What is Fascism?
Fascism |ˈfa sh ˌizəm| (also Fascism) noun: An authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization. Extreme right-wing, authoritarian, or intolerant views or practice. ORIGIN from Italian fascismo, from fascio ‘bundle, political group,’ from Latin fascis (see fasces). Authoritarianism, totalitarianism, dictatorship, despotism, autocracy; Nazism, rightism; nationalism, xenophobia, racism, anti-Semitism; jingoism, isolationism; neofascism, neo-Nazism.
 Faux-Stereotype: "The term Fascism was first used of the totalitarian right-wing nationalist regime of Mussolini in Italy (1922–1943), and the regimes of the Nazis in Germany and Franco in Spain were also fascist. Fascism tends to include a belief in the supremacy of one national or ethnic group, a contempt for democracy, an insistence on obedience to a powerful leader, and a strong demagogic approach."
Government *CONTROL* of Capital!
In a Fascist system, the government does NOT own businesses on paper, but it does control them. In Mussolini’s Italy, even though he didn't hold title to businesses, he told the owners what to produce, how much to produce, when to produce, where to buy raw materials, who to hire, who to fire, and what prices to charge. The rest was "up to them". The fascist system is more efficient than other state-controlled systems due to those living under it thinking they still control their businesses. Such a government controls the owners through an array of taxations and regulations.
Fascism is REALLY defined as a government that CONTROLS major corporations. Fascist governments do NOT "own" anything on paper. In the case of the United States, international corporations CONTROL the government. The symbol for fascism is a fasces, which is an axe bound within a bundle of sticks; there have been TWO FASCI in the United States Capital right behind the podium where Congress makes laws, and where the President of the "free world" givees his state of the union speech.
"Corporate ownership intermingled with secret society members, many of whom are employed in the media, may explain why Bilderberg, Trilateral, and CFR meetings are not reported by America's watchdog media. In fact, the membership lists of these societies read like a who's who of the mass media."
— Jim Marrs in Rule by Secrecy
By the time Mussolini returned from Allied service in World War I, he had decided that Socialism as a doctrine had largely been a failure. In 1917, Mussolini got his start in politics with the help of a £100 weekly wage from MI5, the British Security Service; this help was authorised by Sir Samuel Hoare. In early 1918, Mussolini called for the emergence of a man "ruthless and energetic enough to make a clean sweep" to revive the Italian nation. Much later in life Mussolini said he felt by 1919 "Socialism as a doctrine was already dead; it continued to exist only as a grudge". On March 23, 1919, Mussolini reformed the Milan fascio as the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento (Italian Combat Squad), consisting of 200 members.
An important factor in fascism gaining support in its earliest stages was the fact that it claimed to oppose discrimination based on social class and was strongly opposed to all forms of class war. Fascism instead supported nationalist sentiments such as a strong unity, regardless of class, in the hopes of raising Italy up to the levels of its great Roman past. The ideological basis for fascism came from a number of sources. Mussolini utilized works of Plato, Georges Sorel, Nietzsche, and the socialist and economic ideas of Vilfredo Pareto, to create fascism.
Mussolini admired The Republic, which he often read for inspiration. The Republic held a number of ideas that fascism promoted such as rule by an elite promoting the state as the ultimate end, opposition to democracy, protecting the class system and promoting class collaboration, rejection of egalitarianism, promoting the militarization of a nation by creating a class of warriors, demanding that citizens perform civic duties in the interest of the state, and utilizing state intervention in education to promote the creation of warriors and future rulers of the state. The Republic differed from fascism in that it did not promote aggressive war but only defensive war, unlike fascism it promoted very communist-like views on property, and Plato was an idealist focused on achieving justice and morality while Mussolini and fascism were realist, focused on achieving political goals.
Mussolini and the fascists managed to be simultaneously revolutionary and traditionalist; because this was vastly different to anything else in the political climate of the time, it is sometimes described as "The Third Way". The Fascisti, led by one of Mussolini's close confidants, Dino Grandi, formed armed squads of war veterans called Blackshirts (or squadristi known as Black Bloc in the USA) with the goal of restoring order to the streets of Italy with a strong hand. The Blackshirts clashed with communists, socialists and anarchists at parades and political demonstrations (protests); all of these factions were also involved in clashes against each other. The government rarely interfered with the Blackshirts' actions, owing in part to a looming threat and widespread fear of a communist revolution.
The Fascisti grew so rapidly that within two years, it transformed itself into the National Fascist Party at a congress in Rome. Also in 1921, Mussolini was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the first time. In the meantime, from about 1911 until 1938, Mussolini had various affairs with the Jewish author and academic Margherita Sarfatti, called the "Jewish Mother of Fascism" at the time.
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (Italian pronunciation: [beˈniːto musːoˈliːni]; 29 July 1883 – 28 April 1945) was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism.
