158 Chapter 7
TYPES OF FASCISM Although it is possible to identify a common set of fascist values and principles, Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany nevertheless represented different versions of fascism and were inspired by distinctive and sometimes rival beliefs, with, for example, Franco’s Spain being closer to the former. Fascist regimes and movements have therefore corresponded to one of two major traditions, as illustrated in Figure 7.1. These are:
z z extreme statism z z extreme racism.
Extreme statism (Fascist Italy)
Extreme racism (Nazi Germany)
Generic fascism
Figure 7.1 Types of fascism
Extreme statism The totalitarian ideal
Totalitarianism (see p. 159) is a controversial concept. The height of its popularity came during the Cold War period, when it was used to draw attention to parallels between fascist and communist regimes, highlighting the brutal features of both. As such, it became a vehicle for expressing anticommunist views and, in particular, hostility towards the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, totalitarianism remains a useful concept for the analysis of fascism. Generic fascism tends towards totalitarianism in at least three respects. First, the extreme collectivism that lies at the heart of fascist ideology, the goal of the creation of ‘fascist man’ – loyal, dedicated and utterly obedient – effectively obliterates the distinction between ‘public’ and ‘private’ existence. The good of the collective body, the nation or the race, is placed firmly before the good of the individual: collective egoism consumes individual egoism. Second, as the fascist leader principle invests the leader with unlimited authority, it violates the liberal idea of a distinction between the
state and civil society. An unmediated relationship between the leader and his people implies active participation and total commitment on the part of citizens; in effect, the politicization of the masses. Third, the monistic belief in a single value system, and a single source of truth, places fascism firmly at odds with the notions of pluralism (see p. 240) and civil liberty. However, the idea of an all-powerful state has particular significance for Italian fascism, hence the notion of extreme statism . The essence of Italian fascism was a form of state worship. In a formula regularly repeated by Mussolini, Giovanni Gentile (see p. 159) proclaimed: ‘Everything for the state; nothing against the state; nothing outside the
Monism: A belief in only one theory or value; monism is reflected politically in enforced obedience to a unitary power and is thus implicitly totalitarian. Statism: The belief that the state is the most appropriate means of resolving problems
and of guaranteeing economic and social development.
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