Mussolini & Fascism in Italy
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One of the ironies of the twentieth century has been the development and promulgation of fascism and the engendering regimes it produces. A somewhat amorphous doctrine, it is important to initially distinguish dictatorship from totalitarianism, and then proceed to define fascism. Dictatorship as an historical phenomenon is, at most, an expedient theory of government, at worst a despotic control by one man or group. Totalitarianism, particularly in its forms after World War I, was more than a theory of government it was a theory of human nature. Fascism, then, as a particularly virulent form of totalitarianism, was tied with nationalism, dictatorship, and totalitarianism and produced not only a theoretical organization of the State, but of government, science, economics, and human nature.1This paper will focus on Benito Mussolini and the development of fascism in Italy. After a brief overview of the definition of fascism and fascism in the historical context, the paper will turn to the intellectual origins of Mussolini's fascism, in the guise on Gentile, Nietzsche, Sorel, Bergson, and Pareto. The paper will then turn to Mussolini's major contributions toward the ideology, and will 1 For an introductory discussion of Italian Fascism, see R.R. Palmer, and Joel Colton, A History of the Modern World, (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1984), 780 84. also examine the social and political conditions engendered by fascism. Finally, the paper will conclud
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up called the Fascio di Combattimento. As a theoretical organization, it was really established by Mussolini in the early 1920s, and empathized the need for pride in the nation, radical destruction of the old order, hostility toward communism, contempt for democracy, admiration of military virtues, and obedience to a leader.7
Mussolini was much like the doctrine of fascism itself, a combination of many ideas and philosophies from a variety of sources. For instance, although the various parts of the Fascist coalition were united in their nationalistic zeal and hatred of Marxism, the actual philosophy of fascism had many divergent components. In Giovanni Gentile, the idea that the ethical State was the source of all that was truly human became embodied in the persona of the State exemplified by Mussolini himself. Moreover, the 1925 publication of the
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6 Alexander De Grand, Italian Fascism Its Origins and Development, (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1989), 139.
7 Angelo Rossi, The Rise of Italian Fascism, 1918 1922, (New York: Howard Fertig, 1966), 3 60, passim. Manifesto of Fascist Intellectuals by Gentile,
asserted that fascism was a vindication of the rights of the nation and of the sta
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Approximate Word count = 1866
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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