FASCISM DEFINED | The Difference between Fascism and National Socialism

Name: FASCISM DEFINED | The Difference between Fascism and National Socialism
Uploaded: 2020-10-26T17:00:23.000Z
Duration: 1 h 18 min 38 s

Fascism and Anti-Semitism: The Truth About Mussolini's Italy

In this video, the speaker discusses the relationship between fascism and anti-Semitism in Mussolini's Italy. He argues that while many people assume that fascists are racists who hate Jews, this is not necessarily true of Italian fascism.

Fascism and Anti-Semitism

Despite common assumptions, Italian fascism was not inherently anti-Semitic or racist.

The anti-Semitic laws passed in 1938 were a result of Hitler's influence over Mussolini and Italy's desire to ally with Germany, rather than a reflection of fascist doctrine itself.

Over a third of the Jewish population in Italy were exempt from these laws due to their involvement in the fascist party or military service.

While Italian Jews suffered indignities and material losses under fascist rule, there is little evidence that any were killed simply for being Jewish.

Fascism Compared to Other Regimes

Only 12,310 people were arrested during Mussolini's reign before World War II, with only a handful sentenced to death.

While fascism was still a bad political system, it was not as evil as National Socialism or Marxist Socialism.

Marxism is actually worse than fascism in many ways but has managed to avoid the same stigma.

Overall, the speaker argues that while Italian fascism was not inherently anti-Semitic or racist, it still had negative consequences for those living under its rule. However, he also suggests that it is important to understand the nuances of different political systems and avoid painting them all with the same brush.

The Origins of Fascism

In this section, the speaker explains the origins of fascism and how it evolved from syndicalism.

Syndicalism and Trade Unions

Workers trade unions in Italy were called 'syndicate' or 'syndicalism'.

Syndicalism evolved as part of the Marxist Socialist movement but then branched away from it due to the failure of Marxism in practice.

Syndicalism is all about trade unions controlling the means of production. It pronounced itself 'anti-State' and 'anarchist'.

A trade union is a group or bundle of workers. In Italian, a bundle of sticks is a 'Fascio'. This is why trade unions in Italy were called 'Fascio', which literally means 'trade unionism' or 'power to the trade unions'.

Fascism as National Syndicalism

Mussolini's Fascism was actually National Syndicalism with a philosophy of Actualism.

Corporations are inherently Marxist-Fascist Socialist organizations. All corporations are organs of the state.

Giovanni Gentile invented the ideology of Fascism, which Mussolini put into practice. He believed that individuals had to be slaves in the state to be free.

Conclusion

The origins of fascism can be traced back to syndicalism and trade unions in Italy. Fascists believed that corporations were organs of the state and individuals had to be slaves in order to be free.

Fascism and Democracy

In this section, the speaker discusses the relationship between fascism and democracy. The speaker argues that fascism is the ultimate form of democracy because it seeks to make the people and the state one entity.

The Syndicate and Corporations

Fascism accepted from Syndicalism the idea of the educative and moral function of the syndicate.

The effort was made to enter the system of syndicates harmoniously into corporations subject to discipline by the State.

This was done in order to overcome the antithesis between the State and syndicate.

The People's State

According to Mussolini, "The people is the body of the state and

the state is the spirit of the people."

In fascism, "the people is the state and

the state is the people."

Gentile argued that fascism was a popular state, making it a democratic State par excellence.

Democracy means 'People Power', but as Gentile realized, 'People' are a 'Public', which is why we call it 'Public Sector'.

If people become part of a state, then totalitarianism becomes democracy.

Voting vs Democracy

Voting does not necessarily equate to democracy.

Democracy is 'State Power'.

According to its founder, fascism is therefore considered as an ultimate form of democracy.

Mussolini's Background

Mussolini had been a member of Marxist Socialist Party before he founded Fascism.

He believed in Marxist international-class-Socialism until he realized that nationality had more appeal than internationalism.

Italian Marxist Party

Italy did not enter World War I in its first year unlike other countries.

The Italian branch of the international Marxist Socialist Party remained firm in its international convictions, even though the rest of the world did not.

Mussolini began to argue for Italy's entry into the war, thinking that this would unite the Italian people in heart and mind.

This was not acceptable to the internationalist Marxist Socialist Party of Italy, and Mussolini was kicked out of the Party and excommunicated.

Nationalism or Internationalism?

In this section, the speaker discusses the fundamental difference between Marxism and Fascism, which is nationalism versus internationalism. The origins of Mussolini's Fascist Party are also explored.

The Difference Between Marxism and Fascism

The fundamental difference between Marxism and Fascism is nationalism versus internationalism.

Socialism becomes Fascism as they are essentially the same thing.

Fascism is a form of socialism restricted to the national level.

Origins of Mussolini's Fascist Party

The first fascio was formed in October 1914 by revolutionary syndicalists led by Corridoni and Massimo Rocca.

Mussolini gave his support for the group after he left the Socialist party, wrote its new manifesto, and dropped the word "internazionalista" from the title.

Marxist Socialists began to deny the origins of Fascism in an attempt to paint themselves as non-fascist.

