GIOVANNI GENTILE AND ITALIAN FASCISM This resea

This research paper critically analyzes the philosophy of Giovanni Gentile (1875-1944) and discusses its relevance to Italian fascism and its leader Benito Mussolini.

From roughly 1925 to 1932 Gentile and his philosophy played a central role in the evolution of Italian fascism while at other times his and its influence were more marginal. In the two decades which preceded Mussolini's takeover of the Italian state in 1922, Gentile became widely known for his philosophy of actualism, a neo-Hegelian, anti-Marxist, idealistic, elitist and nationalist view of reality, society and history, one of many currents in Italian intellectual thought and popular writing which rejected the status quo and called for Italy's spiritual, political, economic and social regeneration under a strong, authoritarian state and a more vigorous assertion of Italian interests abroad. In 1923-1924, Gentile served as Mussolini's first Education Minister, but his reform of the public school system achieved only limited results.

As the leading theoretician of the regime, Gentile formulated and synthesized into a coherent doctrine the diverse and often conflicting elements of Italian fascism and provided much of its ethical and moral raison d'etre. He also led the partially-successful early effort to rally Italian intellectuals behind the regime. After 1932, Gentile's influence within the government and the fascist movement declined, because his stridently expressed

. . .
tizens which it had a right to demand. In return, the state owed its citizens a tutelary responsibility "of creating a moral environment in which the individual, surrounded by distraction and afflicted by self-serving passions, might be able to imbue the narrowness of self with the fullness of humanity." According to Gregor, "by the end of the First World War, Gentile had decided that the times required a fundamental change in the moral consciousness of Italians if they were to overcome the afflictions that rendered Italy of no account in the modern world," including a renewal "of new ideas and a new spirit." Role of Revolutionary Elites. Like Michel who spoke of the need for a vanguard elite to energize the will of the masses, Gentile "argued that systemic social change was often . . . the product of the activities of a 'guiding minority' leading a 'guided majority'," which might be led by "political geniuses, or "privileged and providential spirits," who could "intuit the collective psychology of the masses" and be their spokesman. Gentile's Educational Reforms Gentile joined Mussolini's first cabinet as Minister of Education, one of ten non-Fascists out of 14. In doing so, he lent his considerable intellectual luste
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Doctrines Fascism, De Grand, Gentile's Actualism, Minister Justice, Italian Fascist, Role Gentile, Fascist Party, According Gregor, Fascist Theologian, Popular Culture, italian fascism, according gregor, de grand, gentile's view, philosophy actualism, salo republic, gentile's philosophy, world war, rinehart company 1947, fascist party, fascist doctrine, gentile's philosophy actualism, york rinehart company, according lyttleton gentile, social doctrine fascism,
Approximate Word count = 5204
Approximate Pages = 21 (250 words per page)