Fascism is a term that is heard and used very often all over the world. Perhaps the people who use this term are not aware of what fascism means. Fascism is a form of far-right authoritarian ultranationalism. Its main characteristic is the dictatorial power, the suppression of the opposition and the regimentation of society and the economy. Philosophy became important at the beginning of the 20th century in Europe. Italy was at the forefront of the expansion of fascism before it spread to other European countries. The philosophy is opposed to liberalism, democracy, Marxism and anarchism. if we measure on a scale, fascism is on the extreme right of the left-right spectrum. An important difference with communism is the integration of this philosophy with corporate houses and industry.

The word fascism originated in Italy in the early 1920s and was derived from the ancient Roman word fascismo. This word represented ancient Roman symbols that denoted the power of the state. Fascism is a representative of authoritarianism.

Fascism is a radical concept that gained credence in the early 20th century. It was a political ideology that was adopted by Benito Mussolini in the 1920s. However, the father of fascism is Giovanni Gentile (1875 -1944). He was an Italian philosopher who shaped fascism. he wrote A doctrine of fascism (1932) for Benito Mussolini. He was also influenced in his youth by Karl Marx and later by Friedrich Nietzsche and Hegel, who represented the materialist doctrine.

philosophy of fascism

Fascism is a different philosophy that believes in the supremacy of the state and the nation. It advocates a one-party form of government and the organization of all the forces of the state and the people to achieve a strong nation. Fascism believes in violence and war as a means to an end. However, as a philosophy, it moves away from communist and Marxist dogma, as well as from capitalism represented by free enterprise.

It is fashionable to present it as a right-wing ideology. Marxism is the enemy of fascism and the great Marxist thinker Leon Trotsky commented that “Fascism is nothing more than a capitalist reaction.“Perhaps Trotsky was right because the concept of white supremacy so prevalent in the United States with organizations like the Ka Klux Klan represented fascist thought; although Americans are loathe to agree with this observation.

Hitler and Mussolini adopted the basic principles of fascism. It will not be wrong to attribute the development of fascist thought to Mussolini. His concept of fascism was anti-communist and anti-capitalist, as well as anti-democratic. Fascism believes in denying the basic rights of citizens. He also believes in the mass regimentation of society through military exercises and physical culture. Thus, the Nazi rallies in Nuremberg and Mussolini’s Blackshirts marching in Rome give us a vivid picture of the concept of mass mobilization as conceived by Mussolini and Giovanni. These rallies created a military atmosphere and also excited the masses. One of the pillars of fascism is racism. Thus, in the US, the concept of white supremacy was exemplified by the KKK (Ka Klux Klan) which, in the name of the purity of the white race, executed black people.

Hitler’s final solution for the Jews was the result of adapting fascism as a concept of the state. Here he made it state policy to execute Jews whom he considered subhuman and this led to over 6 million executions. If we have to summarize the 3 pillars of fascism they are racism, militarism and dictatorship

fascism and society

Another aspect of fascism is to keep society in perpetual ferment with upheavals and movements that attract the masses. Thus, the cultural revolution of the Red Brigades and the Peoples unleashed by Mao Tse Tung is another facet of fascism. The cultural revolution period caused at least 20 million deaths in China. Hitler’s engineered deaths pale into insignificance before the magnitude of deaths and executions in China.

Fascism certainly has some appeal. It does bring order from Chaos and with greater state control it brings benefits that increase for the people. Thus, when Mussolini first took possession of Italy, the trains began to run on time and the anarchy of the previous years was replaced by order and discipline. But the defect or limitation in fascist thought is the total denial of human values ​​where the dictator becomes omnipotent as George Orwell puts it in his books.

As for the founder of fascism in Italy, Giovanni Gentile is concerned that he was shot dead in 1944 by anti-fascist protesters led by Bruno Fanciullacci in Florence.

Bruno Fanciullacci (November 13, 1919 – July 17, 1944) was an Italian guerrilla fighter.

He is one of the best known and most discussed figures of the Italian Resistance for his complicity in the murder of Giovanni Gentile. This was an episode that divided the anti-fascist front itself and in the end he paid with her life when he was shot and his bones were broken.

Until the last Giovanni Gentile remained loyal to Mussolini.

As far as fascism is concerned, it is a political ideology characterized by a mass movement that dominated many parts of Central, Southern and Eastern Europe between 1919 and 1945. It also had adherents in Western Europe, the United States, South Africa, Japan, Latin America and the Middle East.

A significant spillover from fascism and a major difference from communism is the patronage of big business and the corporate world. This is an important chart of fascism. It is worth mentioning and a point of contention that with the United States shielding big business and corporations (Trump even lowered taxes for the ultra-rich) with emotional discrimination against black people, there are seeds of fascism already sown. can they sprout?

last word

Where are we now when it comes to fascism? Denying their existence is a travesty of the facts and fascist regimes still rule in North Korea and some Islamic states like Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has all the trappings of a fascist state under the cover of Islam. and it will appear in one form or another as long as instability and chaos rule and there is fear of instability. In India, also with rampant corruption on the order of the day, fascism can somehow rear its head. A disgusted people are the breeding ground of fascism.

One can reflect and apply what I have written to his own country. Fascism can return; it brings benefits but one has to pay the cost. Perhaps India, with its rampant casteism and corruption regardless of meritocracy, is a country ripe for this transition. Finally, the subject has interested me so much that I have thought to expand it in a book. We’ll see.