Fascism | 8values ​​Interpretation of ideological ideology in political tests

Explore the 'fascist' ideology in the 8 values ​​test of political tendency. This article will deeply analyze the origin, core characteristics, economic models, similarities and differences with Nazism, as well as its evolution and threats in history and contemporary times. Understanding this complex political phenomenon will help you understand the political spectrum more comprehensively and to self-aware through the 8values ​​political test.

Fascism, as a powerful political wave in Europe in the early 20th century, still has a profound impact on global political thought and historical processes. Among the 52 ideological results of the 8 values ​​political test, "fascism" represents a unique political stance and worldview. It is not a simple synonym for "bad guy", but a complex and contradictory political philosophy, whose history of rise and fall provides profound lessons for human society. This article will combine the views of many historians and original materials to comprehensively interpret all aspects of fascism to help you have a clearer understanding of yourself and other political tendencies after completing the 8values ​​political spectrum coordinate analysis .

The etymology and core concept of fascism

The word "fascism" comes from the Latin word "fasces", which means "stretching sticks" or "privileges". In ancient Rome, when the consul went on a tour, a sharp axe was inserted in the middle of the stick carried by the guards. This stick was a symbol of the highest power of the Roman country, meaning "unity, unity, unity of the whole people" and "violence, authority." This rod was once a torture instrument, which the consul could sentence the criminal to death. When Mussolini founded the Italian National Fascist Party, he chose "fascism" as his party name and logo, and followed the customs and etiquette of ancient Rome, such as using black shirts as uniforms, stick patterns as party emblems, and replacing the traditional handshake ceremony with Roman salutes, aiming to "restore the glorious achievements of ancient Rome."

The core of fascism lies in its position as a state or nation above the individual, emphasizing that "individuals obey the collective, collectives obey the leaders." Mussolini's fascist philosophy believes that the state is absolute, and individual groups or individuals are unimaginable outside the state. Only through the state can the true rationality and free will of individuals be realized, so individuals must absolutely obey the state. It is a "model of totalitarian politics" that completely mobilizes society through a powerful leader, namely the dictator, and the ruling fascist party to establish a national unity and maintain a stable and orderly society.

Roger Griffin pointed out that the core of fascism's myth is that the national crisis heralds the birth of a new order , that is, national society will rebirth after being purified and revived. This extreme nationalism of palingenesis is a defining feature of fascism. It defends political actions in pursuit of a perfect society and is regarded as a "political gospel" that can meet the psychological needs of the society as a whole. Fascism is classified as a "far-right" reactionary force on the political spectrum, characterized by aggressive nationalism and anti-communist and anti-liberal totalitarian political philosophy.

Social background and the rise of fascism after World War I

The rise of fascism is not accidental. It is the product of a series of political, economic and social crises intertwined by European countries after World War I, especially Italy and Germany. The road to Europe is filled with a sense of decline, and people are full of anxiety and fear of the future.

"Incomplete Victory" and Chaos in Italy after the War

During World War I, Italy paid a huge price and suffered heavy casualties. However, at the post-war Paris Peace Conference, Italy did not gain much benefit as a victorious country, and even had no say in the "Big Three" and was considered a "loseman of the Peace Conference." Italian historian Crozzi believes that the war not only brought fatal trauma to Italy, but also left visible ulcers. This makes Italy feel a sense of "depression" and humiliation.

Economically, Italy suffered a huge blow after the war, the value of the currency lira to gold fell sharply, the currency was viciously inflated, the ratio of government bonds to GDP was extremely high, and the country was heavily in debt. As a result, society became chaotic, prices soared, and people's lives were in a difficult situation. In 1920, more than 2,000 strikes broke out in Italy, with more than 2.3 million people participating, a huge scale. These strikes even evolved into armed threats and occupation of factories, known as the "Red Two Years". Behind it is the Communist Party inciting and advocating, which has triggered fear of the Communist Revolution. Industrial and commercial giants and big landlords feel a huge threat to the rise of the left.

