A Fascist Government

Italian Fascist Flag

 According to most history books a Fascist government is a strong dictatorship that stresses nationalism and power. As the story goes, the country is considered more important than any one individual or group. A country under this kind of government is typically administered by a dictator, who has the right of total control over the government and people. Fascist leadership might also be similar to an oligarchy (wherein power is held by a small group of people) government, such as that in Italy during WW II, where the fascist party was ruled by its “grand council” but Benito Mussolini was considered the leader; he was  prime Minister from December 24, 1922 to July 25, 1943 ... Later, Mussolini became Duce (leader) of the Italian Fascist party on October 31, 1925 and maintained that position until July 25, 1943.

Fascism became popular in Europe before World War II because many people were afraid of communism and they thought that democracy was too weak to defend them.  It is opposed to socialism, democracy, parliamentary systems, most always anti-clerical (opposition to religious institutional power), and holds a distinctive opposition to capitalism.

The general assumption is that individuals / citizens who make-up the country are bound together by national identity, through personal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood-line ties.  To achieve this, fascist type governments purge / eradicate ideas, people, and systems deemed to be the cause of corruption or the collapse of previous governments. In Short, Fascists promote the creation of an authoritarian single-party state and forbids or suppresses all opposition.

The name “Fascism” is a derivative of the old Roman Empire term “fasces”, which was the name for a group of sticks tied together. The reasoning behind the advent of the term is that “to break one stick is easy but to break many sticks that are tied together is hard”. In other words, Fascists think that everyone following the same leader makes the country strong the same way the sticks are made strong when tied into a bundle.

Fascism promotes political violence and war as actions that create national rejuvenation (renewal), spirit and strength. It views conflict as a simple fact of life that is responsible for human progress. It thinks of militarism as a source of positive transformation in society that provides spiritual renovation, education, and instilling of a will of dominance in the character of the people, while creating national comradeship through military service.

German Nazism and Italian Fascism were the two most significant fascist movements in Europe during the 1920s and 30s.  “The Iron Guard” was a fascist movement as well as a political party in Romania from 1927 to 1941 and was briefly in power from September 1940 until January 1941.        

Fascist political movements appeared in other European countries in the late 1920s and early 1930s but they did not gaining much political power. Some of these included Finland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

Perhaps the ancient city-state of Sparta, Greece (emerged around the 10^th century BC) is the foundation for all Fascist Governments. It was a military state, dedicated to war and violence.  There, the state was more important than the individual and a persons live was valuated by whether he or she would be of use to the state or not. The live of a strong, healthy child was dedicated to the state; unhealthy babies were left on mountains to die of starvation or to be eaten by wolves or they were simply thrown over a high cliff.

Parents in Sparta were responsible for taking care of their sons until the age of 7.  By age 18, males who survived the rigorous training and education were placed the military.  Healthy females were educated as well but did not receive military training.

Literacy was not considered very important, and there was little interest in music and literature. The only songs the children were allowed to sing were only those about war and violence. (The fascist education given to children beginning at age four by Mussolini and Hitler was very much the same).

This Spartan practice was taken as an example especially by Nazi Germany, where it was claimed, that the sickly had to be eliminated so as to insure a “healthy and superior race.”

Sources ...                               http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_fascist_Government#ixzz1eNCNg5py       http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism                                                      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism                         http://www.islamdenouncesantisemitism.com/thepagan.htm                            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparta