THE INTELLECTUAL ORIGINS OF FASCISM
Author(s): G. A. BORGESE
Source: Social Research, Vol. 1, No. 4 (NOVEMBER, 1934), pp. 458-485
Published by: The New School
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THE INTELLECTUAL ORIGINS
OF FASCISM
BY G. A. BORGESE
1 he firstand second rules of reasoning,as formulatedby Newdown to the present,read
ton and repeatedby popular physicists
as follows:"We are to admitno morecausesof naturalthingsthan
to explain theirappearance.
such as are both true and sufficient
. . . Thereforeto the same natural effectswe must, as far as
possible,assignthesamecauses.As to respirationin a man and in a
beast; the descentof stonesin Europe and America; the lightof
of lightin the earth,
our culinaryfireand of thesun; thereflection
and in the planets."Such rules are valid forhuman as well as for
natural history,and thereforethe reasons that explain Italian
fascismmustbe good, at least in theirmain outlines,forGerman
fascismtoo,and vice versa,or theyare not reasonsat all.
Attemptshave been made,both fromthe politicaland fromthe
economic approach, to establish the fundamentalcharacterof
thisnew typeof politicalorganization.It has been said thatGerman fascismis a revoltagainstthe injusticesand humiliationsof
the Treatyof Versailles,a revulsionof defeat.But thisinterpretation does not account for the birthof fascismin its countryof
origin,Italy,a countrywhichhad won the war more smashingly
herhereditary
thananyotherofthecombatants,
utterlydestroying
and acquiringa frontier
monarchy,
enemy,theAustro-Hungarian
of a perfection,
geographical,ethnicaland military,unparalleled
in continentalEurope. To be sure she failed in gettinghold of
thatzone of the Dalmatian mainland,opposite to her coast and
inhabitedalmostwhollyby Slavs, which the Allies had formally
grantedher; but she won Fiume, whichshe herselfhad promised
to Croatia, and she took definitepossessionof Rhodes and some
otherGreek islandsoffAsia Minor, of whichher occupancyhad
hithertobeen consideredmore or less temporary.It is also true
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INTELLECTUAL
ORIGINS
OF FASCISM
459
thatshe did not share,as largelyas her sacrificesentitledher, the
tough and bony Africanand Asiatic prey,improperlyalthough
called the "colonial booty." In this she suffereda
magnificently
disillusionmentpartlydue to the selfishness
of her partnersand
her
own
lack
of
colonial
Also
she feltthatEngto
partly
purpose.
land and Francewereblindlystubbornin contestingwithher even
some raggedreadjustmentsof bordersaround her sandyor rocky
Africanterritories.
But such minor failures,even supposingthat
real
interestsmore than feelingsof pride, cannot
they injured
make a defeatout of a victory.Neither can theyjustifythe nationalisticslogan,"Italy won the war and lost the peace." Among
someItaliansa feelingof defeatarose and graduallyincreasedduring the years1919 and 1920; but it was a matterof feeling,not of
fact,and it was a consequence,not a cause, of the fascistand prefascistmentality
whichlatersweptthecountry.For theiremotional
purposestheseItalianswanteda feelingof distress,and theygot it.
Happy warriors,totalitarianvictors,exist only in the jealous
in the case of naimaginationof competitorsor, less frequently,
tionsas well as in that of individuals,in the self-sufficiency
of a
delicatelybalanced and moderatemind. If the imperfectionor,
as it wassaid,themutilationof the Italian victoryexplainsfascism,
whyhad notfascismrisenearlierand elsewhere,afterotherpartially
unsuccessful
victories?Why did it not rise immediatelyafter1918
in France,who had lostboth the main issuesof her victoryas conceived not only by inflamednationalists,but even by cautious
patriots,and was unable to get eitherthe Rhine frontieror the
Anglo-Americanguarantyof her safety?Why did it not rise in
England,who saw, as an indirectbut promptconsequenceof the
triumph,Ireland driftingaway and the ties of the Empire loosenworth
ing?Or evenin America,whichdid notacquire anyterritory
rather
lost
her
This
is
indeed
and,
stunned,
mentioning
money?
no worldof justice,no Kingdomof God; and the destinyallotted
to the Italian nation,jammed as it is in a poor and narrowterritory,is inferiorto theclaimsshe maybase not onlyon her historic
grandeurbut on the actual ambition of her living children to
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SOCIAL RESEARCH
collaboratein the workof human civilizationand to pluck, also,
somedeservedfruitsof humanhappinessforthemselves.But even
was bound to growmore
admittingthatthisfeelingof inferiority
of
insistentafterthe passionand sacrifice war,and in spite of its
positiveresults,whydid it findits expressionin fascismand not
in a subspeciesof communismor, as reasonseemedto suggest,in
a politicalplan whichwould somehowhave made Italythe leading
powerin Geneva?
Italy was, as she is, the strongestamong the feeble and the
feeblestamong the strong.Her universalbackgroundand ambitionmighthave gained forher the positionof leaderof the minor
and proletariannationsof Europe, to balance withtheirhelp the
"Mightyof the Earth/'opposingthe greatpowerswhen necessary
and pushingthem toward a sincere submissionof their shrewd
policyto theirloftyprinciples.Italy mighthave made it her mission to revivethe inspireddemocracyof Mazzini, adapting it to
changed circumstances;to translateinto European concreteness
the idealismof Wilson; to quicken the pace of historytowardthe
nextgoals: a federation,
politicaland economic,in Europe, and a
consortiumin the colonies,withthe "open door" and equalityof
rights.Certainlysuch a role would have been much lessappealing
if
to particularistic
vanities,but proportionallymore satisfactory
not?
This
real business.
the aim were real justice and why
and
it
indeed
conceivedby
have
been
was
conceived,
plan might
some Italians of thosedays; it was, or seemed to be, at the same
time wise and great.Perhaps it mighthave won the supportof
America,but it did not please the Italian mind and heartof those
days. Not only did it appear Utopian to the mind; much more
it was distasteful
to the heart.And fascismcame.
important,
What Walter Lippmann wrote about Russia and America is
equally true forItaly and Germany,and forany countryat any
time."It is certainthatmen musteat; it does not followthatthey
can eat onlywhatthe cook choosesto provide. /. . It was certain
thatafterthebreakdownof Czarismtherewould have to be a new
regimein Russia. . . . Yet it was not certainthatit had to be the
460
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ORIGINS OF FASCISM
INTELLECTUAL
461
regimeoftheFiveYearPlan.That wasthedinnerthecookshapmen.Afterthecollapseof 1932-1933
penedto provideforhungry
a New Deal ofsomesortwasimperative.
But noteverything
that
has beendealtout was imperative.
That has dependedupon the
the
the
ofthedealers."1
temperament, prejudices, quickjudgments
Therewasno Italiandefeat,
and thereis no reasonto believethat
either
or
defeat,
imaginary actual,eitherItalianor German,had
to be followedby fascism.
and
Turkeyand Russiawereseverely
but theyresorted
to Kemalismand comdefeated,
unmistakably
whichwereindeeddictatorships,
butofquitea different
munism,
brandfromfascistdictatorships.
Whatmatters,
ineachofthesecases,isthementalandsentimental
of"cooksand dealers."
background
It is eveneasierto disposeof thepurelyeconomicexplanations
thatare customarily
of fascism.
givenof thephenomenon
at leastas a prophecy,
Marxism,
collapsedlongago; so everyone
asserts.But Marxianconceptsand formulaestillhang,each on
itspeg,in thewardrobe
ofpopularmentalapparel.Theyarecomfortable
and readyto wear.Hence the interpretation
of fascism
as theangryself-defense
ofcapitalism
and
againstthecommunistic
socialistic
menace.But whythendid it not appearin Polandor
Rumaniaor theotherstatesbordering
on Bolshevism;
whydid
it notappearin Franceor in anyothercountry
wherecapitalism
is reallystrongand socialismis moreor lessmilitant?
It is not a
matter
to
on
simple
explain, purelyeconomicgrounds,whythe
chosenland of fascism,
its Meccaor Bethlehem,
had to be Italy,
wherecapitalism
wascomparatively
weak,and wherein 1922an
which
had
never
been verymuchalive,exsocialism,
agonizing
it had onlyin rhetorical
strikes,
pressedwhatstrength
compared
towhichtherecenteventsin San Francisco
and Minneapolis
or in
the Americantextilestrikecould be consideredas full fledged
revolutions.
The answerusuallygivenis thatbecausecapitalism
was weak,
»Lippmann,Walter,The MethodofFreedom(New York1934)p. 24-5.
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462
SOCIAL RESEARCH
it had to relyon violence;becausesocialismand communism,after
the time was
some yearsof foolishthreats,had provedineffective,
rightforrevenge.
Anotherattemptat explanationwhichhas recentlybecome familiaris thatthemiddleclasseswereimpoverishedin Italy,ruined
in Germany;theyhad to startsomething.Why this something;
and whywas it theywho had to startsomething,and not the peasantsand workers?Were peasantsand workershappyand wealthy
in Italy and Germany?Or, again, the middle classesin Italy and
experienceof freedom;therefore
Germanyhad had nö sufficient
theycrushedit.
In otherwords:thesemiddleclasseswereruined,and theywere
victors;theywere strong,and theywere weak; theywere strong
enoughto crushfreedomand theotherclasses;theywerenotstrong
enough to compromisewith the other classes and to maintain
freedom.
All thesemaybe truths.But theyexhibita quality of neutral,
compensated,pendulum-liketruththathas nothing,or verylittle,
to say.
There certainlywould be no fascismif the war had been folto everybody.There
lowed by the miracleof a peace satisfactory
would be no fascismif therehad been no communism.Looking
at a European map one visualizesa fascisttrenchor wall, a black
stripefromSicilyto the Baltic shore,whichin a wayseemsto protectthe worldof Westerncapitalismagainstthe otherworld,the
worldof communism;it looks like a broad dike; or, to strainthe
rightof metaphorfurther,it resemblesa scar throughwhich the
wound. The excapitalisticfleshreactsagainstthe revolutionary
istenceof an outer zone, fromthe Balkans to Finland, does not
impairthevalidityof the simile.These minorstates,oftenalso of
veryrecentorigin,are a softersurfaceon whichan irritatedreactionwas lessto be expectedand would have been less definite.
A conceptionofthissortmayappeal to theimaginationand may
a partof the actual reality.A part
contain,althoughsymbolically,
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INTELLECTUAL
ORIGINS
OF FASCISM
463
of realityis also containedin the viewsthatemphasizethe results,
politicalor economic,of thewar. But theseare thecrude materials
of fascism;theyare farfromgivingits specificnatureand spirit.
They explain thatsome kind of reactionmighthave occurred,or
mustoccur,thatthe European bodywas bound to geta fever;they
do not explain at all whyand how and wherethatparticularkind
of reactionhad to occur,whythatparticularkind of feverhad to
befallthosenations.
For long centurieshistoriography
was almost totallypolitical.
It dealt withtreaties,withgreatmen and theirambitionsand beliefs.Then came the Marxistreform,and historywritingbecame
economicsand the classstruggle.If we wanta more completeand
truthfulinsightinto humanevents,the intellectualand emotional
elementsofthoseeventsneed to be takenmorelargelyintoaccount.
They are not alwayseconomic interestsin disguise; much more
often,on the contrary,the economic interestsare embodiments
and materializationsof intellectualjudgmentsor prejudicesand
of emotional drives.
When the logicalanalysishas been pushedto its conclusionone
realizesthatthe specificelementsof fascismare of a mental and
sentimentalnature;theyare the ideal and emotionalbackgrounds
of"cooksand dealers";and onlythroughthese,as throughcommon
is it possibleto attain an interpretation
of fascism
denominators,
and of itsissuesthatis equally adequate forItalyand forGermany.