Mussolini and the Fascist Party come to power

In such social unrest, Benito Mussolini and his fascist party emerged. Mussolini was considered "Hitler's teacher" and inspired Hitler. He used society’s boredom with chaos, strikes and the threat of communism, as well as the middle class’s frustration, to put forward the claim that “action is better than promises.” The Fascist party was initially composed of a group of veterans with strong nationalist sentiment who felt neglected by society and turned against by politicians.

In the 1921 Italian parliamentary elections, the Fascist party won 105 seats out of 535 seats. However, Mussolini was not satisfied. In 1922, he called on more than 30,000 fascist masses to "marche into Rome" and seize power through a coup. Italy's King Victor Emmanuel III finally appointed Mussolini as prime minister because of fear of civil war. Since then, the fascist party has rapidly increased its seat in Congress and has almost completely controlled Congress in 1929 and 1934. It is worth noting that the economic panic had not yet occurred when the Fascist Party came to power (1922), indicating that the post-war chaos itself provided an opportunity for fascism.

Similar situations in Germany

Germany also experienced a similar social background after the war. Germany was on the brink of collapse due to the failure of World War I, the loss of territory, huge reparations and economic disasters. The democratic politics of the Weimar Republic was questioned, and the people were generally dissatisfied with the incompetence of the ruling class and missed the glory and authoritarian leadership of the empire in the past. The success of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution also made German industrial and commercial giants and landlords feel a huge threat to the rise of the left. This social situation breeds provocative, aggressive and emotional nationalist "xenophobic spirit".

The distinctive characteristics of fascism: transcending traditional political models

Fascism has no rules, it is "a collage of different philosophical and political ideas, a beehive made up of contradictory things." But it is firmly emotionally firm on some prototypes and has the following distinctive characteristics:

Extreme nationalism and the principle of state supremacy

The most fundamental characteristic of fascism is ultimate nationalism , which transcends traditional nationalism and emphasizes that a nation is a living organism that transcends the individual, has life and destiny, can thrive, die, or resurrection. It advocates the concept of nationality of “organic,” “race,” or “integrated” and emphasizes identification with homogeneous culture, shared history and sense of national belonging. This sense of belonging is destroyed by factors such as individualism, consumerism, mass immigration, globalism (cosmopolitanism) and globalization.

Fascism praises "state supremacy", believing that the state is always greater than the individual, and that personal value is recognized only when it is consistent with national interests. In order to the glory of the country, aggression and expansion are also considered justified. It advocates restoring the grandeur of the nation. For example, Italian fascism uses the slogan of "restoring the glory of ancient Rome" to inspire the people's "patriotic spirit" and "believer sentiment".

Authoritarianism and Leadership Worship

Fascism completely abandons democratic politics and replaces it with dictatorship and totalitarian regimes . It does not believe in the majority rule through regular consultations, emphasizes "innate, fruitful and beneficial inequality of man" and believes that the noisy, corruption and corruption in democratic politics are unsatisfactory. In the view of fascism, people are constructed as entities expressing common will, while leaders pretend to be their translators.

The leader was deified and ranked at the highest point of the pyramid-shaped organizational structure. He was the representative of the will of the whole people and the commander-in-chief of all actions. For example, Mussolini strives to create his image as a "tough guy" and emphasizes his fortitude and masculinity. His pet is a lion and he deliberately shaved his head to highlight his masculinity. Textbooks teach children to worship Mussolini from an early age and promote his efforts for the welfare of the motherland and the people. This kind of leader worship is an important means of fascism in maintaining systematic governance, accompanied by heroism and death worship.

Advocate violence and warlike spirit

Fascism advocates violence and believes that "acting for action." Faced with social chaos and strikes, the fascist party will use violent means to suppress protesters and force them to go back to work. Violence is regarded as a tool for "national purification", and war is given sacred value, and is a means for the nation to achieve "rejuvenation". Fascism believes that life is a permanent war, and pacifism is an illegal transaction with the enemy. Mussolini and Hitler both firmly believed that "a cowardly nation is not worthy of survival and must fight to consolidate its dominance in the world."

Anti-liberalism and anti-communism

Fascism is an anti-liberal, anti-communist and anti-conservative reactionary force.

• Anti-liberalism : Fascism completely denies the abstract concepts of individualism, parliamentary democracy, free competition economy and freedom of thought since the 18th century. It believes that liberalism leads to social chaos, corruption and personal selfishness. Mussolini believed that democracy was a failed system, and the freedom to express opinions and form parties was hypocritical.
• Anti-Communism : Fascism and communism are mortal enemies, both extreme left and extreme right. It is hostile to class struggle and proletarian dictatorship, and advocates replacing class division with great national unity. The fascist party violently suppressed strikes and workers' organizations in response to the panic caused by the Russian Bolshevik Revolution in Europe.
• Anti-Conservative : Fascism, while attaches importance to tradition, rejects the restoration of the non-liberal conservative politics of the old order, but instead realizes the regeneration of the state through the new order, which reflects its revolutionary and forward-looking nature.

Fascism and Nazism: Dissimilarity and understanding of similarities and similarities

Fascism and Nazism are often confused, but the two are not exactly the same in concept. Although the two have similarities in many aspects, such as both advocate chauvinism, totalitarianism, one-party dictatorship, leader worship and foreign aggression and expansion. However, there are also significant differences between them.

Core Differences: The Degree and Function of Racism

At the heart of Nazism is extreme racism and anti-Semitism, especially the Aryan theory of superiority and the purpose of eliminating the Jews. Hitler believed that world history is the history of racial struggle, the German nation is the best race in the world, and the Jewish nation is the "inferior" race, which should be eliminated and a large-scale genocide policy (Holocaust). The Nazi "Lebensraum" theory was also directly related to racial expansion and conquest, believing that the country's responsibility lies in pursuing the expansion of national living space.

Italian fascism is reserved. Although its racism exists, it was not a core idea in the early days of Mussolini's rule. Anti-Semitism policy was more of a strategic consideration of alliance with Hitler, and was less than that of the Nazis. Mussolini's fascism emphasizes the absolute supremacy of the state , believing that culture should serve the state and that the state does not need to serve a specific race. Mussolini even formulated some anti-Semitism legislation very late, and Italy's anti-Semitism is not higher than that of Britain and the United States.

Interpretation of name and "socialism"

"Nazi" is the abbreviation of "National Socialism", emphasizing the implementation of socialism within the nation, focusing on the rights of workers, and opposing Jewish capitalists, but it was later revised to corporateism by Hitler and no longer engaged in class struggle. Its "socialism" is internal to the nation and ultimately serves the strength of the nation/race, rather than socialism in the general sense.

"Fascism" comes directly from the Latin word "branch", and emphasizes state power and centralization . Although Mussolini's fascism also had the slogan of "real socialism", it never actually harmed the interests of the big capitalists. Instead, it received their support and was regarded as a "noble lie."

Militarism and related political systems

Japanese militarism is one of the three major forms of fascism, but it is different from German and Italian fascism. It advocates force and military expansion, emphasizes the superiority theory of the "Yamato nation", and advocates the establishment of the "Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Circle". Its ideological roots come more from Japanese myths and legends and the Bushido spirit, rather than Western social Darwinism. The Japanese militarist system is relatively more premodern, such as retaining the imperial autocratic system. Japan's sense of national identity mainly comes from Japanese myths and legends, rather than Western social Darwinism.

Other examples of the regime considered fascist or quasi-fascist include the Franco in Spain, the Salazar regime in Portugal, and some military fascist regimes in Central and South America. They usually share characteristics such as authoritarian rule, nationalism, and anti-communism, but differ in specific manifestations and ideological depth.

Related Readings: Fascism and Militarism: Two Faces of Totalitarian Rule

Fascist economy: a variation of capitalism under authoritarianism

Fascist economic thought does not have a complete theoretical system like Marxism, but it has formed a unique economic model in practice - a social economic system or a corporate state (Corporate State ).

State intervention and class reconciliation

Fascism opposes laissez-faire capitalism and also opposes Marxist class struggle. It advocates the implementation of planned economy and the organization of the economy through the state's comprehensive leadership and intervention in the economy, and realizes the ideal of great national unity and equal wealth for the whole people. The Mussolini government established a corporate department, organized the economy into 22 sectoral companies, prohibited workers from strikes and wage-holders from shutting down work, and formulated the Labor Charter to mediate labor-capital disputes, replacing class struggle with "labor-capital cooperation". This model is called "national combinationism", and the state plays the role of coordinator of economic activities among trade unions in different industries.

Protectionism and self-sufficiency

The fascist government promotes protectionist and interventionist economic policies to achieve internal economic self-sufficiency (Autarky). For example, Italy enacted exclusive alliances, tariff barriers, currency restrictions and large-scale economic regulation in the late 1930s. Nazi Germany also implemented an economic agenda aimed at self-sufficiency and re-arming, and implemented a trade protectionist policy. This approach aims to avoid the spread of economic problems in other countries, cut off international financial ties, and regulate the free circulation of currencies.

Capitalists' support and practical interests

Although fascism verbally claims to be anti-consortium and anti-international capital, it has never really damaged the vested interests and power of the big capitalists. On the contrary, one of the important reasons why the fascist party was able to quickly seize power and consolidate its rule was that it received support and funding from the tycoons of industrial and commercial tycoons and the big landlord class. Under the fascist system, the state actively guides corporate investment, significantly reduces the unemployment rate, and improves some working conditions. These measures have won the support of the working class to a certain extent, although wages are generally low. But in the end, the fascist economic model led to further concentration of wealth in the hands of a few monopoly companies, such as during the Nazi Germany, where a few companies controlled the investment capital of most joint-stock companies. Mussolini once proudly claimed that three-quarters of Italy's industrial and agricultural economy are in the hands of the country.

Propaganda, control and totalitarian means

Through strict propaganda and control means, the fascist regime achieved all-round totalitarian rule over society.

Ideological tools and mass psychology

Fascism builds its own ideology into the only doctrine that governs all aspects of society. It instills the thoughts and will of leaders into the people through comprehensive control of propaganda tools (such as books, newspapers, radio, works of art). Hitler was well aware of the psychology of the masses. He emphasized that propaganda should be popular and targeted at the low-educated people. The content is empty but full of emotions. He manipulated public opinion by repeating and exaggerating lies, because "a lie will become the truth if it is repeated a thousand times." Propaganda often exploits people’s fear, prejudice and frustration to simplify complex problems and blame all the blame on a certain racial or hostile ideology.

Fascism also creates collective excitement and a "mass hypnosis" through carefully directed mass gatherings and political ceremonies . Magnificent scenes, passionate patriotic songs and inflammatory speeches can transcend the shackles of reason, inspire the fanaticism of the masses, and strengthen allegiance to the leaders and enthusiasm for serving the country.

Repression and social engineering

To maintain rule, fascist countries established secret police (such as the Gestapo in Germany) and armed forces (such as Mussolini's Blackshirts, Hitler's SS), to crack down on dissidents, and implement terrorist policies such as raids, assassinations and even genocide. The education system has also become a tool for fascist countries, conducting discipline training and inculcating ideas through fixed curriculum and authoritative teachers. The Fascist Party masters all propaganda and educational tools and transforms the leader's thoughts and will into the people's thoughts and will.

Fascists are committed to achieving a homogeneous, perfectly coordinated national community, and therefore will spare no effort to eliminate all elements that are considered corrupt and harmful. This inevitably leads to large-scale social engineering plans and to create consensus through publicity, indoctrination, and the suppression and terrorism of internal and external enemies.

The everlasting fascism: Historical echoes and contemporary warnings

After the end of World War II, fascism as a political phenomenon did not completely disappear, but instead "reincarnated and reborn" all over the world in the form of "neofascism".

