Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff Lauren
Speaker 1: volgeban here. In nineteen twenty two, Benito Mussolini gained control
Speaker 1: of Italy and introduced the world to fascism, a political
Speaker 1: movement that eventually brought the world to war. Mussolini didn't
Speaker 1: invent the fascist movement, but he did coin the term
Speaker 1: and define the Italian fascist movement. In nineteen thirty two,
Speaker 1: he wrote that fascism quote believes neither in the possibility
Speaker 1: nor the utility of peace. In fascism, the state is
Speaker 1: all that matters, and constant conquest is a necessity for
Speaker 1: the glory of that state. The success and glory of
Speaker 1: the people comes by extension. War alone brings up to
Speaker 1: its highest tension, all human energy, and puts the stamp
Speaker 1: of nobility upon the peoples who have courage to meet it.
Speaker 1: Fascism is a word thrown around a lot these days.
Speaker 1: Some use the term to describe any authoritarian person or government,
Speaker 1: especially one that rules by violent means, but authoritarianism is
Speaker 1: only part of the fascist philosophy. For example, Communism under
Speaker 1: Joseph Stalin was authoritarian and extraordinarily violent, but communism calls
Speaker 1: for an erasure of class divides. In that way, fascism,
Speaker 1: with its focus on a hierarchy of superiority, stands in
Speaker 1: direct opposition to communism. The word fascism comes from the
Speaker 1: Italian term fascio, meaning bundle. Mussolini first used the word
Speaker 1: fascism in nineteen nineteen. It has its roots in the
Speaker 1: Latin word fascis, which described a bundle of sticks tied
Speaker 1: to a single axe head. The fascis was a symbol
Speaker 1: of unity and righteous power in ancient Rome. One might
Speaker 1: say the fascian embodies the essence of fascism. The people
Speaker 1: are the sticks, tied together and to the state to
Speaker 1: form a strong, single unit, the state being the axe head,
Speaker 1: which has the power to create, to enforce, and to obliterate. Today,
Speaker 1: let's look closely a fascism find out what the term
Speaker 1: really means and how the ideology has been used to
Speaker 1: unite nations and divide the world. We'll also see what
Speaker 1: conditions must exist for fascism to seem appealing. What does
Speaker 1: it take for millions of individuals to support a philosophy
Speaker 1: that explicitly negates their personal value. Fascism is notoriously difficult
Speaker 1: to define because it has no single philosophy. Mussolini's brand
Speaker 1: of Italian fascism with a capital F isn't exactly like
Speaker 1: Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler's brand of fascism with a
Speaker 1: lowercase F, and both are different from the neo fascist
Speaker 1: views of groups like the Skinheads post World War Two. Still,
Speaker 1: there are some core principles that identify a fascist movement
Speaker 1: and a fascist party. First, there's a concept of survival
Speaker 1: of the fittest. Some fascists were influenced by the writings
Speaker 1: of Charles Darwin and his theory of natural selection. In
Speaker 1: the context of fascism, the state is only as powerful
Speaker 1: as its ability to wage wars and win them. The
Speaker 1: state is thereby selected for survival due to its strength
Speaker 1: and dominance. Peace is viewed as weakness aggression as strength.
Speaker 1: Under fascism, a strength is the ultimate good and ensures
Speaker 1: the survival of the state. Then there's a sense of
Speaker 1: a strict social order. Fascism maintains an unbendable class structure,
Speaker 1: purportedly to avoid any hint of chaos, which is a
Speaker 1: threat to the state. The state's power depends on the
Speaker 1: maintenance of class system, in which every person has a definite, unchangeable,
Speaker 1: specific role in glorifying the state. It's an absolute rejection
Speaker 1: of humanism and democracy. Next, there's authoritarian leadership. The state's
Speaker 1: interests require a single, charismatic leader with absolute authority. This
Speaker 1: is the concept of the leadership principle that it's necessary
Speaker 1: to have an all powerful and heroic leader to maintain
Speaker 1: the unity and unquestioning submission of the people that the
Speaker 1: fascist state requires. This leader often becomes a symbol of
Speaker 1: the state. Fascist regimes are also typically violent. In fascist ideology,
Speaker 1: physical violence is necessary to suppress anyone who stands outside
Speaker 1: the group and in the way of the state's power. Ever,
Speaker 1: increasing strength is in effect the very meaning of life.
Speaker 1: So what are the goals of fascism? While the fascist
Speaker 1: state is the center of the universe, the primary goal
Speaker 1: of fascism is social regeneration, the lifting up of a
Speaker 1: particular class of people. Regeneration is achieved through national unity
Speaker 1: and a rejection of individualism. This requires the people's initial support.