Of course,theseideas and emotionsembodied themselvesin the
politicalrivalryof statesand in the economicclass struggle;what
happened firstin the mind found its way into the factsof mass
history.But it happenedfirstin the mind.
This mentalpedigreereachesfarback.Includedin it are Machiavelli and the Florentinehistoriansof the Renaissancewith their
bittercontemptfortheidealismofwordsand forunarmedprophets,
and theirelaborationof the conceptof the state as might.Overlooking analogous tendenciesin the Greek sophists,many were
theirforerunners
amongthewritersoftheearlyRenaissance.Croce
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464
SOCIAL
RESEARCH
manyyearsbeforethe fascistrise,the story
quoted complacently,
of Messer Ridolfo da Camerino,as related by Franco Sacchetti.
His nephew,afterhavingstudiedlaw fortwelveyearsat Bologna,
came to visithim.He asked,"And whatdidstthoudo at Bologna?"
The young man answered,"My Lord, I have learned reason."
Then MesserRidolfo replied,"Thou hast spentthytime ill. Because thou shouldsthave learned force,which is worth two of
the other."
But,nearerto us and withan incomparablymoredecisiveeffect,
we have,earlyin thedeclineoftheeighteenthcentury,
theGerman
Stormand Stress,with its appeal to violence and passion and its
uprisingagainst reason and rule. Lessing,in his Laokoön, had
in the appreciation
opened thepathto thewilderness,
substituting
of poetrypassionand expressionforthe classicalcriteriaof order
and beauty,of "noble simplicityand calm grandeur."He had also
mostresolutelyassertedthat if man had to choose between the
possessionof truthand theresearchfortruth,he shouldpreferthe
is betterthanthe goal - a propositionthatinresearch;the effort
cluded in itselfmuch moreexplosivestuff.
The revolt,farbeyondtheconceptionof Lessing,was one against
both classicismand Christianity.Naturalism and nationalism,
primitivismand extremeindividualism,hero worshipand pessimism,all theseideas and othersconnectedwiththemwereborn,so
tospeak,all togetherin a bundleat theveryoutsetoftheeighteenth
centurywhich, afterhaving built up an intellectualsystemof
and humanhope,distilledalso the intellectual
reason,universality
whose slowlyincreasingaccumulationwas finallyto
by-products
overwhelmthe resultsof the constructive
work.Of coursethe inofteninvoluntary,
tentionsof the forerunners,
did not alwaysinof
the
clude the necessity
consequences;Lessingand the Stürmer
und Dränger,forinstance,wereinspiredby a loftydesireforfreedom and justice. But in the later disintegrationof European
and thenude appeal
thoughtthismoralbackgroundwas forgotten,
to violenceand expressioncame to the fore.
Nationalismhas proved to be one of the main ingredientsof
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INTELLECTUAL
ORIGINS OF FASCISM
465
In a wayit is ofcourserelatedto patriotism,
fascism.
to theselfishand
tender
and almostinunselfish,
proudfeelingthatobviously
human
attaches
his
to
native
stinctively
every
being
place,be it
hamletor metropolis,
But in anotherwayit
parishor continent.
oremotionquiterecent,
is a feeling
andofa quitedifferent
quality,
and inexplicablewithoutthephilosophic
issueswhichit presupas evenBergsonasposes.One of themis naturalism.
Assuming,
sumes,thatnature'spurposewasto organizemankindin separate
each eventually
theothers(muchthe
groupformations,
fighting
sameas amongsomearthropods,
especially
ants), no doubtseems
to be leftthatnations,as theyappearorganizedin modernstates,
if it cannot
obeynature'spurposeat its best.Their perfection,
be tracedbackto religiousmissionor to purityofrace,lies in the
oflanguage.Generally
one may
unityand exclusiveness
speaking,
that
a
nation
is
the
realm
of
a
an
say
(literary)language: entity
forromanticism
anditsmystic
ofwords.
deeplysignificant
worship
Whatever
be
the
that
modern
nationalism
can
may
partialorigins
traceto theancientworldand to Hellenism,comparatively
few
haverealizedthatitspatterncame,throughthe Bible,fromthe
unJews:a groupformation,
ideological,racial and linguistic,
initsself-sufficiency
andself-awareness,
therealparadigm
paralleled
ofanymodernnationalism,
German.
This
modernconespecially
to be equallysuperiorto thenarceptionofnationalism
pretends
rowexclusiveness
oftheancientcityorofthemediaevalcommune,
andtotheabstract
ofinternationalism
andsupernationalemptiness
ism.Ithasoftenbeenrepeated
thattheindividual
andtheuniversal
findan unsurpassable
dialecticsynthesis
in theidea ofthenation;
thatthisis thefieldwherenatureand reasonmeet.To overstep
itsboundaries
intouniversalism,
is notonlyUtopian,
it is unholy,
becausethenationisconstituted
andnatureisholy.
bynature,
At therootof thiserroris theromanticbeliefthatnatureis
insteadof beingan environment
whoseoppositionthe
supreme,
humanmind,if it so chooses,mustovercome.If universalism
is
judgedbetter,nature,or the imaginednature,cannotbe strong
enoughtostandagainstthebetterchoiceofhumanwill.
