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fascism

A Dictionary of World History

fascism A political ideology of the first half of the 20th century, the central belief of which was that the individual should be subjugated to the needs of the state, which in turn should be directed by a strong leader embodying the will of the nation. It arose in opposition to COMMUNISM but adopted totalitarian styles of propaganda, organization, and violence. The word (from the Roman FASCES) was first used by the Fascio di Combattimento in Italy in 1919. MUSSOLINI shaped fascism into a potent political force in Italy and HITLER developed a more racist brand of it in Germany. Similar movements, which adopted a paramilitary structure, sprang up in Spain (the FALANGE), Portugal, Austria, the Balkan states, France, and South America. In Britain the National Union of Fascists under MOSLEY was founded in 1932, and between 1934 and 1936 was violently anti-Semitic.

Once in power (in 1922 in Italy) fascists attempted to impose a military discipline on the whole of society at the expense of individual freedom (though, despite the socialist elements in fascist ideology, there was little interference with private ownership). Democratic institutions were replaced by the cult of the single leader, whose pronouncements were unchallengeable. Fascism was thus a form of TOTALITARIANISM and was finally defeated only by military means in the course of World War II. Since then various extreme right-wing parties based on fascist principles have emerged in Europe and elsewhere, but are generally supported only by a tiny minority of the population.

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© A Dictionary of World History 2000, originally published by Oxford University Press 2000.

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