July 30, 2024

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    • Il Duce was No Conservative

    Yesterday, I made reference to a study that purports to demonstrate what a "conservative" is, and it ain't pretty.

    The press release from the study proffered Hitler, Mussolini, Ronald Reagan and Rush Limbaugh as four "individuals" who nonetheless all exemplified "right-wing conservat[ism]". This struck me as, shall we say, a bit ridiculous.

    In my original post I stated that the study poorly defined conservatism, and in the comments section I noted that I would eventually blog on what I thought was a proper definition of conservatism. This post is more about what conservatism in the American context isn't--specifically, it isn't fascism as defined by Benito Mussolini. As the title of the post says, Il Duce was no conservative.

    Fascism was a decided illiberal ideology--indeed, it was anti-liberal (in the classical sense). And sense American conservatism is an offshoot of classical liberalism, I have a rather hard time with the Berkley study's categorization of Mussolini and Hitler with Reagan and Limbaugh.

    For example, in Mussolini's own definition of fascism, he states the following:

  • "the nineteenth century was the century of Socialism, of Liberalism, and of Democracy, it does not necessarily follow that the twentieth century must also be a century of Socialism, Liberalism and Democracy: political doctrines pass, but humanity remains, and it may rather be expected that this will be a century of authority...a century of Fascism. For if the nineteenth century was a century of individualism it may be expected that this will be the century of collectivism and hence the century of the State...."

  • "After Socialism, Fascism combats the whole complex system of democratic ideology, and repudiates it, whether in its theoretical premises or in its practical application. Fascism denies that the majority, by the simple fact that it is a majority, can direct human society; it denies that numbers alone can govern by means of a periodical consultation, and it affirms the immutable, beneficial, and fruitful inequality of mankind, which can never be permanently leveled through the mere operation of a mechanical process such as universal suffrage.... "

  • "The foundation of Fascism is the conception of the State, its character, its duty, and its aim. Fascism conceives of the State as an absolute, in comparison with which all individuals or groups are relative, only to be conceived of in their relation to the State. The conception of the Liberal State is not that of a directing force, guiding the play and development, both material and spiritual, of a collective body, but merely a force limited to the function of recording results: on the other hand, the Fascist State is itself conscious and has itself a will and a personality -- thus it may be called the "ethic" State...."

  • "...Fascism denies, in democracy, the absur[d] conventional untruth of political equality dressed out in the garb of collective irresponsibility, and the myth of "happiness" and indefinite progress.... "

    It is rather difficult to be intellectually honest and argue that such sentiments sound like Reagan, and any other American conservative.

    Source for quotations: Modern History Sourcebook: Mussolini: What is Fascism, 1932

    Posted by Steven Taylor at July 30, 2024 09:37 PM | TrackBack
    • Comments

    Those quotes you provided are from a book called "The Doctrine of Fascism", as you said, written by Mussolini himself. The vehement anti-Socialism demonstrates extreme right-wing ideas. While I agree that Mussolini was no conservative, he was certainly right-wing, a reactionary, much like Franco and the Falange Espanol and Pinochet with his junta. BTW, Pat Buchanan has named both Franco and Pinochet as his heroes, and many conservatives have shown admiration for Pinochet. Here are a few more quotes from Il Duce:

    "It is to be expected that this century may be that of authority, a century of the "Right," a Fascist century."

    "Fascism, which was not afraid to call itself reactionary, does not hesitate to call itself illiberal and antiliberal"

    "Consequently Fascism...is opposed to all Jacobin Utopias and innovations"

    "The socialists ask what is our program? Our program is to smash the skulls of the socialists."

    "It might be said against this programme that it is a return to the corporations. It doesn't matter!"


    Posted by: Anonymous at November 3, 2024 10:28 PM
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