1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff Lauren 2 00:00:07,920 --> 00:00:14,160 Speaker 1: volgeban here. In nineteen twenty two, Benito Mussolini gained control 3 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:18,040 Speaker 1: of Italy and introduced the world to fascism, a political 4 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:22,800 Speaker 1: movement that eventually brought the world to war. Mussolini didn't 5 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:25,919 Speaker 1: invent the fascist movement, but he did coin the term 6 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:30,640 Speaker 1: and define the Italian fascist movement. In nineteen thirty two, 7 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:34,560 Speaker 1: he wrote that fascism quote believes neither in the possibility 8 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:41,159 Speaker 1: nor the utility of peace. In fascism, the state is 9 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:45,000 Speaker 1: all that matters, and constant conquest is a necessity for 10 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:48,839 Speaker 1: the glory of that state. The success and glory of 11 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:52,839 Speaker 1: the people comes by extension. War alone brings up to 12 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 1: its highest tension, all human energy, and puts the stamp 13 00:00:56,240 --> 00:00:59,480 Speaker 1: of nobility upon the peoples who have courage to meet it. 14 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 1: Fascism is a word thrown around a lot these days. 15 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:09,360 Speaker 1: Some use the term to describe any authoritarian person or government, 16 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:14,480 Speaker 1: especially one that rules by violent means, but authoritarianism is 17 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:19,960 Speaker 1: only part of the fascist philosophy. For example, Communism under 18 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:25,399 Speaker 1: Joseph Stalin was authoritarian and extraordinarily violent, but communism calls 19 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:29,399 Speaker 1: for an erasure of class divides. In that way, fascism, 20 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 1: with its focus on a hierarchy of superiority, stands in 21 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:38,720 Speaker 1: direct opposition to communism. The word fascism comes from the 22 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:44,039 Speaker 1: Italian term fascio, meaning bundle. Mussolini first used the word 23 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:47,800 Speaker 1: fascism in nineteen nineteen. It has its roots in the 24 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 1: Latin word fascis, which described a bundle of sticks tied 25 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:55,520 Speaker 1: to a single axe head. The fascis was a symbol 26 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 1: of unity and righteous power in ancient Rome. One might 27 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:03,640 Speaker 1: say the fascian embodies the essence of fascism. The people 28 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:06,720 Speaker 1: are the sticks, tied together and to the state to 29 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:10,960 Speaker 1: form a strong, single unit, the state being the axe head, 30 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:18,120 Speaker 1: which has the power to create, to enforce, and to obliterate. Today, 31 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:21,320 Speaker 1: let's look closely a fascism find out what the term 32 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: really means and how the ideology has been used to 33 00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 1: unite nations and divide the world. We'll also see what 34 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:32,679 Speaker 1: conditions must exist for fascism to seem appealing. What does 35 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: it take for millions of individuals to support a philosophy 36 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 1: that explicitly negates their personal value. Fascism is notoriously difficult 37 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:48,840 Speaker 1: to define because it has no single philosophy. Mussolini's brand 38 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 1: of Italian fascism with a capital F isn't exactly like 39 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:56,200 Speaker 1: Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler's brand of fascism with a 40 00:02:56,280 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 1: lowercase F, and both are different from the neo fascist 41 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 1: views of groups like the Skinheads post World War Two. Still, 42 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:08,800 Speaker 1: there are some core principles that identify a fascist movement 43 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:13,919 Speaker 1: and a fascist party. First, there's a concept of survival 44 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 1: of the fittest. Some fascists were influenced by the writings 45 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:22,200 Speaker 1: of Charles Darwin and his theory of natural selection. In 46 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:25,600 Speaker 1: the context of fascism, the state is only as powerful 47 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:29,240 Speaker 1: as its ability to wage wars and win them. The 48 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,919 Speaker 1: state is thereby selected for survival due to its strength 49 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:38,080 Speaker 1: and dominance. Peace is viewed as weakness aggression as strength. 