Editing Fascism (section)

===World War I and its aftermath (1914–1929)===
[[File:Benito Mussolini 1917.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Benito Mussolini]] in 1917 as an Italian soldier in [[World War I]].]]
At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, the Italian political left became severely split over its position on the war. The [[Italian Socialist Party]] (PSI) opposed the war but a number of Italian revolutionary syndicalists supported war against Germany and Austria-Hungary on the grounds that their reactionary regimes had to be defeated to ensure the success of socialism.{{sfnp|Sternhell|Sznajder|Ashéri|1994|p=175}} Angelo Oliviero Olivetti formed a pro-interventionist ''[[fascio]]'' called the [[Fascio Rivoluzionario d'Azione Internazionalista|Revolutionary Fasces of International Action]] in October 1914.{{sfnp|Sternhell|Sznajder|Ashéri|1994|p=175}} Benito Mussolini upon being expelled from his position as chief editor of the PSI's newspaper {{lang|it|[[Avanti! (Italian newspaper)|Avanti!]]}} for his anti-German stance, joined the interventionist cause in a separate ''fascio''.{{sfnp|Sternhell|Sznajder|Ashéri|1994|p=214}} The term "fascism" was first used in 1915 by members of Mussolini's movement, the Fasces of Revolutionary Action.{{sfnp|O'Brien|2014|p=52}}

The first meeting of the Fasces of Revolutionary Action was held on 24 January 1915{{sfnp|O'Brien|2014|p=41}} when Mussolini declared that it was necessary for Europe to resolve its national problems—including national borders—of Italy and elsewhere "for the ideals of justice and liberty for which oppressed peoples must acquire the right to belong to those national communities from which they descended."{{sfnp|O'Brien|2014|p=41}} Attempts to hold mass meetings were ineffective and the organization was regularly harassed by government authorities and socialists.{{sfnp|Gregor|1979|pp=195–196}}

[[File:Hitler World War I.jpg|thumb|Adolf Hitler as a German soldier in World War I.]]
Similar political ideas arose in Germany after the outbreak of the war. German sociologist [[Johann Plenge]] spoke of the rise of a "National Socialism" in Germany within what he termed the "ideas of 1914" that were a declaration of war against the "ideas of 1789" (the French Revolution).{{sfnp|Kitchen|2006|p=205}} According to Plenge, the "ideas of 1789"—such as the rights of man, democracy, individualism and liberalism—were being rejected in favor of "the ideas of 1914" that included "German values" of duty, discipline, law and order.{{sfnp|Kitchen|2006|p=205}} Plenge believed that racial solidarity ({{lang|de|Volksgemeinschaft}}) would replace class division and that "racial comrades" would unite to create a socialist society in the struggle of "proletarian" Germany against "capitalist" Britain.{{sfnp|Kitchen|2006|p=205}} He believed that the [[Spirit of 1914]] manifested itself in the concept of the People's League of National Socialism.{{sfnp|Hüppauf|1997|p=92}} This National Socialism was a form of [[state socialism]] that rejected the "idea of boundless freedom" and promoted an economy that would serve the whole of Germany under the leadership of the state.{{sfnp|Hüppauf|1997|p=92}} This National Socialism was opposed to capitalism because of the components that were against "the national interest" of Germany but insisted that National Socialism would strive for greater efficiency in the economy.{{sfnp|Hüppauf|1997|p=92}} Plenge advocated an authoritarian rational ruling elite to develop National Socialism through a hierarchical [[Technocracy|technocratic]] state.{{sfnp|Rohkrämer|2007|p=130}}

====Impact of World War I====
[[File:Italian Arditi.jpg|thumb|Members of Italy's {{lang|it|[[Arditi]]}} corps, shown here in 1918 holding daggers, a symbol of their group. They were formed in 1917 as groups of soldiers trained for dangerous missions, characterized by a refusal to surrender and a willingness to fight to the death. Their black uniforms inspired those of the Italian Fascist movement.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Corni |first=Gustavo |date=26 August 2015 |title=Fascism and the Radical Right |url=https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/fascism-and-the-radical-right/ |encyclopedia=International Encyclopedia of the First World War |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250401005815/https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/fascism-and-the-radical-right/ |archive-date=1 April 2025}}</ref>]]