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466
SOCIAL
RESEARCH
Anotherphilosophicand emotionalissueimpliedbynationalism
is mere individualism.If an individual who lacks a feelingof
superioritycannotattain it throughhis personalpower or mind
he can alwayshave recourseto a collectivedevice. He may fancy
himselfas belongingto the highestpossiblehuman group formaa shareholderin thiscorporationof superiority.
tion,and therefore
If the capital of the corporationis boomed,so also is his personal
share.Indeed, formostpeople, thisgain may be had in ordinary
and forthe majorityof inteltimeswithverylittlepersonaleffort,
lectualsand politicians,who are oftenthe mostexcitedabout natimes.
or riskeven in extraordinary
tionalprimacy,withouteffort
This is the obviousconnectinglink betweennationalismand egotism; an egotismmore easilyfed than any otherkind, since any
individual belongingto the chosen people, whoeverhe may be,
is unquestionablychosen and superiorfromthe momentof his
birth.Nationalismand fascismpraise themselvesas authorsof a
new ethicsof dutyand hierarchy;but on the otherside theystart
and a big one, upon all the members
a birthright,
by conferring
whichis
of the nation,buildingout of it a totalitarianaristocracy,
fordemagogy.There is a storyoftheEmperorCharlesV
a synonym
before
a littlecrowdof littlenoblemengreedyforadvancewho,
ment,liftedhis rightarm and jokinglydecreed,"Estote comités
omnes"- "I make all of you counts."The nationalistdictatoron
his balconyor podium,liftingthatsame armbeforethebig crowd,
earnestlydecrees,"Estoteprincipesomnes"- "You are all chiefs."
In the meltingpot of fascismare naturalismand individualism,
as theyare combined in the spiritual chemismof nationalism;
and Stormand Stress;ideal of thetotemand
ne9-Machiavellianism
of the "folk" and hero worship (fromSchiller'sRäuber to the
and in the otherdirectionfrom
pioneersor even to the gangsters,
General Boulanger); aesthetic
and
to
even
Plutarchto Napoleon
privacyof aristocraticfeelingand herd-likecompactnessof demaofconspiracies(fromKu Klux Klan
gogy;operaticpicturesqueness
onward) and equally operaticthrillof parades and processions;
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INTELLECTUAL
ORIGINS OF FASCISM
467
thrilltowardan unknown
appeal of the pastand revolutionary
Fichtean
andHegelian- "nationolafuture;
philosophic chiefly
and manyothermore
anarchism;
try"and statolatry;
philosophic
Theirprolongedenumeration
or lessromantic
substances.
would
be as easyas futile:a matter
ofcourse,and a matter
withoutend.
Indeed,thesuccessoffascism
amongmiddlingculturedmiddle
classesand lowerintellectuals
is mainlydue to the thoroughness
and criticalindifference
withwhichit hasmadeand stillmakesa
concoction
of all the possibleelementsof modernculture;who
eatsofiteatsa bitofeverything.
To quiteuncultured
people,like
theproverbial
it has nothingto say;neither
peasantor shepherd,
it
to sayto realminds,whichwanta critically
has anything
clean
food.Butforthenumberless
who
on
thriftily
carry beyond
people
and notup to intellectual
intellectual
starvation
plenty,it means
a lot.It meanstheirdailyspiritual
meal.In thissense,muchmore
thanin an economicone,it maybe said thatfascism,
wherever
it
is allowedto come to power,is the creedof the lowermiddle
classes.
The completeness
withwhichanyspiritualneed,degradedto
emotionalappetite,findssatisfaction
withintheframeof fascism
is
is,one maysaywithoutirony,admirable.But thisachievement
nottheworkof a singlegenius.It was not a singlegrammarian
whofromclassicism
it is nota singlefanatic
developedpedantry;
whofroma religionderivesa superstition.
Fascismis first
of all a
of
both
cultural
and
It
romanticism,
degradation
political. is not
a revolution,
as oftenboasted,but an involution.
This transformationwasofcoursecollectively
Such
wide
produced.
disintegrationcouldneverpossibly
havebeentheexploitofone singlehero.
It mustbe grantedthatthebacteriaofthediseasehavecirculated
sincethebeginningin the blood of romanticism,
a bodywhich
neverenjoyeda singlemoment
ofwhollyhealthy
consciousness.
skill with
althoughinstinctive,
Examplesof the stupendous,
whichanyspiritualrequirement
of romanticmentality
is translatedintopurelyemotional
can
be
at
random.
impulses
pickedup
How farcan fascismbe Catholicor pro-Catholic,
the
following
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468
SOCIAL
RESEARCH
Certainlynot in so far as Capath of romanticpro-Catholicism?
tholicismincludes elementsof Christianethics or any kind of
supernaturalbelief; but the pomp and luxury of the ritual is
covetedand emulated,the pyramidalsymmetry
and loftinessof
the hierarchyand organizationis admiredas the grandestarchitectureof history.Thereforetheattemptat imitation.It is beyond
doubt thatthe model forthe fascistpoliticalsystemwas foundin
the Roman church.The dictatorhas the positionof the Pontiff;
everypronouncementof truthand everyappointmentof officials
emanatesfromhim. He is, at least in theory,secretlyelective;the
electoral,and somehowconsulative,body is the Grand Council,
and Conclave.The Roman church
an equivalentto theConsistory
contributedalso the supportof its Syllabus,a grimcondemnation
of criticismand reason,whichdid not lack couragenor,as became
clear aftera while,a remarkableamountof success.
As faras Protestantism
can
Further,howfaris fascismProtestant?
be interpreted,
who
as
those
such
the
dislike
by
interpretations,
ruption of ethical codes and the foundationof any ethical imperativein the spontaneityof any individualgenius,or grace,or
ethics of the brigand,of the
passion: whence the self-sufficient
of
of
the
of
the
tyrant,
pioneer,
poet, the hero,of the saint. How
faris it democratic?As faras democracytoo has its grandeurof
ritualand ceremonies:crowds,well orderedmassdemonstrations,
plebiscites,parades.How faris it socialist?As faras socialismimsport) and as faras the
plies theconceptof struggle(i.e.*fighting,
MarxistManifestoof the Communistpartydenies "eternaltruths
such as freedom,justice,etc.," and stripsaway the Platonic attire
in which formillenniathe harshrealityof hungryinterestshas
hidden. How far is it martiallyinclined?As far as war can be
foughtwithfifesand drumsand words- fordown to the present,
and one hopes into the future,its zeal forwar does not reach for
weapons more deadly. How far does it care for peace? Certainly
not in connectionwithany educationof the people to feelingsof
peace, but as faras
peace,whichis theonlywayof reallyfostering
sheer
attain
in
behalf
of
the
beautyof Realpeace may
speeches
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OF FASCISM
469
politik and of Machiavelliantricks.Even in minor appearances,
how faris the Roman salute Roman? Was it reallythe salute of
theRoman citizen,or of theslave?This does not matter,especially
for Germans.It is beautifullydramatic;it is proud and strong;
it looks like an exerciseor even, eventually,like the threatof a
straightblow; in any case it impliesa displayof energy.
This provesindeed to be the constantsubstanceunder the flow
offascistappearances:theromanticcultofenergy- or violenceor
if not into real historicdeeds at least into a
passion- transferred
ritual performance.Hitler says,"We thinkwith our blood": a
mottowhichmightwell have been adoptedby the primitivetragic
hero,such as Lessingconceivedhim,or by any leading character
of the Stormand Stressliterature.Hence the fascistevaluationof
revolutionand war. There have alwaysbeen revolutionsin human history;but theywereconsideredby moralistsand historians
as sad necessitieswhichit would have been wise and lucky,if possible, to avoid; and the theoryof revolutionas the loveliestand
mostadmirableofhumansocial expressionsis thoroughly
modern.
of
conversion
The Christian,especiallythe Protestant,
experience
and grace, which is a kind of individual revolution,gave the
mightiestimpulse to this conception, whose vigor increased
throughcontributions
flowingfromvariousphilosophic,scientific,
political and literarysources.The lurid glamorof modernrevolutionsfromthe Englishto the Russian,but especiallythe French,
added a fantasticsuggestionwhichworkeddecisivelyon emotional
in
of
the
complexes.Finally
footsteps Nietzscheand Sorel came the
fascistswith their idealizationof revolutionas such, Revolution
an sich. Strangelyenough,both fascistcountries,Italy and Germany,know in theirlong past much more of riotsand local upheavalsthanof real revolutions.Italian fascismwas fromthe very
beginningapproximately
legal and was immediatelylegalized; the
rise of Hitlerismwas legal throughout.But only to a superficial
observationmay it seem strangethat fascismupholds thingsthat
lie outsideof its historyand its nature.On the contrary,it quite
belongsto fascistmentalityto thirstforwatersthat do not flow.
INTELLECTUAL
ORIGINS
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470
SOCIAL
RESEARCH
As forwar,therehave been warsenoughin humanhistory;and
fascism,eitherItalian or German,has hithertofoughtnone, not
even civil war. But fascism,forthe firsttime in human history,
has erectedan altar to the god War. "Fascism,beforeeverything,
in what generallyconcernsthe futureand developmentof the
humanrace,and leavingaside anyconsiderationof actual politics,
does not believe eitherin the possibilityor in the utilityof perwhichmasksa disavowal
rejectspacifism,
petualpeace. It therefore
of struggle,and a cowardicebeforesacrifice.Only war raises to
theirmaximumof tensionall human energiesand imprintsa seal
of nobilityon the peoples who have the virtueto face it. All the
other¿rials are but substituteswhichnevermake a man face the
alternativeof life and death. Any doctrine,consequently,which
moves from the presupposedpostulate of peace, is foreignto
fascism;and no lessforeignto thespiritof fascism,even ifaccepted
forwhat utilitytheymay have in some particularpolitical situation, are all the internationalstructuresand leagues (tutte le
e societarie) which, as history
costruzioniinternazionalistiche
air as soon as sentimental,ideal
vanish
in
thin
demonstrates,
may
and practicalelementsrouse to stormthe heartsof nations." So
wroteMussoliniunderthe captionFascismin the 14thvolume of
the EncyclopediaItaliana, in 1932; and thistheoryhas oftenbeen
proclaimedby him and his followersin otherbut similarwords,
and has been widelyechoedby Hitlerand Hitlerism.Peace can be
accepted,mustbe acceptedsome times- alack! too manytimes
but as a factof existence,an unavoidablesad necessity.The ideal
conditionof humanlifeis battle.
Could one imaginea moreromanticsuggestion?"Venez, orages
désirés."One seestheWagneriangod Thor arousingwithhis hammerthunderand hail. And,sincethisstateof mind is purelyemotional and imaginative,it would be of littleuse to advance objections.Is it reallytruethathumanlifeis so miserablybereftofnoble
trialsand dangersthatwar,ifit did notexist,oughtto be invented?
And is it truethatthemaximumof human tensionis reachedonly
howevermodin war?Goethe,who has his shareof responsibility,
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INTELLECTUAL
ORIGINS
OF FASCISM
471
thesuperb
wrotenevertheless
erate,in themakingof thismentality,
the
of
man
who
desires
admittanceto the Islamic paraself-epitaph
dise, a "Paradise under the shadow of swords/1in spite of never
havingbrandisheda sword."Denn ich bin ein Menschgewesenund das ist ein Kämpfersein" ("Because I was a man, and that
means to be a warrior"). The knight-errant
or professionalcondottierewhorodeself-determined
fromduel to skirmishmighthave
boastedabout the alternativeof life and death; so maythe volunBut the democraticcomteer,althoughnot in everycircumstance.
which
the
anti-democratic
fascismhas not
pulsory enlistment,
hastenedto discard,has sharplychangedthings;and thepoor devil
of a soldierwho has to chargeagainstthe enemy'smachinegun if
he does notlikebettertheriflesofthefiringsquad, does not facean
alternativeof lifeand death but a choice betweenprobable death
and certaindeath.If,however,an alternativeof lifeand deathis an
inescapabletestforhuman nobility,whynot the firetrialor simply a mortalduel as soon as any boy (or girl) comes of age? Such
systems,among other advantages,would have the recommendationofeconomy.Certainly,it can hardlybe denied thatthistheory
of war forwar's sake,of war as one of the finearts,climbsa peak
of human ingenuity.Whereas people of olden times fought,or
had the illusion of fighting,for their gods or for their homes,
people nowadaysought to fightbecause war is beautifuland supreme,thesportof sports.If such is reallythe fascistfeelingabout
war,peace is safe;and theirbattles,as theycall them,will everbe
those,oftensalutary,which theyfightno differently
fromcommunistsor democrats,to drain marshes,to improvecrops,to have
trainsrunningon time,to exterminate
flies,or to macadamizehighroads. Now and then may occur a murderor a purge, like the
GermanSaintBartholomew's
ofJune30th;but thisis no war,since
thereis no alternativeoflifeand deathformurderers
or murdered.