50 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 1: Under fascism, a strength is the ultimate good and ensures 51 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:47,320 Speaker 1: the survival of the state. Then there's a sense of 52 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:52,840 Speaker 1: a strict social order. Fascism maintains an unbendable class structure, 53 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: purportedly to avoid any hint of chaos, which is a 54 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:59,400 Speaker 1: threat to the state. The state's power depends on the 55 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:04,120 Speaker 1: maintenance of class system, in which every person has a definite, unchangeable, 56 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:09,400 Speaker 1: specific role in glorifying the state. It's an absolute rejection 57 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:17,920 Speaker 1: of humanism and democracy. Next, there's authoritarian leadership. The state's 58 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:23,000 Speaker 1: interests require a single, charismatic leader with absolute authority. This 59 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:26,520 Speaker 1: is the concept of the leadership principle that it's necessary 60 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:29,680 Speaker 1: to have an all powerful and heroic leader to maintain 61 00:04:29,839 --> 00:04:32,839 Speaker 1: the unity and unquestioning submission of the people that the 62 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:37,320 Speaker 1: fascist state requires. This leader often becomes a symbol of 63 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:44,800 Speaker 1: the state. Fascist regimes are also typically violent. In fascist ideology, 64 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: physical violence is necessary to suppress anyone who stands outside 65 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:52,560 Speaker 1: the group and in the way of the state's power. Ever, 66 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:58,680 Speaker 1: increasing strength is in effect the very meaning of life. 67 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:03,600 Speaker 1: So what are the goals of fascism? While the fascist 68 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 1: state is the center of the universe, the primary goal 69 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:10,320 Speaker 1: of fascism is social regeneration, the lifting up of a 70 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:15,640 Speaker 1: particular class of people. Regeneration is achieved through national unity 71 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:21,200 Speaker 1: and a rejection of individualism. This requires the people's initial support. 72 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:25,400 Speaker 1: A fascist regime generally gains the support by promoting a 73 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:28,719 Speaker 1: series of ideas through the media, public rallies, and other 74 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:34,120 Speaker 1: forms of propaganda. These ideas can include a nationing crisis, 75 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:36,839 Speaker 1: that is that the state is in decline and that 76 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:40,920 Speaker 1: it's only getting worse. In fascist ideology, there are two 77 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:45,359 Speaker 1: primary causes for this decline. The variety of racial or 78 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:48,560 Speaker 1: ethnic groups in the state, which makes the state impure 79 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:53,400 Speaker 1: and weakens it, and a conspiracy by certain racial, ethnic, 80 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:58,679 Speaker 1: or national groups to keep the state down. There's also 81 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:02,080 Speaker 1: the concept of an idealized past that the state is 82 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:07,400 Speaker 1: currently damaged but was once supreme. A fascism aspires toward 83 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,200 Speaker 1: the renewal of the state and its primary ethnic group 84 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 1: to some past era of glory, which upon examination of history, 85 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:21,120 Speaker 1: is mythical. And then there's a fascist concept of a 86 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:25,080 Speaker 1: need for social change that the people must submit to 87 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:29,040 Speaker 1: major changes, including a new social structure and way of life, 88 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:35,640 Speaker 1: in order to achieve this mythical revival. Because that last 89 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:40,440 Speaker 1: one is difficult to swallow. Fascism arises from poor socioeconomic conditions, 90 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:43,760 Speaker 1: like those of post World War two Japan or post 91 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:47,440 Speaker 1: World War I Europe. The countries that were defeated in 92 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:50,599 Speaker 1: World War One suffered greatly from the restrictions placed on 93 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:54,560 Speaker 1: them after the war. In Germany, a fascist government promised 94 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:57,000 Speaker 1: to return to a better life and a better position 95 00:06:57,040 --> 00:07:03,320 Speaker 1: in the world. In fascism, remember, individuals exist only in 96 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:07,839 Speaker 1: relation to the state. From Mussolini and Hitler, the principles 97 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:11,760 Speaker 1: of democracy and capitalism, which stemmed from the European Enlightenment 98 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 1: movement of the seventeen hundreds, stood in the way of 99 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:19,600 Speaker 1: the power of the state. In fascist terms, these trends, 100 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:24,320 Speaker 1: based on concepts of individuality, equality, and positive self interest, 101 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 1: limited the unity and the drive for survival necessary for 102 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:35,640 Speaker 1: social renewal. Mussolini wrote in nineteen thirty two, quote Fascism 103 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:40,000 Speaker 1: denies the absurd conventional truth of political equality, the myth 104 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:46,040 Speaker 1: of happiness and indefinite progress. By dispelling the idea of happiness, 105 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:48,960 Speaker 1: a fascist society is able to constrain its people and 106 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:52,400 Speaker 1: convince them to submit for the greater good. People cannot 107 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:56,160 Speaker 1: gather without permission, and they can't say anything negative against 108 00:07:56,200 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: the state. Instead, there submerged in extreme nationalism and ethnic unity. 