Politics - Fascism

Fascism

Politics - Fascism

• Fascism a nationalist, anti Communist, and authoritarian political creed, founded by Benite Mussolini in Italy in 1919. The Italian Fascist movement adopted as its emblem the fasces, a bundle of rods with and axe in the middle, which was the symbol of state power carried in front of the consuls by the lictors in ancient Rome. The movement claimed to be neither capitalistic nor socialistic, and advocated the founding of a corporate state, q.v. After Mussolini came to power in 1922 the Fascist Party become the only authorized political organization in Italy; its members wore black shirts, used the Roman greeting of the outstretched arm, were organized as a military formation, and adopted the slogan (Mussolini is always rights). Italian Fascism served as a model to a number of similar movements in other countries, and in particular to National, Socialism in Germany. In the UK. a Fascist movement called the British Union, which was active between 1931 and 1939, advocated the abolition of free speech and greater interest in the British Commonwealth, and preached anti Semitic propaganda.