Fascists viewed World War I as bringing revolutionary changes in the nature of war, society, the state and technology, as the advent of [[total war]] and mass mobilization had broken down the distinction between civilian and combatant, as civilians had become a critical part in economic production for the war effort and thus arose a "military citizenship" in which all citizens were involved to the military in some manner during the war.{{sfnmp|Griffin|2006|1pp=140–141|Gentile|2006b|2p=670|Mann|2004|3p=65}} World War I had resulted in the rise of a powerful state capable of mobilizing millions of people to serve on the front lines or provide economic production and logistics to support those on the front lines, as well as having unprecedented authority to intervene in the lives of citizens.{{sfnmp|Griffin|2006|1pp=140–141|Gentile|2006b|2p=670|Mann|2004|3p=65}} Fascists viewed technological developments of weaponry and the state's total mobilization of its population in the war as symbolizing the beginning of a new era fusing state power with [[mass politics]], technology and particularly the mobilizing myth that they contended had triumphed over the myth of progress and the era of liberalism.{{sfnmp|Griffin|2006|1pp=140–141|Gentile|2006b|2p=670}}

====Impact of the October Revolution in Russia====
{{see also|October Revolution}}

The [[October Revolution]] of 1917, in which [[Bolshevik]] communists led by [[Vladimir Lenin]] seized power in Russia, greatly influenced the development of fascism.{{sfnp|Umland|2006|pp=95–96}} In 1917, Mussolini, as leader of the [[Fasces of Revolutionary Action]], praised the October Revolution, but later he became unimpressed with Lenin, regarding him as merely a new version of [[Tsar Nicholas II]].{{sfnp|Neville|2004|p=36}} After World War I, fascists commonly campaigned on [[anti-Marxist]] agendas.{{sfnp|Umland|2006|pp=95–96}}

British historian Cyprian Blamires argues that there are similarities between fascism and Bolshevism, including that they believed in the necessity of a vanguard leadership, showed contempt for bourgeois values, and had totalitarian ambitions.{{sfnp|Umland|2006|pp=95–96}} In practice, both have commonly emphasized revolutionary action, proletarian nation theories, one-party states, and party-armies;{{sfnp|Umland|2006|pp=95–96}} With the antagonism between [[anti-interventionist]] Marxists and pro-[[Interventionism (politics)|interventionist]] fascists complete by the end of the war, the two sides became irreconcilable. The fascists presented themselves as [[anti-communists]] and as especially opposed to the [[Marxists]].{{sfnp|Sternhell|Sznajder|Ashéri|1994|p=178}} In 1919, Mussolini consolidated control over the fascist movement, known as {{lang|it|[[Sansepolcrismo]]}}, with the founding of the ''[[Italian Fasces of Combat]]''.{{sfnp|Encyclopedia Britannica ''The fascist era''}}

====Fascist Manifesto and Charter of Carnaro====
[[File:Promised Borders of the Tready of London.png|thumb|Territories promised to Italy by the [[Treaty of London (1915)]]: [[Trentino-Alto Adige]], the [[Julian March]] and [[Dalmatia]] (tan) and the [[Snežnik (plateau)|Snežnik Plateau]] area (green). However, after World War I, Dalmatia was not assigned to Italy but to [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]]]]

