Answer:
Nationalism
Fascism is a complex and mutable political ideology, which came to prominence in the 1920s and 1930s in Europe. The most notorious examples of fascist governments have been Bennito Mussolini’s National Fascist Party in Italy from 1922 to 1943 and Adolf Hitler’s National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party) from 1933 to 1945. There are many definitions of fascism; some people describe it as a set of political actions, a political philosophy or a mass movement. Most definitions agree that fascism is authoritarian and promotes nationalism at all costs, but its basic characteristics are a matter of debate.
"[Fascism is] based on an ethnic division between 'us' and 'them', an extreme ethno-nationalism. It's based on nostalgia for a mythic past, typically in which members of the chosen ethnic group had an empire – and it represents the present as loss of that great empire, that natural standpoint in which members of this ethnic group dominated their environment militarily, politically, and culturally," Jason Stanley, professor of philosophy at Yale University and author of "How Fascism Works" (Random House, 2020) told All About History magazine.
Fascism is commonly associated with the Italian and German regimes that came to power after World War I, though other countries have also been ruled by fascist regimes. Adolf Hitler in Germany, Benito Mussolini in Italy, Francisco Franco in Spain and Juan Perón in Argentina were the most well-known fascist leaders of the 20th century.
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Certain aspects of fascist rhetoric and political organization have shifted in the decades that followed World War II. And fascism has further evolved in the political landscape of the 21st century as Madeleine Albright, former United States Secretary of State explained in her book "Fascism: A Warning" (Harper, 2019). However, core fascist ideologies and goals espoused by the likes of Hitler and Mussolini are still present in populist organizations today, and continue to shape fascist movements in countries around the world, particularly where their leaders are "someone who claims to speak for a whole nation or group, is utterly unconcerned with the rights of others, and is willing to use violence and whatever other means are necessary to achieve the goals he or she might have," Albright wrote.
Related: What is communism?
DEFINITION OF FASCISM
Mussolini coined the term "fascism" in 1919. The word comes from the Italian "fascio," meaning a bundle or group, and is considered a term for a militant brotherhood. The word "fasces" means an ax tightly bound with sticks, an image that became a symbol of the fascist movement, according to the History Department at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
How is fascism defined? Robert Paxton, a professor emeritus of social science at Columbia University in New York told Live Science that fascism is "a form of political practice distinctive to the 20th century that arouses popular enthusiasm by sophisticated propaganda techniques."
According to Paxton, fascism uses such propaganda to promote:
anti-liberalism, rejecting individual rights, civil liberties, free enterprise and democracy
anti-socialism, rejecting economic principles based on socialist frameworks
exclusion of certain groups, often through violence
nationalism that seeks to expand the nation's influence and power
Historically, fascists have opposed modernization "if that term means liberalism, democracy, Marxism, individualism, and feminism," Chris Wright, an adjunct assistant professor at City University of New York, said. On the other hand, fascists have favorited modernization "if the term means technological and economic advancement, military superiority, efficiency, and the glorification of speed and machines," Wright wrote in the essay "Reflections on Fascism," published on ResearchGate in 2020, which has not yet been peer-reviewed.
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Fascism also reflects an intrinsic belief in human inequality, said journalist Shane Burley, author of "Why We Fight: Essays on Fascism, Resistance, and Surviving the Apocalypse" (AK Press, 2021) and "Fascism Today: What It Is and How to End It" (AK Press, 2017).
"The modern world is constructed under a mythology of human equality — even if equality is not reached, and even if the people involved have no intention of reaching it, it's still the underlying narrative in modern societies that human beings are equal," Burley told Live Science.
Fascism, however, promotes the concept of innate inequality and inescapable social hierarchies between groups, Burley said. Underlying this hierarchy is the idea that a person's rank in society is determined by aspects of identity that are beyond their control, such as ethnicity or gender, Burley explained.
Explanation:
