What Is Fascism And Why Does It

Emerge Essay, Research Paper

What is Fascism and Why does it Emerge?

Fascism is a political ideology that consists of an all powering totalitarian

Government, which has total control of the people, the nation and the economy.

The fascist economic system creates an upper class for the owning/ruling class

and leaves the working class in a lower state who in turn produce for the elite.

To justify themselves as beneficial to the oppressed lower class, the fascist installs an extreme sense of Nationalisms and organicism. If these method do not work then force is used. Fascism emerges out of economic crisis, a

revolutionary promise and reaction to capitalism. It is often allowed to

emerge because it is usually easy to get support from the upper class.

The fascist political structure consists of a totalitarian government with an

extreme sense of absolutism. Absolutism is the principle of a absolute power in

control with power that transcends even the laws itself, under the control of

one main dictator who carries traits of of a geniuses or of a hero. This way

the masses can be drawn into him through emotion and appeal. With the

totalitarian government the fascist has total control of the nation and the

people.

Along with the fascist total ruling over the people and nation came its total

ruling over the economy. Although different fascist have had different economic

structures, all regimes more or less, have had the same model. The main defining

character of the fascist economy is the principle of goverment-buisness

relationship. Like the first fascist regime in Italy, its leader created a

system where private ownership was allowed but state intervention was issued on

management and labour. He did this by creating grouped established syndicates,

such as The National Confederation of Commerce or the The National Federation

of Credit and Insurgence . The government then controlled these under managing

agencies called Corporations which in turn would regulate issues and

guidelines such as supply and demand, labour disputes or what interest the

business is to aim at. Although the system is supposed to function as a

partnership, the government is always in control and dominate.

Although the fascists claim this system is in the interest of the nation, it is

only in the interest of more empowerment for the government. Due to this

system both the states interest and the interest of the owning class are

integrated which creates an elite. Therefore the development and technology

only serves the interest of the elite and not the working class which is to be

convinced to interact with promoting the sense that there dedication is

necessary for the wellbeing of the nation.

Nationalism is a force which the fascist uses to eliminate conflict between

social classes and restore unity through shared values such as race, language,

religion and unifies men through symbols and traditions of a nation. It reduces

the risk of liberal individualism and focuses on funnelling aggression into a

powerful force and channelling it against outsiders so individuals will not

question the state.

Nationalism often relies on the use of a scapegoat. The most blatant example of

this was Hitler’s scapegoating on the Jews. He would blame them for the defeat

of Germany in World War 1, or claim they were the downfall of Germany. Hitler

took this idea to an extreme and later went on to ethnic cleansing which

resulted in the death of 6 million Jews.

Another method of motivating the masses is to present the concept of organicism.

Organicism is the theory of viewing a nation like a growing powerful single body.

It focuses on the idea that the body is made up of individual components all

having individual functions, but are unimportant, and only important as a whole

body. The fascist applies this principle to the notion that the individual is

unimportant as a single person but significant in the fact that it’s a component

of the community and the interest of the state which is the superior element of

existence. The fascist feels that all means for the state are justifiable

and there is no room for detachment from the cause, for neutrality or for the

luxury of being a mere spectator (Growth, 97). The fascist also uses this

principle in justifying the rationality of the fascist economic system with

demoralising the image of the individual as a person producing for himself, and

not for the community as he should be.

If nationalism and organicism do not supply enough motivation to create a

dominant ideology, the fascist resorts to tapping deeper levels of motivation

(…,19) and uses coercive force. They try to achieve a goal of breaking down

the individual spirit of liberalism and will resort to violence ways if

necessary.

The other use of force that the fascist utilises for conformity is to misinform

the masses or not inform them at all. Examples of this can either be the

dismissal of civil rights such as freedom of speech or assembly or controlling

the means of informative sources such as newspapers television and other sorts

of communication. These are tactics the fascist utilises if the population does

not consent to the government.

Fascism emerges as a response to capitalism. It is a revolutionary promise to

rehabilitate a nation in economic depression or unemployment by uniting and

focusing the economic power of all social classes. This in turn is to

restabilise a nation economically. It utilises the principle of nationalism to

try to unite the social classes and if that does not work it resorts to force,

a coercive method of resolving conflicts within an industrially more advanced

society (Ebenstein,81). Usually fascism reinvests economic gain into its

military with the hope of trying to mobilise the nation to its full capacity.

This system of government usually emerges when other forms of government have

failed. Where democracy lacked in a sense of hope and faith, fascism excelled.

Post war Germany, Italy and Argentina in 1955 can all exemplify this theory of

emergence:

After World War 1, Italy had a poor economy and its national identified

diminished. To build the nation and strengthen it economically was to create a

state the would take full control to accomplish this, the people were desperate

for a solution.

World War I also effected Germany in an economic sense. It left the country

bankrupt, millions were jobless and the Treaty of Versailles left the nation

with reparations. The national socialists and communists were the two main

parties at the time. The Nazis utilised their economic plan to restore the

nation winning mass appeal which enabled them to implement their plan of

imperialistic conquest which was Hitters real goal.

Another period in which the economic condition enabled fascism to emerge was

Argentina in 1930. It was at this time a predominantly agricultural nation.

The conflict was landowners who were a comparison of feudal barons. There was

also the trend of world wide depression and the emergence of an anarchist

movement that aimed at direct appropriation of farm and land ownership. This

attempt at unifying the South American country was overthrown ten years later.

Another factor that helps the fascist come into power is mass support from the

owning class. They see fascism as way of securing their wealth and corporations,

and see it as protection from labour disputes. They support the fascist into

office and then they themselves claim power as an elite.

In conclusion the fascists main concern is power. They take total control over

the people and all issues of the nation by totalitarianism. The economic system

is only in the interest of the state, creating an elite class and therefore

oppressing the lower classes who are made to believe in the nation while its

there blood and sweat that produces for the government, and if they do not they

are violently forced. The only reason this type of government emerges is

because it appears as a solution to economic crisis in time of despair and gets

support from the powerful upper class which benefit from it, the lower class are

oppressed.