Rich wrote:
I thought it might be more useful to talk about this in the WW2 thread. Now the first thing we need to understand here is that fascism is a myth. Yes the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento did exist and the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento / Partito Nazionale Fascista was an inspiration for movements and parties in other countries, but Musslioni did not discover or invent any shiny new ideology. What was new was the context. That at the end of WWI universal adult male suffrage became the norm. Universal adult suffrage would follow on as the norm but that's not really important. States had been practicing limed suffrage democracy or unequal suffrage, for thousands of year democracies had used these systems and now they disappeared almost over night.overnight.
So what was new was not some revolutionary ideology, but that conservatives had to adjust to the new reality. Now what was World War 2 about? World War 2 was a conflict between the established Great powers / Super powers on the one hand,and the US, the British Empire and the French and the would be super powers of Germany and Japan on the other. Many other countries were involved in WW2, but they became involved because they were invaded or because of perceived opportunity not because of ideology.
This point needs emphasis. World war 2 was a conflict of nation states for empires. World War 2 was a nationalist conflict. It was not a war about wider ideological principles. However the three allied powers were liberal democracies in their home lands all though ruling vast formal and informal empires. Germany and Japan were ultra militarist. Particularly Nazi Germany. The classic example of ultra militarism is Sparta. The army in Sparta did not exist to support the state. The state existed to support the army. German Nazism did not begin with Hitler. It did not begin with the DAP / NSDA. It began with Frei Korps.
Any date will be arbitrary, but we can perhaps think of the beginning of National Socialism with the French Revolution, with mass conscription. There is no policy more socialist than conscription. In World War ! we saw all the major European powers move in a national socialist direction. Britain became even more national socialist during World War 2. Hence why it was natural at the end of World War 2 to create a National Health Service. Before and during World War I, the great pwoers built huge, hugely expensive armed forces to defend their states. The Soviet Union built huge armed forces to defend it's state. That didn't happen in Nazi Germany. In Nazi Germany the purpose of the state was to support the armed forces.
"Similarly, fascism as an ideology is also hard to define. Originally, it referred to a totalitarian political movement linked with corporatism which existed in Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. Many scholars use the word "fascism" without capitalization in a more general sense to refer to an ideology (or group of ideologies) that has been influential in many countries at various times. For this purpose, they have sought to identify what Roger Griffin calls a "fascist minimum" — that is, the minimum conditions a movement must meet in order to be considered fascist.[4]
The Holocaust Encyclopedia defines fascism as "a far-right political philosophy, or theory of government, that emerged in the early twentieth century. Fascism prioritizes the nation over the individual, who exists to serve the nation." and as "an ultranationalist, authoritarian political philosophy. It combines elements of nationalism, militarism, economic self-sufficiency, and totalitarianism. It opposes communism, socialism, pluralism, individual rights and equality, and democratic government."[8]
In his 1995 essay "Ur-Fascism", cultural theorist Umberto Eco lists fourteen general properties of fascist ideology.[13] He argues that it is not possible to organise these into a coherent system, but that "it is enough that one of them be present to allow fascism to coagulate around it". He uses the term "ur-fascism" as a generic description of different historical forms of fascism. The fourteen properties are as follows:
"The cult of tradition", characterized by cultural syncretism, even at the risk of internal contradiction. When all truth has already been revealed by tradition, no new learning can occur, only further interpretation and refinement.
"The rejection of modernism", which views the rationalistic development of Western culture since the Enlightenment as a descent into depravity. Eco distinguishes this from a rejection of superficial technological advancement, as many fascist regimes cite their industrial potency as proof of the vitality of their system.
"The cult of action for action's sake", which dictates that action is of value in itself and should be taken without intellectual reflection. This, says Eco, is connected with anti-intellectualism and irrationalism, and often manifests in attacks on modern culture and science.
"Disagreement is treason" – fascism devalues intellectual discourse and critical reasoning as barriers to action, as well as out of fear that such analysis will expose the contradictions embodied in a syncretistic faith.
"Fear of difference", which fascism seeks to exploit and exacerbate, often in the form of racism or an appeal against foreigners and immigrants.
"Appeal to a frustrated middle class", fearing economic pressure from the demands and aspirations of lower social groups.
"Obsession with a plot" and the hyping-up of an enemy threat. This often combines an appeal to xenophobia with a fear of disloyalty and sabotage from marginalized groups living within the society (such as the German elite's "fear" of the 1930s Jewish populace's businesses and well-doings; see also antisemitism). Eco also cites Pat Robertson's book The New World Order as a prominent example of a plot obsession.
Fascist societies rhetorically cast their enemies as "at the same time too strong and too weak". On the one hand, fascists play up the power of certain disfavored elites to encourage in their followers a sense of grievance and humiliation. On the other hand, fascist leaders point to the decadence of those elites as proof of their ultimate feebleness in the face of an overwhelming popular will.
"Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy" because "life is permanent warfare" – there must always be an enemy to fight. Both fascist Germany under Hitler and Italy under Mussolini worked first to organize and clean up their respective countries and then build the war machines that they later intended to and did use, despite Germany being under restrictions of the Versailles treaty to not build a military force. This principle leads to a fundamental contradiction within fascism: the incompatibility of ultimate triumph with perpetual war.
"Contempt for the weak", which is uncomfortably married to a chauvinistic popular elitism, in which every member of society is superior to outsiders by virtue of belonging to the in-group. Eco sees in these attitudes the root of a deep tension in the fundamentally hierarchical structure of fascist polities, as they encourage leaders to despise their underlings, up to the ultimate leader, who holds the whole country in contempt for having allowed him to overtake it by force.
"Everybody is educated to become a hero", which leads to the embrace of a cult of death. As Eco observes, "[t]he Ur-Fascist hero is impatient to die. In his impatience, he more frequently sends other people to death."
"Machismo", which sublimates the difficult work of permanent war and heroism into the sexual sphere. Fascists thus hold "both disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality".
"Selective populism" – the people, conceived monolithically, have a common will, distinct from and superior to the viewpoint of any individual. As no mass of people can ever be truly unanimous, the leader holds himself out as the interpreter of the popular will (though truly he alone dictates it). Fascists use this concept to delegitimize democratic institutions they accuse of "no longer represent[ing] the voice of the people".
"Newspeak" – fascism employs and promotes an impoverished vocabulary in order to limit critical reasoning."
The apocalyptic and millenarian aspects of fascism have often been subjected to study.[5][6]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definitions_of_fascism
- By Rancid
- By Tainari88
- By Pants-of-dog