What is Fascism?

In this section, the speaker discusses how many people have no idea what fascism means due to leftist ideologues refusing to accept that socialism is at the heart of fascism.

Understanding Fascism

Many people have no idea what fascism means because leftist ideologues refuse to accept that socialism is at the heart of fascism.

By denying socialism's role in fascism, you get a wishy-washy definition of fascism that stands for nothing.

Orwell's Animal Farm illustrates that socialism becomes fascism, and they are essentially the same thing.

Orwell's Views on Fascism

Orwell was no longer a socialist by the time he wrote 1984.

Orwell called Big Brother's totalitarian fascist party "Ingsoc" or English Socialism.

The Creation of Fascism

In this section, the speaker discusses how Gentile wasn't the only one who created fascism and walks us through the major players in Italian Fascism.

Major Players in Italian Fascism

Gregor has written a book called "Mussolini's Intellectuals," which walks us through the major players in Italian Fascism.

Every single one of them is either a Syndicalist who then adopted nationalism to become a Nationalist-Syndicalist.

Defining Fascism

In this section, the speaker explains how Fascism and Nazism are not the same thing. He also discusses how the two ideologies influenced each other slightly and then allied together during World War II.

Fascism vs. Nazism

The speaker explains that calling everyone on the Axis-side ‘Fascists’ caused problems when the war was over because Nazis in Germany weren’t Fascists.

Hitler never called himself a Fascist, and indeed, looked down upon Fascism.

If Fascism was National Syndicalism with a philosophy of Actualism, Nazism was a Racial Socialism with a philosophy of International Conquest (Lebensraum).

These two ideologies were completely separate from each other. They influenced each other slightly, and then they allied together during the Second World War. But they weren’t the same.

Propaganda

The Socialist propagandists had to find a way to associate Fascism with Nazism after World War II ended.

The Marxists dived into the Fascist Party’s ideology looking for anything that could be used to link the ideas of Fascism and Nazism together.

They found Julius Evola who could bridge the gap between these two ideologies.

Julius Evola

Julius Evola was an anti-Fascist masquerading as a Fascist who then evolved into a semi-National Socialist and complete lunatic.

To start with, Evola rejected the notion of national totalitarian state - which was the central core concept of Fascism.

Evola believed in the superiority of the Aryan race and was a proponent of Traditionalism, which rejected modernity and embraced ancient traditions.

Julius Evola and Fascism

This section discusses the role of Julius Evola in Fascism and his views on racism.

The Role of Julius Evola in Fascism

Mussolini used Julius Evola to deal with problems he had with the Catholic Church.

Mussolini also used Evola to bridge the gap between Fascism and National Socialism during World War II.

However, this was purely tactical, and there is no evidence that Mussolini approved of Evola's racial theories.

Julius Evola's Views on Racism

In the 1930s, Evola moved from anti-Fascism and anti-clericalism to a form of weird racism called "spiritual racism."

He believed in an Aryan "solar-Nordic" race with a "celestial race" that would cosmically reemerge on Earth.

His version of "spiritual racism" was completely different from even the ritualistic racism that Himmler believed in.

Fascist Doctrine and Ideology

This section explains that fascism wasn't inherently racist but became so due to Mussolini's alliance with Hitler.

Reasons for Italy's Invasion of Ethiopia

Italy invaded Ethiopia for national economic reasons, not racial ones.

Attitudes towards colonization had changed by then, making it less acceptable.

The Emergence of Racism in Fascist Doctrine

There was no anti-Semitism in Italy prior to 1938.

Mussolini created anti-Semitic laws in 1938 to please Hitler and bridge the gap between Fascism and National Socialism.

Racism only became an element of Fascist doctrine due to Mussolini's alliance with Hitler.

The Meaning of Fascism

In this section, the speaker discusses the meaning of fascism and how it has been misinterpreted over time.

Julius Evola and Fascism

Julius Evola was never interested in fascism and had no place in any history of fascist social and political thought.

Fascism became an all-purpose term because one can eliminate from a fascist regime one or more features, and it will still be recognizable as fascist.

Julius Evola is not a respected fascist guru but rather a symbol of fascism created by Marxist authors who continue to paint him as 'the guy' that fascism is all about.

Umberto Eco's Misconceptions

Umberto Eco was wrong to identify Julius Evola as the "fascist" source of irrationalism and antihumanism.

Eco fails to define what fascism is, talks about National Socialism as though it was fascism too, and ignores other main fascist intellectuals except Mussolini and Gentile.

By denying that fascism was a version of socialism, Marxist socialists have turned the word 'fascist' into a meaningless statement.

Differences between Fascism and National Socialism

Fascism was National Syndicalism with a philosophy of Actualism while National Socialism was Racial Socialism with race fundamentally built into the ideology.

Racism cannot be separated from National Socialism but can be separated from Fascism because Fascism doesn't require the concept of racism in order to work.

Nazi leadership never called themselves fascists, just like the fascists didn't call themselves Nazis. The only reason they got thrown together was because they were allied during the Second World War and wartime socialist propaganda called every Axis nation 'fascist'.