What were the key features of fascist ideology?
- Created by: Alasdair
- Created on: 27-05-18 13:25
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- What were the key features of fascist ideology?
- One of the vaguest political terms of C20th
- According to Payne
- Term contains no explicit political reference
- Payne
- Very few political movements who were fascists would have identified as such
- Any definition of common characteristics of fascist movements must be used with great care
- fascist movements differed from each other as significantly as they held notable new features in common
- Distinctive characteristics useful
- not as full and complete definition of such movements in and of themsevles
- only as an indication of chief characteristics they shared with distinguish them (in most respects but not absolutely) from other kinds of political forces
- Ernst Nolte's characteristics of fascism
- Six-point 'fascist minimum'
- Set of negatives
- central organisational feature
- Doctrine of leadership
- Basic structural goal
- Expressed as follows:
- Anti-Marxism
- Antiliberalism
- Anticonservatism
- Leadership principle
- Party army
- Aim of totalitarianism
- Payne's critique
- example of problems in reaching inductive set of characteristics of fascism
- Typology is helpful as far as it goes and correctly state fascist negations
- does not describe positive content of fascist philosophy and values
- Makes no concrete reference to economic goals
- Roger Griffin
- Definition of fascism
- 'a genus of political ideology whose mythic core in its various permutations is a palingenetic form of populist ultra-national'
- Payne's critique
- definition is accurate and useful
- refers to cross-class populist appeal of fascist politics and grounding in ultranationalism
- fascist ideology certainly 'palingenetic'
- emphasised above all - rebirth of national spirit, culture and society
- Arguably leftist, moderate, conservative, and extreme right-wing nationalisms are palingenetic
- Examples of nonfascist populist revolutionary forms of nationalism
- e.g. MNR in Bolivia in 1952
- this was palingenetic, so qualification of 'populist' does not serve adequately to restrict and specify
- e.g. MNR in Bolivia in 1952
- Definition cannot describe certain of central characteristics fundamental to capitalism
- definition is accurate and useful
- Definition of fascism
- Emilio Gentile
- Presents "constituent elements for an orientative definition of fascism"
- common characteristics of fascist movements were grounded in specific philosophical and moral beliefs
- new orientation in political culture and ideology
- generally common political goals
- a distinctive set of negations
- common aspects of style
- somewhat novel modes of organisation
- e..g. (does not distinguish between differing fascist movements)
- Ideology and Goals
- espousal of an idealist, vitalist and voluntaristic philosophy, normally involving attempt to realise new modern, self-determine and secular culture
- Creation of new nationalist authoritarian state not based on traditional principles or models
- Organisation of new nationalist authoritarian state not based on traditional principles or models
- Organisation of new highly regulated, multiclass, integrated national economic structure, whether called national corporist, national socialist, or nation syndicalist
- Positive evaluation and use of, or willingness to use violence and war
- The goal of empire, expansion, or a radical change in nation's relationship with other powers
- The Fascist Negations
- Antiliberalism
- Anticommunism
- Anticonservatism
- though with understand that fascist groups were willing to undertake temporary alliances with other sectors, most commonly with right
- Style and Organisation
- Attempted mass mobilisation with militarisation of political relationships and style and with goal of mass party militia
- Emphasis on aesthetic structure of meetings, symbols and political liturgy, stressing emotional and mystical aspects
- Extreme stress on masculine principle and male dominance, while espousing strongly organic view of society
- Exaltation of youth above other phases of life, emphasising conflict of generations, at least in effecting initial political transformation
- Specific tendency toward an authoritarian, charismatic, personal style of command, whether or not the command is to some degree initially elective
- Ideology and Goals
- Payne's other views
- Term fascist used not merely for sake of convention
- but because Italian movement was first significant force to exhibit those characteristics as a new type and was for a long time most influential
- constituted type whose ideas and goals wre most readily generalised, particularly when contrasted with racial National Socialism
- but because Italian movement was first significant force to exhibit those characteristics as a new type and was for a long time most influential
- Term fascist used not merely for sake of convention
- Some historians argue fascism has no coherent doctrine or ideology
- since there was no single canonical or seminal source and since major aspect of fascist ideas were contradictory and nonrationalist
- Roger Eatwell
- Argues against idea fascism had no coherent doctrine or ideology
- Suggests fascist movements did possess basic philosophies that were eclectic in character and represented a kind of synthesis of concepts from various sources
- Griffin
- reminds us that all ideology contains basic contradictions and nonrational or irrational elements, usually tending toward utopias that cannot ever be realised in practice
- Fascist ideology was more eclectic and nonrational than some others, but these qualities did not prevent its birth and limited development
- Thompson
- Militias
- Fascist organisations, wherever they could, established private militias, usually wearing a coloured shirts
- Could argue other political parties and formations in particular countries did the same but militias more central to fascists
- Fascism was populist,
- Unlike authoritarian-conservationism wanted to appeal to both elite and masses
- Militias
- One of the vaguest political terms of C20th
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