Establishment of Fascism

Fascism
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Introduction
Fascism is a doctrine initiated in the twentieth century and was utilized as political ideological vehicle in Italy by Benito Mussolini in 1922 after the First World War ended. Fascism is an extensive doctrine combined with radical and authoritarian political ideals based on various concepts such as anti-Semitism anti-liberalism anti-capitalism and anti-democracy (Paxton, 2011). These concepts molded the new right-wing doctrine which is known as fascism. The doctrine was establish in Italy during Mussolini’s regime and also during Hitler’s period in power in Nazi Germany.
Fascism was attractive as it promised to satisfy the human drives which were the will to pleasure, power, and meaning (Roche & Demetriou, 2017). It also pledged to increase happiness and reduce suffering. It championed the will to power by fostering social unity and instilled meaning through the ethos of the country. The paper will illustrate the manner that fascism was introduced and utilized in Italy and other countries. It will also analyze the rationale behind fascism and even the principles applied by Mussolini in the enhancement of this doctrine. The paper will also assess the challenges associated with fascism.
Establishment of Fascism
The rise of fascism after the end of the Great War was an expected response to the social movements and the increasing power of the working class in general which was similar to communism (Eley, 2013). In order to fully comprehend the tenets of fascism and the adoption of this new political doctrine it is vital to assess the causes and aspects that led to the establishment of fascism Arguments have been made by numerous historians that the fascist doctrine is a consequence of the catastrophe that followed after the First World War. This war caused severe damages and economic disruptions in numerous European countries (McGrath & Martin, 2017). The second source of political upheaval which was created during the inter-war period posed a danger due to the rise of communism as the main socialist evolution doctrine and this became a reality to numerous nations. After the Great War and the victory of the Bolshevik in Russia in 1917, European countries had numerous doubts concerning the benefits of democracy. These two main circumstances led to the development and adoption of new revolutionary doctrines.
In Italy numerous occurrences acted as a blueprint for the development of fascism as a new ideology and also as a viable political system that can be utilized. Historians have made arguments that fascism showed a lot of promise for the Italian people however the running administration did not address the numerous needs of its people (Halsall, 1997). The liberal regime did no enhance political changes as it focused on repressing mass protestors. Only people with a high socio-economic class were allowed to participate in the formation and maintenance of the political and cultural systems that existed.
Since fascism is a right-wing political ideology, it is based on anti-communism and also meant to fight against the enhancement of communism in Western Europe. Fascism was also developed on the principle of anti-rationalism. This doctrine relies heavily on repression of human rationality and forward thinking (Mussolini, 2006). Since liberalism is associated to progress ad transformation, fascism emphasizes on willpower and brutality above all other virtues in its political ideologies. Furthermore, fascism represents the expression of the political administration on the basis of emotional development and spiritual awakening (Halsall, 1997).
Another critical aspect of this doctrine is elitism as it occupies a profound place in its formation through abolishing concepts that enhance equality for all people. Fascism highlighted that natural selection can be imposed on specific people that aspire to be leaders while all other individuals in lower classes must obey their authority implicitly. This principle of the leader is a primary element of the fascist state.
The Rationale for the Adoption of Fascism
Fascism concentrates on the improvement of the entire country. Fascism allows a government to spend its fund in increasing and solidifying the defenses of the nation and ensures it has sufficient arms in defending itself against foreign invaders (Mussolini, 2006). Governments additionally can spend money on social improvements to preserve the culture of the nation and enhance its reputation globally. Fascism unites people through the creation of equality and getting rid of socio-economic classes. Since the government has complete control over all its citizens, it can demand that the rich give up their wealth which can be distributed among those of lower social class (Eley, 2013). In theory, this will result in the dissolution of the upper class and lower class and ensure that all citizens are equal.
Through fascism, the dictator can make the decisions concerning a specific element of the government such as crime control, and their decision will be implemented immediately. As a result, the nation can move forward without any unwanted delays and enjoy the advantages of modernization and progress (Halsall, 1997). Since the government has full control over all legal systems, it can decree heavy punishment for ordinary crimes such as theft. This discourages individuals from committing such crimes and as a result, leads to enhancement of peace and order within the country.
The Practice of Fascism
In Italy, the fascist program was highly attractive. Dynamism and political flexibility enabled Benito Mussolini to appeal to various discordant social groups through the invocation of the view of a classless and unified state (Evola, 2013). Mussolini’s first recruits in what consequently became the Fascist Party were ex-soldiers and unemployed youth. Due to Italy’s looming fear of Soviet-influenced communists, Mussolini attracted financial backing from numerous wealthy industrialists that realized the disorder caused by the Fascist was useful for riots and breaking up strikes initiated by low-class citizens (Finaldi, 2014). Mussolini mainly dressed his followers in black attire and disciplined them through rigorous military training and made promises to them of bringing order to the chaos that was growing in Italy.
The Fascist movement became popular with those that feared communism and disorder which included some powerful individuals in Italy. This included the Roman Catholic Church, wealthy landowners, and capitalists in the country. One significant component that inspired fascism is that it consisted of young people (Roche & Demetriou, 2017). Fascist paramilitary activities and the daily challenges experienced by the youth led to the liberation of numerous young individuals to rebel against the tenets of the Italian family discipline. The fascist movement dreamed of Italy finally reclaiming its world power and also their historical accomplishments that their Roman ancestors had already gained which could effectively transform this dream into a reality (Halsall, 1997).
Mussolini led the fascist movement through articulating a specific set of principles for the reconstruction of Italy. He made claims that the country needed a spiritual awakening that would generate the necessary action against all enemies of Italy. In practice, Mussolini presented himself as a personified image of the fascist movement. His primary objective was to reconstruct the Roman Empire through brutality, and this could only be achieved through war alone (Mussolini, 2006). Mussolini highlighted that through anarchy, this will elevate the tension of all individuals and will authenticate the nobility of people that are courageous enough to meet it.
Mussolini further promised to remove all forces that were destroying the fabric of the Italian society namely, corruption, democratic factionalism, and class struggle. This could only be accomplished through the development of a proper link between capitalism and socialism. The vehicle for achieving this goal was through statism (McGrath & Martin, 2017). This is a philosophy whereby the country itself would transcend traditional politics and wield total authority in the name of the people. In his efforts to define fascism, Mussolini stated that everything accomplished in the state would be done for its benefit, and all other external elements were to be destroyed as they only disrupted the system of the nation.
Mussolini highlighted that a fascist accepts the individual only in as far as his interests aligned with those of the state (Roche & Demetriou, 2017). He made it clear that he disliked capitalism as the citizen within the Fascist state is no longer a selfish person that has the antisocial liberties of going against any laws of the collective.
Fascism promoted the application of brutality as noble activities and denounced democracy, socialism, communism, and liberalism. Most importantly, fascism identified the state as the absolute embodiment of the human spirit. Paxton, (2011) stated that fascism reflected on the past and sought to reform the issues of the state and also lead the people to a better future. This is through absorbing politics, philosophy, society and all this was predicated on the promise of the satisfaction of human needs. The fascist state existed to the extent that the people believe in it and its promise was intertwined with individual self-actualization (Halsall, 1997).
In 1925, Mussolini partnered with financial institutions and huge capitalists and gave them unwarranted privileges in return for their support of the fascist movement. This agreement which was known as corporativism was highlighted as the best way for ending conflict involving people from different social class. In reality, this agreement only solidified the dominance of capitalism, labor control and professional groups (McGrath & Martin, 2017). The corporativist economic structure eliminated the free market and through planning and management, it reallocated resources for maximal efficiency. Corporativism was nothing more than a political attempt that only hid the development of a command economy which big businesses and the government had total control. Trade unions that were not affiliated to the fascist movement were abolished, and propaganda within the state grew immensely.