109 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:06,840 Speaker 1: Political youth groups recruit the younger members of society, teach 110 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:09,520 Speaker 1: them about the state, and entrust them with its survival 111 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 1: and its power. A fascism glorifies youth, which makes sense 112 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:16,520 Speaker 1: if you consider the ideal of survival of the fittest. 113 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:21,120 Speaker 1: The young are the strongest and thus the fittest. The 114 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:25,800 Speaker 1: state sponsored rallies and parades dominates social life. National flags 115 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:29,520 Speaker 1: and imposing monuments loom over the landscape, and state holidays 116 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:34,280 Speaker 1: fill the calendar. These symbols and celebrations have a quasi 117 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:38,520 Speaker 1: religious quality, in that they encourage absolute faith, just in 118 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:44,360 Speaker 1: the state, not in a creator. Fascism was at its 119 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:47,800 Speaker 1: height between nineteen eighteen and nineteen forty five, the end 120 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:50,240 Speaker 1: of World War I through the end of World War II. 121 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:54,920 Speaker 1: Europe's general upheaval during that period left it receptive to 122 00:08:55,040 --> 00:09:00,520 Speaker 1: fascist propaganda and ideology, but when the Axis powers, including 123 00:09:00,559 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 1: Germany and Italy were defeated, their fascist regimes became widely 124 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:12,360 Speaker 1: viewed as evil, inextricably tied to genocide and World war. However, 125 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:17,439 Speaker 1: the fall of true fascism didn't destroy the concept. Neo fascism, 126 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:21,280 Speaker 1: sometimes called neo Nazism if it's specifically based on Hitler's views, 127 00:09:21,679 --> 00:09:24,120 Speaker 1: has popped up many times since the end of World 128 00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:29,200 Speaker 1: War II. Today, neo fascism describes a variety of separate 129 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:32,360 Speaker 1: movements around the world that espoused the ideals of power 130 00:09:32,559 --> 00:09:37,560 Speaker 1: supremacy and ethnic purity. These groups often haven't had the 131 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:42,000 Speaker 1: power to pursue the conquering military component of original fascism, 132 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:47,440 Speaker 1: but they do sometimes practice the violence. For example, in 133 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:51,400 Speaker 1: the nineteen nineties alone, neo fascists took responsibility for the 134 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 1: bombing of the Federal building in Oklahoma City, a series 135 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:58,520 Speaker 1: of bombings in Germany targeting immigrants, and several bombings in 136 00:09:58,559 --> 00:10:04,720 Speaker 1: London against racial, minority and gay people. Neo fascist political 137 00:10:04,760 --> 00:10:08,520 Speaker 1: movements that ascribe to some traditionally fascist ideals like racial 138 00:10:08,559 --> 00:10:12,040 Speaker 1: purity and the dominance of state interests might pursue these 139 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:17,240 Speaker 1: ideals in several forms, for example, anti immigration laws and 140 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:23,040 Speaker 1: isolationist foreign policies. They often enact small but increasing limitations 141 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:25,600 Speaker 1: on civil rights a made in the name of giving 142 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:29,640 Speaker 1: a state more power to protect the populace from external aggressors, 143 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:34,560 Speaker 1: and there's often government intervention in economic matters such as 144 00:10:34,559 --> 00:10:37,280 Speaker 1: means of production in the name of securing the state 145 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:43,920 Speaker 1: from shortages and economic downturns. A Neo fascists attempt to 146 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:47,280 Speaker 1: gain support and power the same way other modern movements do, 147 00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:51,800 Speaker 1: the political involvement, media presence, and all sorts of online marketing. 148 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:58,400 Speaker 1: Anti fascist activism, meanwhile, often further includes community organizing such 149 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:02,200 Speaker 1: as workers' rights and mutual campaigns in order to help 150 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:07,320 Speaker 1: prevent that economic desperation in which fascism has historically taken hold. 151 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:14,800 Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article how Fascism Works 152 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:17,360 Speaker 1: on how stuffworks dot Com, written by Julia Layton and 153 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:20,520 Speaker 1: John Donovan. Brain Stuff is production by Heart Radio in 154 00:11:20,559 --> 00:11:23,600 Speaker 1: partnership with HowStuffWorks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. 155 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:27,400 Speaker 1: Four more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 156 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:30,520 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.