FASCISM

Meaning Of fascism

Fascism is a governmental system led by dictator having complete power forcibly suppressing opposition and critism, regimenting all industry, commerce etc. and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

                 

“Fascism as a genus of political ideology whose mythic core in its various permutations is a palignetic form of populist ultranationalism”[1]

Fascism is a system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socio-economic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.

Fascism is the tenets of centralized totalitarian and nationalistic government that strictly control finance industry and commerce practices rigid censorship and racism and climinate opposition through secret police.

Benito Mussolin in 1919 described Fascism as a movement that would strike against the backwardness of the right and destructiveness of the left. He stated that

“Fascism, sitting on the right could also have sat on the maintaining of the center…These words in any case do not have fixed and uncharged meaning they do have a variable subject to location time and spirit”[2]

THE ORIGIN OF FASCISM:-

Fascism is the word which derived from a Latin word “Fasces” which means a bundle of rods, round an axe which was magistrate symbol of power in ancient Rome. But in the post war period the term was used to denote group organized to fight against socialism and communist by violence. These groups attacked socialist and communist meeting, beating up their opponents and administering their own forms of torture.

Fascism started in early 1920’s following the effects of the world war I. the war killed six thousand people and left other in deep poverty and miseries. Benito Mussolini rose to power with his party called the Black shirt. So as to overcome the social miseries of the people. He got very little support in the beginning but later he used  violence to get vote and 1921 king Emanuel Victor II appointed Mussolin Italian the prime Minister. From then Mussolin abolished parliament and declared Italy a “Fascist State”

BENITO MUSSOLIN AND FASCISM:-

Benito Mussolin was born at Davia in 1883. He qualified as a teacher but soon turned to journalism. A first he was a journalist leading strikes and ended up in prison as a result.

Generally he preffered force to settle arguments. The first world war led Mussolin to give up communist most Italian socialist were against the war which hey believed was being fought to make capitalist rich. But for the Mussolin the desire to enlarge the Italian territory led him to justify the war and even to glorify fighting.

 At the end of first world war Mussolin organized a society of ex-servicemen and ex-socialist which he called Fasco di  combalimentto (Union of Combat). His organization became the nucleus of the fascist party. The fascist were strongly nationalist. They advocated aggressive foreign policy. The fascist were also bitterly opposed to communism

“To resist these unpatriotic movement trends of young men, weaving black shirt and armed with guns and clubs were set up to break up communist meeting and destroy communist printing presses, literature and red flags”[3]

These activities of fascist led to fascist society being popular throughout Italy, Fascism stood for all the desired things of the wealthier classes

“In October 30, 1922 the King called upon Mussolin to form a government fearing the famous March to Rome”[4]

There number of factors which necessitate emergence of Fascism as follows:-

Political instability and weakness of the rulling government, that was due  to the existing government of king Emmanuel II started to become weaker and weaker and easily challenged. This government was doing very little to improve the life of people. The leaders used their positions to enrich themselves while the entire masses including workers and oeasants were unpaid and severely exploited by their government. These instability led to the rise of violence every where in Italy. The situation that led to loose confidence over their parliament and government respectively.

The effect of the first world war, Although Italy was a victorious nation in the first world war the way taxed its resources heavily. It was unable to organize her industries or put its soldiers back to work. Farm production fell, workers rioted and farmers demanded land of their own  . it is clear that first world war increased suffering and discontent in an increase of unemployment, due to closure of industries inflation as a result of printing a lot of money to finance the war, low prices of the crops, poverty and shortage of land among peasants due to land acceleration. In that situation Italians wanted a strong leader like Mussolin to find solution

“These problem increased hardship of life to most Italians who started to loose confidence in the ruling government as they thought that all these problems were caused by the existing government”[5]

The weakness of the Versailles Treaty. During the first world war Italy was sided with triple entente and was to be considered by being given some colonies. Italy was promised parts of Austria Hungary including Treaties Fume and areas of Zara Albania. But the treaty of Versailles gave Italy little in repayment, and its post war problems were grave. During Versailles treaty Italy was not considered in the dividing Germany colonies and other possessions promised by allied powers in the Anglo Italian agreement of 1915. She got only few parts of Austria and province of trentine.

“This situation led into emergence of grievance among Italian nationalist feeling that they were humiliated by the peace treaty. Many felt a sense of disgrace because Italy was not playing an influential role in world affairs”[6]

The great economic depression of 1929-1933, increased economic hardship in Europe and Italy in particular. This hardship increased when USA withdraw from helping Italy. Because of this economic hardship some people forced to form political groups claiming to solve peoples problems. Among the people who formed political groups was Benito Mussolin a true of Fascism in 1919.

The spread of socialism with all discontents that resulted from the political instability and weakness of the ruling government, the impacts of the First world war and the great economic depression some people opted for Marxism. The ex-soldiers, farmers and the workmen with Marxist stand wanted  to wage a revolution to establish a socialist state in Italy. Farmers were no longer ready to pay rent; they seized the land of the land lords. In industrial cities employees refused to work, some locked out their employers, some disposed their employers and owners of industries and tried to run the industries on their own.

“By 1918 the situation terrified the bourgeoisie making them ready to support any ant-communist movement like Fascism to suppress the Marxist ideas”[7]

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The role of Benito Mussolin, he was born in 1883 became a teacher by professional and then a socialist journalist in 1912 wrote article favouring the overthrown of capitalism. By 1914 Mussolin had the party “The socialist party” but in the same year he left his party as it could not support Italy entry into world war I on the side of allie in 1919 Mussolin formed Fascist part demanding to rule the government and restroring Italy to a glorius position in the world. He wrote about Italy became a great nation and thus the risk of Fascism

“Mussolin got greater support from different groups namely, the capitalist, middle class people, University student, shopkeepers, the army, pupils in school and even the petty bourgeoisie”[8]

CONCLUSION:-

For a time Fascism seem to be successful. In 1929 he made peace with the Roman Catholic Church by signing a treaty that recognized the Pope as the ruler of Vatican city and made Catholicism the official region of the nation. For the first ten years or so of fascist rule. Every thing seemed to go well. The second ten years were to prove story success encouraged Mussolini but his ambition was to prove a bad thing for Italy and to the world as well.

REFFERENCE:-

Channel M and Writing  J (1959) MODERN WORLD HISTORY; Heinemann Education Publisher Chicago

Griffin Roger and Mathew Feldman(1991) FASCISM, CRITICAL CONCEPT IN POLITICAL SCIENCE; J Martins Press

Mushenga A.M  (1997) ADVANCED APPROACH TO AFRICAN HISTORY;   Grapet Traders Kampala

OXFORD English Dictionary Online, Retrived 18 ^th May 2011

Stanley G & Payne (1995);   A HISTORY OF FASCISM 1914-1945; University of Wisconsin Press

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