154 Chapter 7
fascistihad wiselystolenthe syndicalistprogramand adaptedit to Italianinstitutionsand
nationalcharacter.‘Socialismwillmarchforwardunderthe Blackshirts,greatwhetherit
be manifestedunderthe Fascisttri-coloror underthe flagof SocialismandCommu-
nism.’”^21
Sometimesgovernistspointout that Mussolinistatedthat a betternamefor his ideolo-
gy thanfascismwascorporatism. Whengovernistsassertas much,theyinsinuatethat
Mussolini’s corporatismwasan economicsystemwhereinbig, competing,multinational
corporations—verysimilarto the onesoperatingin the USAat the day of this writing—
coulddo whatevertheywanted.RobertF. Kennedy,Jr., of the NaturalResourcesDefense
Councilsoundsoff, “Mussolinicomplainedthat‘fascismshouldreallybe calledcorpora-
tism.’” Kennedyhas this as a lead-into his screechingthat,in moderntimes,American
wealthhas become“a grabbag for the robberbarons.”^22
Left-wingcartoonistTedRall,too, citesthis allegedMussoliniquotationas he affixes
the fascismlabelto moderncompetitionamongmultinationalcorporations.“Mussoli-
ni...famouslyobservedthat‘fascismshouldmoreappropriatelybe calledcorporatism,
becauseit is the mergerof stateandcorporatepower’... ”^23 Thequotationdid not
actuallyoriginatewithMussolini,but witha philosopherwhoinfluencedhim,Giovanni
Gentile(1875–1944),in the ItalianEnciclopedia.^24 NoamChomskyandMichaelParenti
thenquotean 1825letterwrittenby ThomasJeffersonto WilliamGilesthat warnsthat the
USAis becominga “governmentof an aristocracy,foundedon bankinginstitutions,and
moneyedincorporations.. .”^25 Theimplicationof bothChomskyandParentiis that
Jeffersonwaswarningagainstthe dangersof laissezfaire.ChomskyandParentithen
recommendthatthe U.S.federalgovernmentexpandits ownregulatorypowerover
privatebusiness—somethingtheyimplythatthis particularThomasJeffersonquotation
endorses.Mussolinidid speakthe wordcorporatismbut, contraryto the leftwingers’ vocif-
erations,it wasnot in a contextthatlendseasycomparisonto a systemof for-profit,
transnationalentities.
It is silly,for severalreasons,to proclaimthatMussolinicallingfascisma corporate
systemis proofthatcorporationsare evil.Onereasonis thatin 1937,Mussolinialso
proclaimed,“Fascismis totalitariandemocracy.. .”^26 To modernWesternreaders,sucha
statementmustsoundcompletelyoxymoronic.Yet Mussolinidid not thinkit so. Mussoli-
ni thoughtofdemocracyas referringto the willof the peopleas a collective.And,as
fascismimplementeda collectivistpolicy,Mussolinibelievedthat fascismtookthe will of
the collectiveof societyto its finalconclusion.On accountof howtheyhavetriedto co-opt
democracyas the wordfor theiranti-capitalism,I doubtthat Americanleftistswill concede
thatdemocracymustbe bad on accountof Mussolinitryingto use thatwordfor his own
ideology.
Moreover,whenMussolinialludedtocorporatismandcorporativism, he thoughtof
“corporations” as the wordwasemployedduringthe MiddleAgesandRenaissance
period,whencorporationmeanta collectivistguildand co-op.Underthis economicsystem
of heavy-handedgovernmentregulation—knownasmercantilism—the guildreceived
governmentalprotectionin the formof lawsthatrestrictedany entrepreneurialstartup’s
attemptto competeagainstthe guildsmembers’ industry.^27 WhenThomasJefferson,
ThomasPaine,and AndrewJacksondenounced“corporations,” theyspecificallyreferred
to suchinstitutionsthat,by legaldefinition,receiveda monopolystatusfromgovernment
regulations.By the nineteenthcentury,though,this trendwasalreadyon the wanein the
UnitedKingdom.TheBritishEastIndiaCompanywasthe quintessentialgovernment-
protectedmonopolythroughoutthe eighteenthcentury.But in 1834the U.K.government
refusedto renewthe corporation’s monopolisticcharter,therebyopeningup muchgreat-
er competitionin the economy.^28 It is thereforemisleadingfor NoamChomskyandMi-
chaelParentito quotecriticismsagainst“corporations” by ThomasJeffersonandother