Benito Mussolini’s Doctrine of Fascism

belief OF FASCISM Benito Mussolini outlines several essential characteristics of his preferred governmental ideology, Fascism, in what has become known as the belief of Fascism. In this paper, Mussolini outlines his vision of the ideology, and explains the major issues that Fascism will address once it becomes the leading political system in Italy. Mussolinis major points as outlined in the Doctrine included an extreme emphasis on nationalism, institution and modernization of the state, persistent focus on religion, life as a struggle, and the notion that individuals exist solitary(prenominal) for the improvement of society as a whole.Wolfgang Schieder, after reviewing the Doctrine of Fascism, explains Mussolinis success based on it and clarifies what exactly Adolf Hitler adopted from the Italian fascist ideology to incorporated into his own Third Reich. One of the total tenants in Mussolini Doctrine of Fascism is the strong sense of nationalism, which we wants the Italian si ght to embrace. As a result, he calls for a unification of all Italians over his fascistic regime. Mussolini truly thought that the Italian nation was preordained for greatness, and that the only behavior to fulfil this destiny was finished extreme social cooperation under Fascism.To that end, Mussolini advocated a mass modernization of the Italian state, centralization of government and creation of a state in spirit, not territory. Mussolini wanted Italy to leave its gear up on history through the fascist system, so his Doctrine emphasised cultural contributions such as art and philosophy. Mussolini believed that a nations power was derived from its people, who had to be numerous, hard working, and well regulated in order to succeed. A further crucial element of Mussolinis Doctrine was that he constantly stresses the mapping of the state and government in a Fascist state.As opposed to other political systems such as communism, the state in a fascist society does not act as a immaculate watchdog or night watch humanity, simply protecting its citizens and facilitating material gains. Rather, the state according to Mussolini is the spiritual, moral and political apex of each human macrocosmness. Its duties are to give a concrete form to the political, juridical and economic organisation of the coun drive though a series of practical actions. Mussolini sees the state as an actual personal materialization of all positive aspects of the human spirit, and further more acting as an immanent conscience of the nation. Moreover, The Doctrine of Fascism goes on to explain that through the state, human beings are transformed from primitive tribal beings to glorious emperors, gaining level of power that would be impossible to achieve as an individual or small group. Finally, Mussolini establishes that the only stylus for one to immortalize themselves, and be remembered within a nation was through beneficial contributions to the state. One busy notion within t he Doctrine that seems peculiar at first glance is the importance that Mussolini places on religion, specifically the Catholic Church.For such a modern and practical-based system, it seems rather surprising that Mussolini not only tolerates religion, but see and facilitates its progression. Mussolinis official reasoning for this is that similar to the state, religion is effectively a manifestation of the spirit, and so the Catholic Church and Mussolinis fascism share this commonality. In actuality, the real reason Mussolini was so tolerant of the church credibly goes far beyond that. Wolfgang Schieder, whose beliefs will be developed further on, explains that Mussolini required the Churchs indorse in order to gain the unwavering support of the Italian people.Mussolini was considered the first national socialist to invigorate the damaged link between the state and church, and was rewarded for it with full support of the Pope and Catholic Church. Mussolini was a man obsessed with the notion of empire, and this is reflected in his Doctrine. The concept of force and discipline was stressed not simply in military conquest, but every aspect of life for the average Italian. contend is inevitable, as it is simply the manifestation of the strength and vigour of the Italian people that wishes to expand itself, never looking back.Peace was considered as merely a mask to surrender and cowardice. Mussolini stressed that Italians required forces, obligation, and sacrifice in order to rise again to their source greatness, that of the Roman Empire. This is also Mussolinis rationale for harsh and severe actions against some(prenominal) who would resist or try and undermine fascism. Finally, there remains perhaps the most basic and yet most profound idea present in the entire precept being the notion that life is a struggle. The entire doctrine constantly discusses this concept, and in fact Mussolini uses it to justify the entire doctrine.Mussolini states that, fasci sm wants a man to be active and listless in action with all his energies, a relish which he considers synonymous with fascisms own desire to be constantly progressing. Italians were not only encouraged to frequently be taking action, but it was considered their duty to conquer out of life what was really worthy to them. Mussolini is essentially stating that he believes that a virtuous Italian should be constantly struggling with his life, never becoming complacent and always fighting to better himself.Fascism, being an extension of the human spirit, naturally mirrored these qualities. Wolfgang Schieder, analyzes Mussolinis political success and what he the extent to which Mussolini facilitated Hitlers rise to power in Germany. According to Schieder it largely because of what he calls the Philo-Fascist climatewhich was present in Germany during the early 1930s. During this era Germanys economy was in ruin largely die to war reparations, and the nation as a whole was not in very g ood shape.The German peoples experiment with democracy through the Weimar Republic was in many ways viewed as a failure, and people were looking to alternative models of governments. Fascism was being presented as a viable alternative to a discredited Parliamentary system What is important to tick off is that Schieder thinks that the pro-Fascist atmosphere of Germany at the time was largely because of Mussolini himself. Mussolini was a very charismatic figure, and he was especially expert at handling the media in Germany.He often surprised them by speaking German, and by the end of any interaction with the German press Mussolini left them in awe of himself as a person and of the Fascist system, which he had implemented. In the early 1930s according to Schieder there was no other form of despotism in the world that was as widely accepted as Fascism was. This created an environment is which Hitler stood to profit from pro-Fascist sentiment, the more he moulded his political strateg y in that direction. According to Schieder there were two learnings, which enabled Hitlers acceptance by the German elites.Firstly, the Great Depression had opened the discussion about implementing a new economic order, and in this face of rising left-wing economics happening during this time made such a development even more necessary. Moreover, the German elites at first didnt appreciate Hitler for what he truly was, and in many ways they underestimated him. In a time of economic chaos, the Italian Experiment was viewed as a success, and its implementation in Germany was being justified under the context that Hitler was not Mussolini, and that if he became chancellor he would easily be manipulated by the German elites.Mussolini paved the way for Hitler because there was a tremendous descend of admiration for Mussolini within Germany, and the more Hitler aligned himself with Mussolini, the more he stood to benefit from this in a extremely fragmented society. The manner in which Germany embraced Fascism posterior be best represented by two people at the time Emil Ludwig and Theodore Wolff. The two men were high advocate of democracy in Germany, who shifted their support to Mussolini and his Fascist Doctrine.They did so out of the necessity to temporarily establish temporarily establish an authoritarian regime root in Fascism to offer Germany a political way out of their precarious situation. Although German understanding of Fascism can be characterized by selective readings, it was nonetheless the perfect political system for Germany given their historical circumstances. accustomed Fascism highly nationalistic nature, it was ideal for a nation like Germany that was still rebuilding from World War 1.Moreover, the German elites saw Fascism as a better political alternative to democracy, or even worse, socialism as was being pursued elsewhere in the world. As this paper has tried to illustrate, the correlations between fascism as it developed in Germany and Italy are not merely coincidental dictatorships, but there is much more to the story. After all, Hitler did view Mussolini has his political mentor. BIBILIOGRAPHY 1. Schieder, Wolfgang. Third Reich Between Vision and Reality. Oxford Berg Publisher, 2003. eBook. 2. Mussolini, Benito. The Doctrine of Facism . Rome Ardita Publishers , 1935. Print.