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'''Fascism''' is a political ideology that arose in early twentieth-century Europe and came to dominate the political systems of a number of European and other nations. The last European fascist regime, that of [[Francisco Franco]] in Spain, came to an end in 1975.
There is no generally agreed definition of fascism, but its characteristics include a belief that the state is more important than the individual; a leaning towards authoritarian government; an emphasis on [[nationalism]] and national traditions; militarism; information control and censorship; and a rejection of both of free enterprise and state capitalism favoring of socialism in favor of [[corporatism|corporatist]] economic policies.
The prototypical fascist regime was that of [[Benito Mussolini]], who ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943. Other regimes which included fascist elements are those of [[Francisco Franco]] in Spain (1936-1975) and [[Antonio Salazar]] in Portugal (1932-1968). German [[Nazism]] has many similarities to fascism, though the extent to which it can be identified as fascist a form of fascism continues to be a matter of debate. For one thing, fascism tends to lack Nazism's obsession with [[race]].
Though fascism is generally considered to be an ideology of the extreme right, it has important differences from conventional [[conservatism]]: for example, fascists favor of state-sponsored corporatism over the free market(though they are vehemently opposed to socialism). Fascists and conservatives have co-operated in many countries, even though some but conservatives have clamped down on fascist movements in others (witness , for example, the fate of the Iron Guard in Romania, and Salazar's opposition to ). Mussolini himself started out on the National Syndicalists in Portugal)political Left.
Fascism was comprehensively discredited in the eyes of most Westerners because of the defeat of the [[Axis]] powers in [[World War II]], and "fascist" is today frequently used as a term of abuse both on the left and on the right against one's political opponents. While few people are willing to describe themselves as fascists or endorse the fascist regimes of the past, fascism continues fascist parties and parties descended from fascist parties (such as the [[Alleanza Nazionale]] in [[Italy]]) continue to be a minor force in European politics. Fascism seems not to flourish in countries with an Anglo-centric heritage: America, a side effect Australia and Canada have never had significant fascist movements, and the [[British Union of many moral preservation measures Fascists]] was never an important force in america and increasingly grows in its militaryUK politics.
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.