In 1919, [[Alceste De Ambris]] and [[futurist]] movement leader [[Filippo Tommaso Marinetti]] created "[[The Manifesto of the Italian Fasces of Combat]]".{{sfnp|Elazar|2001|p=73}} The Fascist Manifesto was presented on 6 June 1919 in the fascist newspaper {{lang|it|[[Il Popolo d'Italia]]}} and supported the creation of [[universal suffrage]], including [[women's suffrage]] (the latter being realized only partly in late 1925, with all opposition parties banned or disbanded);{{sfnp|Passmore|2003|p=116}} [[proportional representation]] on a regional basis; government representation through a [[corporatist]] system of "National Councils" of experts, selected from professionals and tradespeople, elected to represent and hold legislative power over their respective areas, including labour, industry, transportation, public health, and communications, among others; and abolition of the [[Senate of the Kingdom of Italy]].{{sfnp|Borsella|Caso|2007|p=69}} The Fascist Manifesto supported the creation of an [[eight-hour work day]] for all workers, a [[minimum wage]], worker representation in industrial management, equal confidence in labour unions as in industrial executives and public servants, reorganization of the transportation sector, revision of the draft law on invalidity insurance, reduction of the retirement age from 65 to 55, a strong [[progressive tax]] on capital, confiscation of the property of religious institutions and abolishment of bishoprics, and revision of military contracts to allow the government to seize 85% of profits.{{sfnp|Borsella|Caso|2007|pp=69–70}} It also called for the fulfillment of expansionist aims in the Balkans and other parts of the Mediterranean, the creation of a short-service national militia to serve defensive duties, [[nationalization]] of the armaments industry, and a foreign policy designed to be peaceful but also competitive.{{sfnp|Borsella|Caso|2007|p=70}}

[[File:Fiume cheering D'Annunzio.jpg|thumb|Residents of [[Fiume]], now Rijeka, Croatia, cheer the arrival of [[Gabriele d'Annunzio]] and his blackshirt-wearing nationalist raiders, as D'Annunzio and fascist [[Alceste De Ambris]] developed the quasi-fascist [[Italian Regency of Carnaro]] (a city-state in Fiume) from 1919 to 1920 and whose actions inspired the Italian fascist movement. In September 1919 Fiume had 22,488 (62% of the population) Italians in a total population of 35,839 inhabitants.{{sfnp|Encyclopedia Britannica ''Fiume question''}}]]
The next events that influenced the fascists in Italy were the raid of [[Fiume (city)|Fiume]] by Italian nationalist [[Gabriele d'Annunzio]] and the founding of the [[Charter of Carnaro]] in 1920.{{sfnp|Sternhell|Sznajder|Ashéri|1994|p=186}} D'Annunzio and De Ambris designed the Charter, which advocated national-syndicalist corporatist [[productionism]] alongside D'Annunzio's political views.{{sfnp|Sternhell|Sznajder|Ashéri|1994|p=187}} Many fascists saw the Charter of Carnaro as an ideal constitution for a fascist Italy.{{sfnp|Sternhell|Sznajder|Ashéri|1994|p=189}} This behaviour of aggression towards Yugoslavia and [[South Slavs]] was pursued by Italian fascists with their persecution of South Slavs—especially Slovenes and Croats.{{sfnp|Hehn|2005|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=nOALhEZkYDkC&pg=PA45 44–45]}}{{sfnp|Millett|Murray|2010|p=184}}

====From populism to conservative accommodations====
In 1920, militant strike activity by industrial workers reached its peak in Italy and 1919 and 1920 were known as the "Red Year" ({{lang|it|[[Biennio Rosso]]}}).{{sfnp|Borsella|Caso|2007|p=73}} Mussolini and the fascists took advantage of the situation by allying with industrial businesses and attacking workers and peasants in the name of preserving order and internal peace in Italy.{{sfnp|Borsella|Caso|2007|p=75}}

Fascists identified their primary opponents as the majority of socialists on the left who had opposed intervention in World War I.{{sfnp|Sternhell|Sznajder|Ashéri|1994|p=189}} The fascists and the Italian political right held common ground: both held Marxism in contempt, discounted class consciousness and believed in the rule of elites.{{sfnp|Sternhell|Sznajder|Ashéri|1994|p=193}} The fascists assisted the anti-socialist campaign by allying with the other parties and the conservative right in a mutual effort to destroy the Italian Socialist Party and labour organizations committed to class identity above national identity.{{sfnp|Sternhell|Sznajder|Ashéri|1994|p=193}}

Fascism sought to accommodate Italian conservatives by making major alterations to its political agenda—abandoning its previous populism, [[republicanism]] and [[anticlericalism]], adopting policies in support of [[free enterprise]] and accepting the [[Catholic Church]] and the monarchy as institutions in Italy.{{sfnp|De Grand|2000|p=145}} To appeal to Italian conservatives, fascism adopted policies such as promoting [[family values]], including policies designed to reduce the number of women in the workforce—limiting the woman's role to that of a mother. The fascists banned literature on birth control and increased penalties for abortion in 1926, declaring both crimes against the state.{{sfnp|Blinkhorn|2003|p=14}}