 Mussolini became the 40th Prime Minister of Italy in 1922 and began using the title Il Duce by 1925. After 1936, his official title was "His Excellency Benito Mussolini, Head of Government, Duce of Fascism, and Founder of the Empire". Mussolini also created and held the supreme military rank of First Marshal of the Empire along with King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, which gave him and the King joint supreme control over the military of Italy. Mussolini remained in power until he was replaced in 1943; for a short period after this until his death, he was the leader of the Italian Social Republic.
Benito Mussolini was among the founders of Italian Fascism, which included elements of nationalism, corporatism, national syndicalism, expansionism, social progress and anti-communism in combination with censorship of subversives and state propaganda. In the years following his creation of the Fascist ideology, Mussolini influenced, or achieved admiration from a wide variety of political figures.
Among the domestic achievements of Mussolini from the years 1924–1939 were: his public works programs such as the taming of the Pontine Marshes, the improvement of job opportunities, and public transport. Mussolini also solved the Roman Question by concluding the Lateran Treaty between the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy See (the Pope). He is also credited with securing economic success in Italy's colonies and commercial dependencies.
On June 10, 1940, Mussolini led Italy into World War II on the side of the Axis despite initially siding with France against Germany in the early 1930s. Believing the war would be short-lived, he declared war on France and Great Britain in order to gain territories in the peace treaty that would soon follow.
Three years later, Benito Mussolini was deposed at the Grand Council of Fascism, prompted by the Allied invasion of Italy. Soon after his incarceration began, Mussolini was rescued from prison in the daring Gran Sasso raid by German special forces. Following his rescue, Mussolini headed the Italian Social Republic in parts of Italy that were not occupied by Allied forces. In late April 1945, with total defeat looming, Mussolini attempted to escape to Switzerland, only to be quickly captured and summarily executed near Lake Como by Italian partisans. His body was then taken to Milan where it was hung upside down at a gas station for public viewing and to provide confirmation of his demise. Economy of Italy under Fascism 1922-1943
Mussolini launched several public construction programs and government initiatives throughout Italy to combat economic setbacks or unemployment levels. His earliest, and one of the best known, was Italy's equivalent of the Green Revolution, known as the "Battle for Grain", in which 5,000 new farms were established and five new agricultural towns on land reclaimed by draining the Pontine Marshes. In Sardinia, a model agricultural town was founded and named Mussolinia, but has long since been renamed Arborea. This town was the first of what Mussolini hoped would have been thousands of new agricultural settlements across the country. This plan diverted valuable resources to grain production, away from other less economically viable crops. The huge tariffs associated with the project promoted widespread inefficiencies, and the government subsidies given to farmers pushed the country further into debt.
Benito Mussolini also initiated the "Battle for Land", a policy based on land reclamation outlined in 1928. The initiative had a mixed success; while projects such as the draining of the Pontine Marsh in 1935 for agriculture were good for propaganda purposes, provided work for the unemployed and allowed for great land owners to control subsidies, other areas in the Battle for Land were not very successful. This program was inconsistent with the Battle for Grain (small plots of land were inappropriately allocated for large-scale wheat production), and the Pontine Marsh was lost during World War II. Fewer than 10,000 peasants resettled on the redistributed land, and peasant poverty remained high. The Battle for Land initiative was abandoned in 1940.
The Old "New Deal" (aka The Steal the People's Gold Trick)
 Mussolini also combated an economic recession by introducing the "Gold for the Fatherland" initiative, by encouraging the public to voluntarily donate gold jewellery such as necklaces and wedding rings to government officials in exchange for steel wristbands bearing the words "Gold for the Fatherland". Even Rachele Mussolini donated her own wedding ring. The collected gold was then melted down and turned into gold bars, which were then distributed to the national banks.
Benito Mussolini pushed for government CONTROL of business: by 1935, Mussolini claimed that 75% of Italian businesses were under state CONTROL. That same year, he issued several edicts to further CONTROL the economy, including forcing all banks, businesses, and private citizens to give up all their foreign-issued stocks and bonds to the Bank of Italy. In 1938, he also instituted wage and price CONTROLS. He also attempted to turn Italy into a self-sufficient autarky, instituting high barriers on trade with most countries except Germany.
In 1943 Mussolini proposed the theory of economic socialization. |
located in the areas of northern Italy occupied by Germany, reformed the MVSN into the Republican National Guard (Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana, or GNR).
The fall of the Fascist regime in Italy and the disbandment of the MVSN saw the establishment of the Republican National Guard (Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana or GNR), and the emergence of the Black Brigades (brigate nere). The forty Black Brigades consisted of former MVSN, former Carabinieri, former soldiers, former Italian Africa Police, and others still loyal to the Fascist cause. Alongside with their Nazi and Schutzstaffel (SS) counterparts, the Black Brigades committed many atrocities in their fight against the Italian resistance movement and political enemies. On August 15, 1944, the GNR became a part of the Army.
