in history. Unfortunately, not every person who took this piece seriously was the best choice in leadership. Adolf Hitler of Germany and Benito Mussolini of Italy were leaders who used elements of fascism in order to promote their vision of a new world. Although they both had similarities in their regimes, they also had great differences in leading their country.
The term fascist is thrown around in politics and heated debates without much respect for how heavy the term truly is. Before diving into the different extents to which fascism was carried out in Italy and Germany, it is important to take a moment and discuss what the term is. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, fascism is a, “political philosophy, movement, or regime… that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition”, as well as, “a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control”. With such a harsh definition, some would believe it would be simple to create a framework for all fascist dictators, yet that could not be further from the truth. Although it may be difficult to define fascism to a
Fascism was a totalitarian political movement that developed after 1919 as a reaction against the political and social changes brought about by World War 1 and the spread of socialism and communism. It flourished between 1919 and 1945 in several countries, mainly Germany, Spain, Italy, and Japan. Fascism is a form of totalitarian dictatorship that had ideals such as extreme nationalism, economic self sufficiency and military strength. The dictators abolished all opposition against them and basically took complete control of the lives of everyone in their country.
Fascism admitted strong totalitarian overtones until it became interested in wars of colonial conquest. It had come to power because of the decaying social, economic and political conditions of post-World War I Italy. It had brought order out of chaos. Indeed, order was its strong selling point when, after a series of crippling strikes sponsored by the socialists, it had managed when the liberal democratic state could not manage.
While both Italian and German fascism in the interwar years were very similar, they were ultimately more different due to their political ideologies, foreign policies and the structure of their respective parties. Fascism, while not having a concrete definition can be defined by multiple attributes. Fascism usually consist of a ultra right wing, oppressive and authoritarian government that places a heavy emphasis on national identity. As such, fascist governments promote violence and the expansion through wars with the intent of imperialism.
The etymology of “fascism” is denotative of power and dominance. For example, the term derived from the Roman fasces which were bundles of rods bound to each other, carried in advance of Roman magistrates. The rods were symbolic of power to punish through severe beating and the axes which extended from the center were symbolic of punishment by death (Grolier Education p.110).
After WW II, Fascism, “Instituted in Germany by Hitler” (America a Concise History 695) created an authoritative government. Hitler was controlling the government and making people do what he said and wanted. They believed that they were the superior race. Fascism came about in Italy in the years of 1920, but developed in the countries Germany, Spain, and France (America a Concise History 695). WW I caused the rise of fascism because Italy was destroyed and took an economic downfall so Mussolini decided to take it upon himself along with Adolf Hitler to get their countries back again. As stated in Chapter 24, “fascists leaders worldwide disparaged parliamentary
Q6. Fascism began to rise after the fallout of World War I, this new militant political movement attracted many people who had felt angry or frustrated with the war. As you can imagine, during this time millions of people were unhappy with the turnout of World War I, many countries were on the edge of their breaking points. Countries were trying to return to the previous normal they obtained before the world had fallen into a deadly and pointless war. People were full of spitefulness and anger and they wanted answers; henceforth, the popular idea of fascism was created. Fascism was a political movement that promotes an extreme form of nationalism and militarism, the movement also relied heavily on the loyalty to the state and their one strong
The problems in Germany Japan and Italy during the 1920s led many different groups to try to gain political power. At times there were riots in the streets among the supporters of different political parties.Both Adolf Hitler in Germany and Benito Mussolini in Italy believed in the political system called fascism. In a fascist government system, total power is given to a dictator. Individual rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press are denied. The nation and its power are what counts, not the life of the individual.
Mussolini consolidation of fascist power in Italy in the years 1922-1929 could have been mainly due to the use of force and intimidation. However this was not a straightforward process, since fascism was a new thing. In the years 1922 to January 1925 marked the transition from the liberal parliamentary system to the fascist state. Like many political transitions, it was an untidy and complicated process. Although from the start Mussolini’s intentions were quite difficult to establish, however it could be that Mussolini wanted to set up from the beginning a totalitarian one party state.
Fascism is a 20th century form of nationalistic, militaristic, totalitarian dictatorship that seeks to create a feasible society through strict regimentation of national and individual lives. Total subordination to the service of the state and unquestioning loyalty to its leader would adjust conflicting interests. It is a modern political ideology that looks to regenerate the social, economic, and cultural life of a country by basing it on a heightened sense of national belonging of ethnic identity. Fascism rejects liberal ideas of freedom and individual rights, it often presses for the destruction of elections, legislatures and other elements of democracy. Despite fascism’s idealistic goals, attempts to build fascist
Benito Mussolini outlines several essential characteristics of his preferred political ideology, Fascism, in what has become known as the Doctrine of Fascism. In this paper, Mussolini outlines his vision of the ideology, and explains the major issues that Fascism will address once it becomes the leading political system in Italy. Mussolini’s major points as outlined in the Doctrine included an extreme emphasis on nationalism, organization and modernization of the state, persistent focus on religion, life as a struggle, and the notion that individuals exist only for the improvement of society as a whole. Wolfgang Schieder, after reviewing the Doctrine of Fascism, explains Mussolini’s success based on it and
Because fascism has been practiced in a variety of locations, at differing points in history, with no specific guidelines, every seemingly practical definition of fascism is simply too limiting to serve as a proper definition. Furthermore, to speak of fascism in generalizations prohibits one from truly understanding the completely confused concept. To avoid such generalizations, one must look at fascism as it was found in specific examples. Such examples include, Mussolini’s Italy and Hitler’s Germany. Although these two instances are not all encompassing of the ideology, they exhibit fascism to the greatest proportions. Additionally, these instances allow one to get a vivid and practical notion to what fascism truly is.
The state of Mussolini’s Fascist Italy and Hitler’s Nazi Germany, can be highly comparable in their policies and ideologies. Fascism is a political ideology, in which the country is to be racially and culturally pure. Mussolini said himself that “Fascism desires the state to be strong and organic and to always be prepared for conflict”. Fascism includes things such as nationalism, hostility to democracy, racism, the love of symbols such as uniforms, parades and army discipline. It is a totalitarian philosophy which worships the state and nation. Fascism is an extreme right-wing that celebrates the nation or race as a pure community which exceeds all other loyalties and expectations (Downing, 2001). Most of the time it celebrates masculinity and male supremacy, rarely it will promote female solidarity (De Grand, 1995). Fascist aims are to prepare for conflict and violence and to prepare and educate the youth. Both were able to gain support from military associations,
There are varieties of leadership styles. Niccolo Machiavelli and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, are opposites in their characterization of what makes a good leader. One justifies that the “end justifies the means” while the other directs us that “it is wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends” (King). I agree with the latter of the two believing that the first one burns bridges, while the latter builds them. However, both leadership styles exist today.
Fascism was first detected after World War I in Italy. After the war, the people of Italy were ready for a new political aspect. Benito Mussolini was the man who brought this fascist ideology to Italy. Mussolini has been looking for the perfect opportunity to take complete control of a country and now was the time to do so. “In 1919 Mussolini and his followers, mostly war veterans, were organized along paramilitary lines and wore black shirts and uniforms.”(Halsall pg.2) After defeats at the polls Mussolini used his new financial backing to clothe a gang of thugs who
Fascism is a term that is even more misused and misunderstood than ultranationalism. To many people in the United States, the federal government is fascist, although in fact the American federal government is not fascist in character. To many people around the world, fascism is equated with racism. The original fascists which developed in Italy, however, were not racist. In fact, to many people, any approach to political action or government that differs from their own preferences is termed fascist. Such