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.1
This 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 conclude with the legacy of fascism and some of the current historical debates on the subject.
In the twentieth century, the term "fascism" has been most closely identified with Benito Mussolini, creator of Italian fascism. Mussolini's movement, which appeared in 1919, was a way to capitalize on the postwar problems and disappointments faced by the Italian people. It was aided by a virtual breakdown of legality and order, and many in all classes turned toward this new promise of law, or...