Although fascism adopted a number of anti-modern positions designed to appeal to people upset with the new trends in sexuality and women's rights—especially those with a [[reactionary]] point of view—the fascists sought to maintain fascism's revolutionary character, with Angelo Oliviero Olivetti saying: "Fascism would like to be conservative, but it will [be] by being revolutionary."{{sfnp|Sternhell|Sznajder|Ashéri|1994|p=190}} The Fascists supported revolutionary action and committed to secure law and order to appeal to both conservatives and syndicalists.{{sfnp|Blinkhorn|2003|p=22}}

Prior to fascism's accommodations to the political right, fascism was a small, urban, northern Italian movement that had about a thousand members.{{sfnp|Borsella|Caso|2007|p=72}} After Fascism's accommodation of the political right, the fascist movement's membership soared to approximately 250,000 by 1921.{{sfnp|Borsella|Caso|2007|p=76}} A 2020 article by [[Daron Acemoğlu]], Giuseppe De Feo, Giacomo De Luca, and Gianluca Russo in the [[Center for Economic and Policy Research]], exploring the link between the threat of [[socialism]] and Mussolini's rise to power, found "a strong association between the Red Scare in Italy and the subsequent local support for the Fascist Party in the early 1920s."{{sfnp|Acemoğlu|De Feo|De Luca|Russo|2020}} According to the authors, it was local elites and large landowners who played an important role in boosting Fascist Party activity and support, which did not come from socialists' core supporters but from [[centre-right]] voters, as they viewed traditional centre-right parties as ineffective in stopping socialism and turned to the Fascists. In 2003, historian Adrian Lyttelton wrote: "The expansion of Fascism in the rural areas was stimulated and directed by the reaction of the farmers and landowners against the peasant leagues of both Socialists and Catholics."{{sfnp|Acemoğlu|De Feo|De Luca|Russo|2020}}

====Fascist violence====
Beginning in 1922, fascist paramilitaries escalated their strategy from one of attacking socialist offices and the homes of socialist leadership figures, to one of violent occupation of cities. The fascists met little serious resistance from authorities and proceeded to take over several northern Italian cities.{{sfnp|Paxton|2005|p=87}} The fascists attacked the headquarters of socialist and Catholic labour unions in Cremona and imposed forced Italianization upon the German-speaking population of [[Bolzano]].{{sfnp|Paxton|2005|p=87}}{{sfnp|Ferrandi|Obermair|2023|p=127–167}} After seizing these cities, the fascists made plans to take [[Rome]].{{sfnp|Paxton|2005|p=87}}

[[File:March on Rome.jpg|thumb|[[Benito Mussolini]] with three of the four [[quadrumvirs]] during the [[March on Rome]] (from left to right: unknown, [[Emilio de Bono|de Bono]], Mussolini, [[Italo Balbo|Balbo]] and [[Cesare Maria de Vecchi|de Vecchi]]){{sfnp|Morgan|1995|p=58}}]]

On 24 October 1922, the Fascist Party held its annual congress in [[Naples]], where Mussolini ordered Blackshirts to take control of public buildings and trains and to converge on three points around Rome.{{sfnp|Paxton|2005|p=87}} The Fascists managed to seize control of several post offices and trains in northern Italy while the Italian government, led by a left-wing coalition, was internally divided and unable to respond to the Fascist advances.{{sfnp|Paxton|2005|p=88}} King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy perceived the risk of bloodshed in Rome in response to attempting to disperse the Fascists to be too high.{{sfnp|Paxton|2005|p=90}} Victor Emmanuel III decided to appoint Mussolini as [[Prime Minister of Italy]] and Mussolini arrived in Rome on 30 October to accept the appointment.{{sfnp|Paxton|2005|p=90}} Fascist propaganda aggrandized this event, known as "[[March on Rome]]", as a "seizure" of power because of Fascists' heroic exploits.{{sfnp|Paxton|2005|p=87}}