Whetherwar in humanhistoryis due to fateor to human guilt
mayremainan open question;but neverbefore,in threethousand
yearsofWesterncivilization,wasanyseriousattemptmade to interpret war as nice and jolly, a sword dance, and the best pastime
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SOCIAL RESEARCH
472
mankindmay enjoy. To be sure, Mussolini has more than once
quoted Heraclitus,"themelancholysolitaryofEphesus,"according
to whom"strifeis at the rootof all things,"and Hitleritesassume
thatall pre-Socratic
But, to
philosopherswere also pre-Hitlerites.
saynothingofthefactthattheyare notusuallyadeptin thedifficult
fieldofpre-Socratic
philosophy,thefactmustbe takenintoaccount
not pre-Socratic,
that Socraticand post-Socratic,
philosophygave
the decisive imprintto ancient thought,and that the attitude
towardwar of pagan poetryand philosophywas scarcelydifferent
fromthatoftheJewishprophetsand oftheChristiandisciples.The
theIliad, knowsceroldestmonumentof Mediterraneanliterature,
but
defines
of
emotional
the
war, even in its
tainly
"joy battle,"
firstpages,as "the evil war" (pólemoskakós), and aims at forgivenessand peace. The Aeneid is characterized
throughoutby a longcould only
at least theoretically,
ing forpeace; and Christianity,
deepen thislonging.Even the EmperorCharlemagneof the Chanson, thoughnot recognizablya dastard,tearshis beard when the
Angel bringshim the newsof anotherwar thathas to be started;
even in the grimNibelungenlied,Etzel and all the otherheroes
would,afterall, preferpeace,ifpeace wereonlypossible.No doubt,
the
strifeis at therootofall things;but theinferencethattherefore
mutualkillingofmanbyman is metaphysically
indeed,
necessary
thatwar is therichestcreamof spiritualexistence- is just a sophismof the meanestsort;as if on the premisethatwateris a necessaryfactorin humandietsomeonewereto drawtheconclusionthat
ocean wateror boiling water,being supremelywaters,make the
bestdrinksforhumanmeals.
Only in veryrecenttimes,withthe "revoltof passion,"has the
cult of war grownup; forwar is passion.Napoleon, withhis startlinglyvisible glory,embodied the ideal far betterthan Schiller's
imaginaryrobbersor the schoolmaster'sexcerptsfromPlutarch's
heroic biographies.Goethe in his Euphorion,half Byronic,half
Stormand Stress,knew how to translateinto song the scorn of
pacifismthathad alreadybeen formulatedin plain prose,several
decadesearlier,by Moeserand others:
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OF FASCISM
ORIGINS
INTELLECTUAL
"Dream ye thepeacefulday?
Dream, then,who may!
Warl is thecountersign:
Victory,worddivine."
473
Althoughthe Chorusobjects:
"Who peace and unity
Scorneth,forwar's array,
With impunity
Slayshishope ofa betterday."
On the crestof the same wave foamedSchopenhauer'spessimism,
and, as a deductionfromSchopenhauer,came Wagner'smusicand
controversialwriting.Wagner is the genius who gave fleshand
blood to themostexpressiveof modernmyths:Siegfriedas a demiand ofadventureforadventure'ssake.Wagner,
god ofirrationalism
German
self-deification
withanti-Semitism,
a tendtoo,combined
which
had
the
never
before
shown
tremendous
emotional
ency
swingwithwhichWagnerwas able to endow it.
Later Gobineau and otherscarriedthe tendencyforwardwith
the tale of Germansuperiority,
foundedsubstantiallyon nothing
but the thrillingpamphlet in which the Roman historianand
oratorTacitus transferred
thetraditionalArcadia,begemmedwith
the virtuesof earlypatricianRome, to the Germanwoods: a Utopian republic which he contrastedwith the corruptionof the
Roman Empire. Then came Darwinism,with the strugglefor
existenceand the survivalof the fittest;then pragmatism(and,
and any kind
whynot,ChristianScience,and, whynot,theosophy,
ofoccultism)placingimaginationand will above truthand reason.
Meanwhile Nietzsche- the grandeststormon the horizonof human thought,as Andler aptly said - placed the cage of the
"blonde wild beast" on the meadow where Rousseau's innocent
savageused to play on his reed pipe.
Is it necessaryto repeatthatthesephilosophiesand artsand these
intellectualheroes,majorand minor,are not,each and all, directly
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SOCIAL RESEARCH
responsibleforfascism?That a full enumerationof the elements
would be interminable:thatthe genealogicaltreeof fascismis as
of Europeanthought
leafyas a weepingwillow?The disintegration
fromthe decline of the eighteenthcenturyto the dawn of the
- a disintegration
twentieth
whichdid not impair,and even occa- took
sionallystimulatedan astoundingwealthofcreativeenergy
many directions; and fascism gathered from every direction
whateversuiteditsrequirements.It skimmed,one maysay,anthologically,theromanticand post-romantic
mentality,
quite unprejudiced in the choice of details,providedtheymightbe arranged
along the main line of fascistimpulsion.This consistsin a strenof appearances,a verycoheruous and, in spiteof themultiplicity
ent oppositionto any formof rationalismand Platonismin the
of history;and, therefore,
especiallyan opposition
interpretation
to the latestconcreteexperimentin rationalidealism: progressive
democracyas it wasconceivedin thephilosophiesof theeighteenth
century.Further,fascismconsistsin therejectionof any fixedgoal
or permanentaim, in thebeliefthatchangeis substance,passionis
virtue,forceis right;or, for those who like concise definitions,
of theidea of powerfortheidea
fascismconsistsin thesubstitution
ofjustice.Anyotherdefinition
missesitsproperintention;it would
not touch what is specificin fascismand what is commonto all
brandsof fascism.
As forfreedom,fascismtakesequitablyinto account- and not
disinteat all - bothextremesof the post-romantic
contradictorily
anarchic,solipsisticextreme,and
gration:thesuper-individualistic,
the reactionary,obscurantist,herd-likeopposite. The tyrant,or
hero,is free,so faras the Supermanor Stirner'sEinzigercan want
to be free;hence,his rebellionagainstany law thatmightbe imposedon him,League of Nationsor internationalcodes. But slaves
are slaves.Chains,forgedeitherbychurchor stateor in the underworldof conservativeethicsand complexes,are equally good; for
how could He be free,had He no slaves?
All thatprecedesis tantamountto sayingthatfascism,if it were
real
a
thing,could claim the gloryof being the mostdeeprooted
474
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OF FASCISM
475
involutionor revolutionin the course of our civilization,"the
grandeststormthateverburston the horizonof history";subverting both the Christianteachingof love and the classicdoctrineof
permanentjustice; as its ultimateachievementloominga bifront
Janus,one face Antichrist,the other Antiplato. But is it a real
musical,aestheticcradlewhere
thing?Has it outgrowntheliterary,
it was nursedwith slogansand leitmotiveìTrue, therehas been
some castoroil, some blood, a few concentrationcamps,a little,
There is also a good deal of talk
perhapsnot so little,suffocation.
about the corporatestate;as if a corporationor any otherkind of
institutional
organismwereeven conceivableso long as His power,
the omnipotenceof the despot,is totallyuncontrolled.But what
will such historicscenerylook like fromthe heightof the future,
More chronsayin a hundredyears,if fascismdid not go further?
icle than history;wavyoutline, no mountainrange; all in all a
postwarneurosis,and an epigonic output of literaryaftermath.
Mostof it stillexistsonlyin speech,journalism,song,cheer,advertising,broadcast.Public utterancebywordofmouthand thecirculationofthedailypaper,thisunavoidablydemocratictool,is managed as a weapon against democraticthought;a paradox which,
morethananythingelse,baresthe weaknessof the system.No fascistdictatorhas yetopenlyproclaimedhis divine,or,at leastsuperhumanright;no fascistdictatorhas retiredfromthe profanemob
behind the walls of an Escurial. A really anti-democratic
belief
to
no
less
than
this.
ought require
Far away,almostimperceptiblefromthe distanceof the future,
thetomtomofEmperorJonesfadesintothejungle ofnothingness.
INTELLECTUAL
ORIGINS
But whateveris real in fascism,littleor much,could neverhave
cometo theworld,iftheintermarriage
of ideas,relatedin theforehad
been
celebrated
going pages,
only in ideal beds, which are
sterile.Not a singleprophet,duringmorethana centuryofprophecies,analyzingthedegradationoftheromanticculture,or planning
thesplitof theromanticatom,everimaginedanythinglike fascism.
There was, in the lap of the future,communismand syndicalism
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476
SOCIAL
RESEARCH
and even alland what not; therewas anarchism,and legitimism,
papacy; war,peace, deluge, pan-Germanism,
pan-Slavism,Yellow
Peril,signalsto theplanetMars; therewas no fascism.It came as a
too.
surpriseto all, and to themselves
One mayimagineall the possibleinterrelations
of ideas and all
theirthinkableresults,one of whichundoubtedlywas fascism,althoughoverlookedby prophets;but such resultsare bound to remain mere day dreams,ambivalent or plurivalenthypotheses,
unlesssomeonecomesand graftsthe livingshootof a real volition
upon thesterilestockof the imagination.This is the finalissue in
No collectiveexplanation,eithereconomicor
history:personality.
can
dialectic,
dispensewithit.
Whydid not fascismarise in Russia? Because, the answerruns,
the componentsof Russian culture were Czarist mysticismand
mysticcommunism;thereyou have the resultantin communistic
Czarism,or Bolshevism.Why not in the United States?Because,
herealso theansweris at hand,heryouthfulsturdyinnocencepreservedher fromboth major diseasesof sophisticatedEurope: the
tuberculosisof eager pessimism(Schopenhauer) and the syphilis
of megalomania (Nietzsche).
But whydid it not arisein France,whereteachersof obscurantismand hatred,fromde Maistreand beforeto Maurrasand Daudet
and after,had been quite a college?The sabrerattlingof General
Boulangerdid not impale even a mouse; JacquesLebaudy died as
emperorof Sahara; Coty,the Corsicanof the twentiethcentury,
died a shorttimeago as a perfumer;and the Pretendersare charminggentlemen.
of
Englandtoo had her share,a largeone, in the disintegration
and
in
aesthetic
the
field,
romanticism,
although
literary
mainly
on theneighboringfieldsof ethicsand
notwithoutencroachments
behavior.But Oscar Wilde did not set himselfup as Prince of
Wales; and if it mustbe grantedthat,had fascismconqueredEngand Popish revivalwould have foundin fasland, Irish sophistry
cismitsgood sides,nonethelessG.B. is stillonlyG.B. and G.K. still
wearsno mitre.
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OF FASCISM
ORIGINS
477
INTELLECTUAL
Finally,whydid not fascismappear firstin Germany?We have
of late heard an Americansage utter the judgment that fascist
mentalityis un-German.This is no doubt inaccurate;no doubt
a large majorityof the intellectualelementsof fascismhad their
fatherland,primitiveor adoptive,in Germany.But fascismdid
not,however,springup firstin the furrowwhereFichteor Hegel,
Wagneror Treitschke,Gobineau or Chamberlainor Bernhardior
Spenglerhad sown; neitherdid corporatism,in spite of Adam
Müller and Othmar Spahn. It was a long, wearisomeway from
the beerhall putsch to the plebiscites;and even the firstputsch
was startedseveralmonthsafterthe marchon Rome.
