PART II—THE RISE OF THE FASCIST PARTY

NZ Services Current Affairs Bulletin, Volume 1, Issue 17, 9 August 1943, Page 7

PART II—THE RISE OF THE FASCIST PARTY

1. How the .Fascists established Themselves Into this chaotic disorder Mussolini first appeared. His first public appearance was in March, 1919, when he proclaimed himself to be the representative of order. The Italian people needed little inducement to believe that martial law was better than none at all. Mussolini’s popularity gained, and larger and larger numbers joined the Fascist party. The Socialist leaders used the only weapon they had against the growing threat of the new party. In July, 1922, as a protest against the illegalities of the Fascists and in defence of threatened political and trade-union liberties, a national general strike was proclaimed. The strike was a failure. Had every worker struck, the Constitution might have been guaranteed. As it was,, the Socialist leaders were disorganized against the disciplined ruthlessness of the Fascists. They suffered the fate of the overscrupulous ; and the Fascists finally broke the strike on August 5, -1922. The Government had now to recognize Mussolini and the Fascist party. 2. The Fascists march on Rome The next step towards complete authority could be taken. If the Government was weak, Mussolini was by no means sure of his strength, since the people were somewhat dismayed at the methods which the Fascists had used to break the strike and intimidate their opponents. Yet the longer Mussolini waited, the more likely it would become that his enemies' would unite to form a common front. And so Mussolini ordered a move on the capital. He announced that a march on Rome would be undertaken by October 29. King Victor Emmanuel, panic-stricken, would not give orders to call the army for fear of mutiny. On October 27 the Cabinet Ministers offered their resignations. The Government, whose resignations had not been accepted, decided to summon the army and proclaim a state of siege. The King refused to sign the Proclamation. Matters were in this critical but irresolute state when the Fascists simply walked past the surprised and discomfited authorities. 3. The Fascists govern Italy With success, Mussolini’s demand was unconditional : “ I must form my own Government.” At' noon on October 29 the King agreed by telegram (Mussolini prudently remained in Milan, 400 miles from Rome). He was now Prime Minister, and the Government of Italy was in his power. It could be upset only by another, revolution. . 4. What is Fascism ? The Fascist Party had arrived on waves of emotion and appetite. It now felt the need of political ideas and doctrine to justify what it had done and was yet to do. Since 1922 there has grown up a body of literature on the political, social, and economic doctrines of Fascism. All of it was written after the Fascists seized power. Mussolini and his lieutenants, at the time of the march on Rome, had one idea— seize power. They were opportunists, ready to take

up any doctrine which served their purpose. And behind the social philosophy which later cloaked their intellectual nakedness they remained opportunists. Fascism as an “ idea is indefinable,” said one of the more honest of Mussolini’s propagandists, “ It is a fact which is taking place.” In considering the official dogmas of Fascism, therefore, we must always bear in mind that they have never restricted the freedom of action of the party chiefs. On the political side the theory of Fascism is brutally simple. “ The legitimate will of the citizen is that which coincides with the will of the State ’’—that is, the citizen is free as long as he does what he is told. If he resists the authority of the State, the State must discipline him with violence, which, used for. this purpose, is “ holy and highly moral.” The Fascist party, organized on the principle of order, discipline, and hierarchy, “is the only lawful political organization and provides the governing class.” On the economic side, Fascism was more elaborate and committed itself to the theory of the corporate State. It claimed to be neither capitalistic nor socialistic, but insisted that all engaged in production had a national responsibility and were responsible to the State.

The units of organization in the corporate State were the syndicates of workers, employers, and professional men. In industry, employers’ and workers’ syndicates were represented, along with the Fascist party, on corporations which had the function of adjusting labour disputes, regulating wages and costs, and advising the Government. The corporate State is not a Fascist idea ; it was advocated by the nineteenth century “ guild socialists ” in England and by right-wing groups in France. “ The corporate state,” wrote Farinacci, a former party secretary, in September, 1941, “is completely bankrupt.” How far it was ever more than a theory is doubtful. The one certainty is that Fascism failed nowhere more disastrously than in the field of economic regulation. 5. Fascism and Nazism Though the Fascist State is more than ten years older than the National Socialist State, Fascism has never established the hold over Italy that National Socialism has established over. Germany. The main reasons for this are (1) The German monarchy had been eliminated before Hitler came on the scene. In Italy the Monarchy as an institution managed to survive the Fascist revolution and to remain more or less apart from Fascism. (2) Italy is almost wholly Catholic, and the Catholic Church has been strong enough to thwart Fascist efforts to dominate education. Germany is predominantly Protestant, and the Protestant Churches, divided among themselves, have been less successful in opposing Hitlerism. (3) Fascism won power easily and in a brief space of time. National Socialism had to fight its way forward step by step for more than a decade; in the process it became ruthless and disciplined.