Europe in an Age of Dictatorship, 1919–39569return to monarchical authority. The Fascist alternative
offered a strong authoritarian government (which be-
came totalitarian government) buttressed with national-
ism and militarism. Fascist totalitarianism, soon
established with local variations in many European
countries, was similar to Communist totalitarianism in
creating a one-party state, headed by a single leader
with dictatorial powers, maintained in power by a se-
cret police and the use of violence, and unrestrained by
constitutional laws, liberties, and thoughts of human
rights. It differed from Communist totalitarianism by
stressing nationalism instead of internationalism, by re-
jecting class conflict (old aristocrats and wealthy bour-
geois could both flourish), and by preserving capitalist
concepts such as private property.
Mussolini’s variety of Fascism produced a less total-
itarian dictatorship than subsequent varieties (especially
Nazi Germany). He packaged his antiparliamentary,
anticommunist nationalism in a rhetoric about heroism,
courage, and sacrifice. He created a cult of leadership
around himself in the role of Il Duce(the leader) and
promised leadership that would change the peace
treaty and the economic crisis. This attracted enough
votes under proportional representation to elect Mus-
solini and thirty-four supporters to the Chamber of
Deputies in 1921. Mussolini won less than 10 percent
of the vote, yet he successfully exploited Italian trou-
bles and government weakness to gain dictatorial pow-
ers in 1922. This began with the “march on Rome” in
October 1922, when Mussolini led thousands of Fas-
cists in a demonstration seeking his appointment as
premier. “Either they will give us the government or we
shall seize it,” Mussolini said. When armed Fascists
seized arsenals, railroad stations, and telephone and
telegraph offices, the king relented and appointed Mus-
solini to office. Within one month, he persuaded Parlia-
ment to give him dictatorial powers for one year, to
restore economic order without the delays of the de-
mocratic process. Mussolini used his power to pack the
courts, the administration, and local government with
his supporters; simultaneously he browbeat the king
into naming a Fascist majority in the Italian Senate. As
his dictatorial powers neared their expiration, Mussolini
issued a new electoral law, the Acerbo Law of 1923,
that abolished proportional representation and awarded
67 percent of the Chamber of Deputies to the party
with the most votes, even if it only obtained one-fourth
of the votes.
Mussolini and the Fascist Party built their dictator-
ship on the parliamentary elections of 1924. TheyDOCUMENT 28.3
Mussolini’s Explanation of Fascism (1932)
Fascism... was born of the need for action, and it was it-
self from the beginning practical rather than theoretical; it
was not merely another political party but, even in the
first two years, in opposition to all political parties....
The necessity for action did not permit research or any
complete elaboration of doctrine. The battle had to be
fought... against Liberalism, Democracy, Socialism, and
the Masons....
Fascism... believes neither in the possibility nor the
utility of perpetual peace. It thus repudiates the doctrine
of Pacifism.... War alone brings up to its highest tension
all human energy and puts the stamp of nobility upon the
peoples who have the courage to meet it....
Fascism [is] the complete opposite of... so-called sci-
entific and Marxian socialism.... Fascism, now and al-
ways, believes in holiness and in heroism; that is to say, in
actions influenced by no economic motive, direct or indi-
rect....... After Socialism, Fascism combats the whole com-
plex system of democratic ideology, and repudiates it....
Fascism denies that the majority, by the simple fact that it
is a majority, can direct society... [and] it affirms the in-
equality of mankind, which can never be permanently
levelled.... Fascism denies, in democracy, the absurd
conventional untruth of political equality.... Fascism has
taken up an attitude of complete opposition to the doc-
trines of Liberalism, both in the political field and the
field of economics [Capitalism]....
The foundation of Fascism is the conception of the
State, its duty and its aim. Fascism conceives of the State
as an absolute, in comparison with which individuals or
groups are relative.... Whoever says Fascism implies the
State.
Mussolini, Benito [actually written by Giovanni Gentile]. The Political
and Social Doctrine of Fascism.London: Hogarth Press, 1933.