Umberto Eco's Fourteen Characteristics of "Eternal Fascism"

In 1995, the Italian philosopher Umberto Eco proposed fourteen characteristics of "Ur-Fascism". They are not systematic theories, many of which may even conflict with each other, but may also manifest as other forms of autocracy or blind belief, but as long as one of them appears, it is enough to condense fascism on it. These characteristics deeply reveal the nature of fascism and its potential threats:

1. Fanatic worship of tradition : Belief that humans were revealed at dawn, the truth has long been elucidated, just to be constantly explained.
2. Rejecting Modernism : Rejecting the spirit of 1789 (the French Revolution) and 1776 (the American independence), viewing the Enlightenment and the Age of Reason as the beginning of modern degeneration.
3. Action for action : Action itself is beautiful and must be implemented before thinking, even without thinking; thinking is seen as a way to castrate humans.
4. Dissent is treason : the belief in fusionism cannot withstand analytical criticism, and the critical spirit is regarded as a symbol of modernism; for primitive fascism, disagreement is treason.
5. Fear of Difference : Cultivating consensus by exploiting and aggravating natural fear of Difference is conceptually racist.
6. Individual or social frustration : The middle class, which originates from economic crises, political humiliation and lower-class pressure, is its typical attraction.
7. The existence of the enemy : the follower must feel besieged, and the enemy provides a definition for the state; this distinction is usually resolved by xenophobia and the view of Jews, etc. as internal and external enemies.
8. The wealth and power of the enemy create a sense of humiliation for the followers : the enemy is simultaneously portrayed as too strong and too weak to inspire a sense of humiliation and belief in victory.
9. Struggle is not for life, but for life is for battle : pacifism is regarded as an illegal transaction with the enemy, and life is a permanent war.
10. People’s elitism : Every citizen belongs to the best person in the world, and the members of the party are the best among citizens; at the same time, every leader despises his subordinates, and his subordinates despise his subordinates.
11. Hero worship and its roots: Death worship : Heroism is regarded as a norm, closely linked to the death cult, longing for heroic death and actively sending others to death.
12. Men's culture : Turning willpower to sexual matters, emphasizing machismo, despising women and non-standard sexual orientations, and tending to play with weapons.
13. Leader-led populism : People are constructed as entities expressing common will, and leaders pretend to be their translators, opposing the “rotten” parliamentary government.
14. New Words : Use poor vocabulary and original grammar to limit complex and critical thinking.

Neofascism and the ongoing threat

After World War II, neofascism adapted to the contemporary environment, and its organizational form and policy propositions were adjusted, such as seeking power through the parliamentary path and striving to shape the image of "democracy" and "mainstream". It uses economic crisis, political instability, and concerns about immigration and multiculturalism to resurface. Although no longer publicly emphasizes conquering "survival space" through force, its extreme nationalism, anti-free constitutionalism, and anti-multiculture still exists. The "Ten Steps of Society Going to Fascism" proposed by Toni Morrison also reminds us that the emergence of fascism is a gradual process, from establishing imaginary enemies to ultimately maintaining silence.

Historical experience shows that it is impossible to completely eliminate fascism through legislation, because fascism is essentially a naked weapon of bourgeois rule. As long as capitalist society exists, fascism may exist as a potential threat to the working class. The understanding of the class nature of fascism and its function as a fight against working-class organizations is crucial. Only through active struggle and the complete destruction of the capitalist system that breeds fascism can it be ensured to be completely defeated.

Conclusion: Understanding the deep meaning of fascism

Fascism is a complex and dangerous political ideology that rose in 20th century Europe with an extreme nationalism, authoritarian dictatorship, violent worship and anti-liberalism and anti-communism, causing great disasters to mankind. Through tools like 8values ​​political tests , we can better understand ourselves and more deeply understand the underlying logic of different political positions.

A deep understanding of the origin, characteristics and evolution of fascism is crucial for us to identify the political phenomena in today's world and beware of its "political return". Under the increasingly complex and changeable global pattern, it is the responsibility of every citizen to maintain independent thinking, maintain the bottom line of human civilization, and jointly find a way out to solve social difficulties.