Communism was supposed to be the final product of human civilization, which went through certain socio-economic-political stages and would culminate in communism. Socialism would, however, represent a transitional state system. In certain countries, communism manifested as a highly regimented, state-regulated system but such forms of government cannot be truly called communist. Rather, they are more like authoritarian or totalitarian socialist states. Like many fascist regimes, communist states have been headed by dictators and run as military dictatorships or police states. The heavy-handed government, the control and suppression of governmental opposition, and the use of propaganda to promote the needs of the ruling party are all aspects common to both fascism and communism, in spite of their ideological differences. To garner support from among detractors in the working classes, fascists relied on a clever and systematic use of propaganda. In fact, the use of propaganda is one of the major similarities between fascist and communist authoritarian regimes, both of which rely heavily on the use of sophisticated propaganda and spin-doctoring. Both types of regime also rely on the stable implementation of one mass party, creating a type of unilateral authoritarianism. Fascism was and is historically supported by different social groups than communism. Because fascism was a reaction against attempts to quell capitalism, such as labor unions, the primary supporters of fascist regimes in Europe tended to be capitalists, industrialists, aristocrats, corporatists, and conservative intellectuals ("Fascism"). Communism, on the other hand, began as a working-class socialist revolutionary ideology that found major support among organized labor. Communists view the capitalist control of the market as detrimental to the working classes; fascists view the capitalist market as an essential vehicle of the state. Private property is permitted in a fascist regime but not in a strictly communist one, although communist regimes like those in Eastern Europe degraded into authoritarian, totalitarian governmental systems that rather than create egalitarianism instead created a harsh imbalance in power. Soviet-style communism more resembled fascism than its Marxist-Leninist roots; post-Maoist Chinese communism more resembles capitalism than its defunct Soviet-style counterparts. Fascism and communist socialism are essentially at different ends of a right-...
"The most notable characteristic of a fascist country is the separation and persecution or denial of equality to a specific segment of the population," (Lewis). In fascist regimes, one group, the ruling group, is deemed superior to all others based on class, creed, or race. Nazism was one of the offshoots of fascism and unlike Mussolini's brand of fascism Hitler's was based on race. Fascistic regimes may attempt to impose distinct legal systems on different groups of citizens, by expressly denying legal rights to some citizens (Lewis).
The closest one could come to putting a date on the beginning of Fascism in Italy would be to magically zip back in time to March 23, 1919, where in a Milan's Piazza San Sepolcro, the founding fathers of Fascism. As their ideas evolved, they began to be more vocal. In 1921 they developed a plan for action for the nation of Italy. That plan evolved as time progressed,
rise of fascist states in Germany and Italy during the post World War I era was accompanied by similar movements in nations across the world; but most of these never achieved the same prominence. Great Britain saw the emergence of the British Union of Fascists, which gained thousands of supporters, but the organization never came to power. Largely this was for economic reasons: Britain did not suffer as severe
The population of Britain and London would be much smaller today, for a couple of reasons. Many would have been killed defending the island. Many more would have fled, first to the Free Irish State and then when that was inevitably overrun many would have attempted to flee to America or Canada. While Britain today attracts millions of immigrants from around the Commonwealth, that would not be the case if
Charlie Chaplin and "The Great Dictator" Although America has seemingly embraced a relatively unified ideology in contemporary society, the country was not always settled on the democratic form to the extent that it is today. Before the effects of the Cold War manifested in the United States, there were many different political ideologies that were promoted among large segments of the population and at one time it was not uncommon for
Race for Colonies in the Late 19th Century Although European imperialism had started in the 15th century when a number of European powers such as Spain, Portugal and Great Britain began to look for new settlements around the world, another great race for colonies occurred in the late 19th century. This time around, other countries such as the United States and Japan also joined Europe in the race. Some of the
Marx and Historical Materialism Karl Marx rejected the philosophical Idealism of Hegel and the utopianism of the early socialists in favor of a theory of history thoroughly grounded in materialism. For Marx, ideas, cultures, political systems were all part of the superstructure of society while economics and the social relations of classes represented the base that truly drove history forward. Economic forces were the motor of history, not ideas, philosophies or
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now