Fascism

Defining Fascism

• Michael Mann’s Definition: “The pursuit of a transcendent and cleansing nation-statism through paramilitarism.”
• Core Elements:
• Nationalism: Fascism cannot exist without it.
• Centralized State Power: Society as an organic whole.
• Charismatic Leadership: Undemocratic, illiberal, and hierarchical.

Political Characteristics

• Totalitarianism: Control over all aspects of life.
• Economic Corporatism: Collaboration between unions and businesses.
• Cultural Uniformity: Opposed to pluralism and individuality.

Intellectual Origins

• German Romanticism: Hegel’s organic state and national spirit.
• Nietzschean Influence: Will to power, critique of Christianity and egalitarianism.
• Rousseau’s General Will: Collectivism over individualism.

Fascism’s Variants

Italian Fascism

• Mussolini’s Template: Nationalism, militarism, and Roman legacy.
• Giovanni Gentile: “Everything for the state, nothing against the state.”
• Futurism: Breaking with tradition and embracing modernity.

German Nazism

• Hitler’s Racial State: Peasant simplicity and racial purity.
• Lebensraum Doctrine: Expansion for living space.
• Anti-Semitism: From historical prejudice to systematic genocide.

Post-War Neo-Fascism

• Revival in Western Democracies: British Union of Fascists, National Front in France.
• Populist Right Today:
• Shares themes of nationalism and social cohesion.
• Key differences: acceptance of democracy, lack of expansionist aims.

Concluding Thoughts

Fascism remains a specific, extreme form of nationalism with a legacy rooted in militarism, charismatic authority, and suppression of pluralism. While echoes exist in modern populist right movements, fundamental differences separate contemporary parties from interwar fascism.