Speaker 1: A fascist regime generally gains the support by promoting a
Speaker 1: series of ideas through the media, public rallies, and other
Speaker 1: forms of propaganda. These ideas can include a nationing crisis,
Speaker 1: that is that the state is in decline and that
Speaker 1: it's only getting worse. In fascist ideology, there are two
Speaker 1: primary causes for this decline. The variety of racial or
Speaker 1: ethnic groups in the state, which makes the state impure
Speaker 1: and weakens it, and a conspiracy by certain racial, ethnic,
Speaker 1: or national groups to keep the state down. There's also
Speaker 1: the concept of an idealized past that the state is
Speaker 1: currently damaged but was once supreme. A fascism aspires toward
Speaker 1: the renewal of the state and its primary ethnic group
Speaker 1: to some past era of glory, which upon examination of history,
Speaker 1: is mythical. And then there's a fascist concept of a
Speaker 1: need for social change that the people must submit to
Speaker 1: major changes, including a new social structure and way of life,
Speaker 1: in order to achieve this mythical revival. Because that last
Speaker 1: one is difficult to swallow. Fascism arises from poor socioeconomic conditions,
Speaker 1: like those of post World War two Japan or post
Speaker 1: World War I Europe. The countries that were defeated in
Speaker 1: World War One suffered greatly from the restrictions placed on
Speaker 1: them after the war. In Germany, a fascist government promised
Speaker 1: to return to a better life and a better position
Speaker 1: in the world. In fascism, remember, individuals exist only in
Speaker 1: relation to the state. From Mussolini and Hitler, the principles
Speaker 1: of democracy and capitalism, which stemmed from the European Enlightenment
Speaker 1: movement of the seventeen hundreds, stood in the way of
Speaker 1: the power of the state. In fascist terms, these trends,
Speaker 1: based on concepts of individuality, equality, and positive self interest,
Speaker 1: limited the unity and the drive for survival necessary for
Speaker 1: social renewal. Mussolini wrote in nineteen thirty two, quote Fascism
Speaker 1: denies the absurd conventional truth of political equality, the myth
Speaker 1: of happiness and indefinite progress. By dispelling the idea of happiness,
Speaker 1: a fascist society is able to constrain its people and
Speaker 1: convince them to submit for the greater good. People cannot
Speaker 1: gather without permission, and they can't say anything negative against
Speaker 1: the state. Instead, there submerged in extreme nationalism and ethnic unity.
Speaker 1: Political youth groups recruit the younger members of society, teach
Speaker 1: them about the state, and entrust them with its survival
Speaker 1: and its power. A fascism glorifies youth, which makes sense
Speaker 1: if you consider the ideal of survival of the fittest.
Speaker 1: The young are the strongest and thus the fittest. The
Speaker 1: state sponsored rallies and parades dominates social life. National flags
Speaker 1: and imposing monuments loom over the landscape, and state holidays
Speaker 1: fill the calendar. These symbols and celebrations have a quasi
Speaker 1: religious quality, in that they encourage absolute faith, just in
Speaker 1: the state, not in a creator. Fascism was at its
Speaker 1: height between nineteen eighteen and nineteen forty five, the end
Speaker 1: of World War I through the end of World War II.
Speaker 1: Europe's general upheaval during that period left it receptive to
Speaker 1: fascist propaganda and ideology, but when the Axis powers, including
Speaker 1: Germany and Italy were defeated, their fascist regimes became widely
Speaker 1: viewed as evil, inextricably tied to genocide and World war. However,
Speaker 1: the fall of true fascism didn't destroy the concept. Neo fascism,
Speaker 1: sometimes called neo Nazism if it's specifically based on Hitler's views,
Speaker 1: has popped up many times since the end of World
Speaker 1: War II. Today, neo fascism describes a variety of separate
Speaker 1: movements around the world that espoused the ideals of power
Speaker 1: supremacy and ethnic purity. These groups often haven't had the
Speaker 1: power to pursue the conquering military component of original fascism,
Speaker 1: but they do sometimes practice the violence. For example, in
Speaker 1: the nineteen nineties alone, neo fascists took responsibility for the
Speaker 1: bombing of the Federal building in Oklahoma City, a series
Speaker 1: of bombings in Germany targeting immigrants, and several bombings in
Speaker 1: London against racial, minority and gay people. Neo fascist political
Speaker 1: movements that ascribe to some traditionally fascist ideals like racial
Speaker 1: purity and the dominance of state interests might pursue these
Speaker 1: ideals in several forms, for example, anti immigration laws and
Speaker 1: isolationist foreign policies. They often enact small but increasing limitations
Speaker 1: on civil rights a made in the name of giving
Speaker 1: a state more power to protect the populace from external aggressors,
Speaker 1: and there's often government intervention in economic matters such as
Speaker 1: means of production in the name of securing the state
Speaker 1: from shortages and economic downturns. A Neo fascists attempt to
Speaker 1: gain support and power the same way other modern movements do,
Speaker 1: the political involvement, media presence, and all sorts of online marketing.
Speaker 1: Anti fascist activism, meanwhile, often further includes community organizing such
Speaker 1: as workers' rights and mutual campaigns in order to help
Speaker 1: prevent that economic desperation in which fascism has historically taken hold.
Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article how Fascism Works
Speaker 1: on how stuffworks dot Com, written by Julia Layton and
Speaker 1: John Donovan. Brain Stuff is production by Heart Radio in
Speaker 1: partnership with HowStuffWorks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang.
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