Communism and Fascism were two political ideologies that first appeared in the early 20th century. Both philosophies continue to be divisive and contentious subjects of discussion and have had a tremendous impact on world history.

The fundamental tenet of communism is that everyone in society should have equal access to the wealth and resources generated by the group. A dictatorship of the proletariat, in which the working class controls the political system, is used to achieve this

Fascism is an authoritarian, nationalistic ideology that places a higher value on the state and the nation than it does on the individual. The state should run the economy and should repress political opposition, according to fascism

Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement,[1][2][3] characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation and race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy.[2][3]. Fascism rose to prominence in early 20th-century Europe.[4][5] The first fascist movements emerged in Italy during World War I, before spreading to other European countries, most notably Germany.[4] Fascism also had adherents outside of Europe.[6] Opposed to anarchism, democracy, pluralism, liberalism, socialism, and Marxism,[7][8] fascism is placed on the far-right wing within the traditional left–right spectrum.[4][8][9]

The advent of total war and the mass mobilization of society erased the distinction between civilians and combatants. A military citizenship arose in which all citizens were involved with the military in some manner.[10] The war resulted in the rise of a powerful state capable of mobilizing millions of people to serve on the front lines and providing logistics to support them, as well as having unprecedented authority to intervene in the lives of citizens.[10]

These ideas have motivated fascist regimes to commit genocides, massacres, forced sterilizations, mass killings, and forced deportations.[17]. Since the end of World War II in 1945, few parties have openly described themselves as fascist; the term is more often used pejoratively by political opponents

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.. – protofascism Volksgemeinschaft family-system principle integral nationalism Vap

Europe’s first fascist leader, Benito Mussolini, took the name of his party from the Latin word fasces, which referred to a bundle of elm or birch rods (usually containing an ax) used as a symbol of penal authority in ancient Rome. Although fascist parties and movements differed significantly from one another, they had many characteristics in common, including extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the rule of elites, and the desire to create a Volksgemeinschaft (German: “people’s community”), in which individual interests would be subordinated to the good of the nation

Beginning in the late 1940s, however, many fascist-oriented parties and movements were founded in Europe as well as in Latin America and South Africa. Although some European “neofascist” groups attracted large followings, especially in Italy and France, none were as influential as the major fascist parties of the interwar period.

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.. communism, political and economic doctrine that aims to replace private property and a profit-based economy with public ownership and communal control of at least the major means of production (e.g., mines, mills, and factories) and the natural resources of a society

Exactly how communism differs from socialism has long been a matter of debate, but the distinction rests largely on the communists’ adherence to the revolutionary socialism of Karl Marx.. (Read Leon Trotsky’s 1926 Britannica essay on Lenin.)

In his Critique of the Gotha Programme (1875), however, Marx identified two phases of communism that would follow the predicted overthrow of capitalism: the first would be a transitional system in which the working class would control the government and economy yet still find it necessary to pay people according to how long, hard, or well they worked, and the second would be fully realized communism—a society without class divisions or government, in which the production and distribution of goods would be based upon the principle “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.” Marx’s followers, especially the Russian revolutionary Vladimir Ilich Lenin, took up this distinction.. In State and Revolution (1917), Lenin asserted that socialism corresponds to Marx’s first phase of communist society and communism proper to the second

In this free resource, learn how Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler rose to power and the lessons their political journeys hold for today.. Over the past few years, people have thrown around the word “fascism” to criticize any number of issues—stay-at-home orders during a global pandemic, proposed environmental regulations aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions, and even legislation limiting the size of soft drinks.

Fascism is rooted in a history of highly divisive and destructive European movements that arose in the era between World Wars I and II.. So what exactly does fascism mean, where does it come from, and to what extent do leaders today display fascist tendencies? This resource explores those three questions by diving into the history of the world’s most notorious fascist leaders: Benito Mussolini of Italy and Adolf Hitler of Germany.

This model of government stands in contrast to liberal democracies, which support individual rights, competitive elections, and political dissent.. In many ways, fascist regimes are revolutionary because they advocate the overthrow of existing systems of government and the persecution of political enemies

The death of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, under whose leadership the communist bloc was brought to an end, was met in the west with tributes and personal reminiscences by leaders who had met him and enjoyed his company. This reverence wasn’t matched in Russia or in several of the former Soviet satellites, where he is blamed for the turmoil that followed.

But an obituary in the Daily Telegraph carried the following quote from his memoirs which can serve as a useful jumping-off point for assessing ideologies at the end of the cold war. Communist ideology in its pure form is akin to Christianity

It is true that communism was used to camouflage a totalitarian regime. But in its essence communism is a humanist ideology, and it never had anything in common with the misanthropic ideology of fascism.

Economic uncertainty, migration, ethnic nationalism and the narrative of a strong leader. These are all key words that might describe several European countries today, but which also define the interwar years – a period during which democratic countries took an authoritarian turn which eventually ended in war.

These are the words of Elisabetta Cassina Wolff, a historian at the University of Oslo, who elaborates:. “We are guided by the same emotions such as ambition, fear, vengeance or our need for safety

For many years Wolff has conducted thorough research into fascism and the far right, and she believes that the interwar period in particular has a lot to teach us about the situation today.. After World War I ended in 1918, many European countries struggled both politically and economically

Critics of President Donald Trump have been calling him a fascist ever since he was running for President in 2016, and those characterizations continued in the aftermath of Election Day, as Trump repeated false claims of widespread voter fraud and baselessly accused President-elect Biden of trying to steal the election. “Donald Trump is a fascist,” Late Show host Stephen Colbert argued in an emotional monologue on Nov

Instead she argues, Trump represents—alongside politicians like Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Hungary’s Viktor Orban—a new breed of leaders, who work within the systems of democracies but retool them in undemocratic ways. She spoke to TIME about where she thinks these leaders fit into history.

BEN-GHIAT: I wanted to show that there are these new authoritarians—things that they do are new because of social media; there’s less genocide, more mass detention; they use the tools of rule in a different way—but they are anchored in this larger authoritarian tradition. Strongmen are a subset of authoritarian who require total loyalty, bend democracy around [their] own needs, and use different forms of machismo to interact with their people and with other rulers

Source: Source: Georgi Dimitrov, Selected Works Sofia Press, Sofia, Volume 2, 1972;. The chief arguments of the opponents of the United Front

The United Front and the fascist mass organizations. The United Front in countries where the social democrats are in office

Comrades, as early as the Sixth Congress [1928], the Communist International warned the world proletariat that a new fascist offensive was under way and called for a struggle against it. The Congress pointed out that ‘in a more or less developed form, fascist tendencies and the germs of a fascist movement are to be found almost everywhere.’

‘“A and not A”: what is fascism?’ examines how fascism has been defined. Whereas Marxists held capitalists responsible for fascism, Weberians blamed the pre-industrial, or feudal, ruling class

The diversity of fascism is such that any definition soon encounters evidence that does not fit. However sophisticated a definition, it can never explain the history of an individual movement

The only thing that really distinguishes fascism from other concepts is its enormous negative moral charge.. – Sign in with a library card Sign in with username / password Recommend to your librarian