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The name "fascism" derives from an ancient Roman symbol, the ''[[fasces]],'' a group of birch rods bundled together with an axe. It symbolizes strength in unity; the rods are weak by themselves but strong when bundled together.

The name "fascism" derives from an ancient Roman symbol, the ''[[fasces]],'' a group of birch rods bundled together with an axe. It symbolizes strength in unity; the rods are weak by themselves but strong when bundled together.

Fascists were not conservative in any very meaningful sense. They did not wish to preserve the existing order, or even to turn back the clock to some more stable century. They purposefully planned to transform the existing order into a new and all-absorbing [[authoritarianism]], based upon the energies and frustrations of modern industrialism. The Fascists, in a meaningful sense, were revolutionaries. <ref>[http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/schlesinger-notrightleft.html Not Right, Not Left, But a Vital Center], Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., ''New York Times Magazine'', April 4, 1948.</ref>

 

One of the many controversies regarding the nature of fascism is its relationship to traditional authority and [[conservatism|conservative]] ideology. Fascists often claimed to defend the social order, traditional values, national culture and civilization itself, against the forces of [[modernity]] (particularly liberalism and socialism). At the same time, fascists claimed to offer a radically new approach to politics, and a new form of government that could reshape society.Thus, fascism attempted to be both conservative and radical. Benito Mussolini embraced this apparent contradiction, saying ''"I am a [[reactionary]] and a [[revolutionary]]."''

 

[[World War I]] produced a great deal of social change in Europe and led to the dissolution of most traditional monarchies, including the [[German Empire]], [[Austria-Hungary]] and [[Tsarist Russia]]. Conservatism, which drew its strongest supporters from the political, economic and intellectual elites in pre-war Europe, found itself in crisis. The established elites in Central and Eastern Europe were weakened or rendered powerless by the introduction of [[universal suffrage]], the collapse of traditional social hierarchies and the creation of nation-states in place of the old multinational empires. At the same time, many segments of the population - particularly the rural peasantry and the skilled professionals - felt threatened by the prospect of [[industrialization]], increased [[social mobility]] or the creation of a [[welfare state]]. Following the [[Bolshevik Revolution]], many also felt there was a real possibility that the [[working class]] might rise up in a [[communism|communist]] insurrection. Normally, those segments of the population would have rallied behind traditional conservatism, but with traditional conservative parties severely weakened in the aftermath of the war, there was a political vacuum on the right.

 

This political vacuum was filled by the rising fascist movements. They gained power and support from older conservative classes, and in some cases received direct approval from the traditional conservative parties.<ref>John Weiss, ''"The Fascist Tradition"'', Harper & Row, 1967. pg 2</ref> The conservative British newspaper ''[[The Daily Mail]]'' published a lead article in 1934 under the title ''"The [[British Union of Fascists|Blackshirts]] have what the Conservatives need"''.<ref>John Weiss, ''"The Fascist Tradition"'', Harper & Row, 1967. pg 1</ref> The rise to power of the Italian Fascists and German Nazis was largely funded and supported by aristocratic landlords, wealthy industrialists, army officers, and other groups with strong conservative leanings. The fascists gathered this support by successfully presenting themselves as the last line of defense against [[liberal democracy]], land reform, demilitarization and the socialization of the means of production. <ref>John Weiss, ''"The Fascist Tradition"'', Harper & Row, 1967. pg 4</ref> Thus, many traditional conservatives were persuaded that fascism was the only realistic alternative to liberalism and socialism. A French businessman remarked in 1935, ''"better Hitler than [[Léon Blum]]"''. <ref>John Weiss, ''"The Fascist Tradition"'', Harper & Row, 1967. pg 5</ref>

 

Fascism did not rely solely on the support of traditional conservative elites. It was also a mass movement, drawing its rank-and-file members from the general population, particularly the lower middle class, skilled professionals, and the peasantry. Many of these people did not come from conservative backgrounds; some of them had been strongly influenced by [[classical liberalism]].<ref>John Weiss, ''"The Fascist Tradition"'', Harper & Row, 1967. pg 5</ref> To its voters, fascism presented itself as a form of ''new'' and even ''revolutionary'' conservatism that could reconcile the interests of the elite with those of the common man. Fascist ideology emphasized the concept of [[class collaboration]], which held that social inequality and hierarchy could be beneficial to rich and poor alike. The fascist model of the [[corporatism|corporate state]] was decidedly different from traditional monarchy, yet claimed to be based on the same fundamental principles.

 

Adolf Hitler expressed the Nazi view of politics, in 1937, as follows:

{{cquote|The main plank in our program is to abolish the liberal concept of the individual and the [[Marxism|Marxist]] concept of humanity, and to substitute for them the ''[[Volk]]'' community, rooted in the soil and united by the bond of its common blood.<ref>John Weiss, ''"The Fascist Tradition"'', Harper & Row, 1967. pg 9</ref>}}

 

==References==

==References==