Whythendid fascismarise firstin Italy?Because Italy had had
her share,withVico and Giobertiand others,and finallywiththe
doctrines?
Pope of the Syllabus,in the shapingof neo-reactionary
This share had not been decisive,and had lacked the rhetorical
spell appealing to the masses.Because Italians had not been long
enoughaccustomedto politicaland intellectualfreedom?This is,
as alreadyemphasized,genericformany nations,not specificfor
Italy. Because, more than any othernation,theyhad been accustomedthroughtwothousandyearsof worldempireand universal
church,acrossdramaticpeaks and valleysof majestyand misfortune,to loftinessof politicalimagination,and at the same time to
the mostdejectedrenouncementof personalityin public lifeand
to the mostdaringexperimentalversatilityin political thinking?
This is a betterreason. They were prepared to accept anything
strangeand new,particularlyif the noveltypromisedsomehowto
revivethe hereditary
and to check
complexof Roman superiority
the stubborn,althoughscarcelyreasonable,complex of modern
inferiority.
They were also hereditarilyready to give up their
personalrightsthata collectiveimaginationmightthrive.But this
too would have remaineda theoreticalreason,had the Man not
come.A hundredMachiavelliscannotbreeda singlePrince.
The Man was not the Marquis and ProfessorVilfredoPareto,
about whomwe have alreadybegun to hear much idle talkin this
nobleman,who transferred
country.Pareto was a ratherdifficult
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478
SOCIAL RESEARCH
the loathingforplebeians thatsaddened his genteelblood into a
ratherconfusedand pretentioussystemof aristocraticpessimism.
Much of what is good in his work is a plagiarismor unavowed
borrowingfromthe Italian juristMosca, who had alreadydiscovered that groups and elites,not undifferentiated
masses,are the
makersof history.Many details,especiallyin footnotes,are striking; and theyare oftenthe fruitof an originaland rich scholarship (even if at times a bit whimsical), especially in ancient
history.Much of what is bad is the inadequate and positivistic
ambitionto classifyhuman historyas a kind of natural science
Nobody everread
(vide Taine) , nay,as a branchof mathematics.
him exceptin indexes,abridgmentsor book reviews,or in browsing. It is oftenreportedthat Mussolini,when a youngwanderer
in Switzerland,attendedsome of his classes; probablyan opportunity,unusual withhim, fora rest.
The man of destinywas Gabriele d'Annunzio: a greatpoet, so
faras his greedinessforlife allowed him greatnessin poetry,and
a real man of action,so faras his poeticftalentallowed him real
action; a Bryonraised to the nth power.Now an old man, grumblingbehindthewalls of his freakyEscurial,the Vittorialeon the
Lago di Garda, he was once a phenomenonunique in history:a
poet who meant what he wrote,and lived, if not up to his full
success,at leastto his fancy.He had collectedin one singletrough
all the distillationsand drippingsof the romanticwitch-kitchen:
titanismand sadism,voluptuousnessand despair,Nietzscheand
Verlaine,Mona Lisa and Yseult, La Belle Dame sans Merci and
the Holy Virgin,the saintlinessof the peasant'sfamily,the pious
silenceof the cloister,the beautyof slaughter,of fire,of tyranny,
of bravery,of Rome, of sacrifice.Everythingthat is
of treachery,
fascistis in his volumes,and variousotherthingsthatfascismlater
dropped.Earlyin the new centuryhe had carvedthe line, "Arma
la prorae salpa versoil mondo" ("Arm the prowand sail toward
the world"), which,incidentally,is rathera bewilderingsailing
direction.Certainlya genius,even if he had onlywritten.But he
did more than that; he acted. As war came, he went warring,an
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INTELLECTUAL
ORIGINS
OF FASCISM
479
individual warfareincomparablymore strikingthan Byron's in
Greece. He foughthis own war, indeed as a potentatestrictly
allied to the King of Italy, but choosingwhatevergallant enterpriseon land, in air, on sea, suitedhis taste,and totallyignoring
any otherdisciplineor obligation; a self-determination
unprecedented except perhaps in Orlando Furioso or in Don Quixote.
Even the militaryrank thathe adopted,Commandante,although
apparentlyborrowedfromthe navy,was, in more or less secret
intention,the literal translationof the Roman Imperator. As
peace, or at least armistice,came he was heard saying,"I smell
the stenchof peace." Shortlyafterat the head of a handful of
people, althoughmeetingno militaryresistance,he seized a city,
Fiume, challengingthe wrath if not the guns of all the Great
Powers,and therehe settled,a Signoreand monarch,like a condottiereof the Renaissance.There he inventedor perfectedeverything:salutes,speechesfromthe balconyand choral cheersfrom
the crowd assembledunderneath,rites,processions,oaths, transvaluation of Faustismand perhaps of Mephistophelianism,
into
a mysticism
of action.Even corporatismhas rootsin d'Annunzio's
love of the beautyof guilds in the mediaeval Italian communes,
where everybodybelonged to an "art/*which is, in a way, the
equivalent of sayingthat everybodywas an artist.It is an effect
of this leaning farmore than it is an enactmentof Müller's and
Spahn's highbrowspeculations,a derivativefromsyndicalismor
a loud echo of what,more modestlybut more successfully,
had
been achieved a generationearlier in democraticAustralia and
New Zealand under the compulsoryArbitrationAct. A yearor so
latersome shellshotsof the Italian regularforcesdrove him from
Fiume; he withdrew,undisturbed,to his fancifulVatican on the
Lago di Garda, wherea real warshipwithreal guns lies, faraway
fromany water,on the hills of the poet's estate,and mightsome
daysail anew towardtheworld.
A failure,whencomparedto the promiseof dreams;but a huge
achievementin the difficult
realm of things.If d'Annunzio,some
had
twentyyears earlier,
conquered the jeunesse dorée and the
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480
SOCIAL
RESEARCH
naive youththroughlittlemorethanhis admirablepoemsand his
smartridingon horseback,now,givingevidencethat"anythingis
feasible" (or almost), he sweptall thelowerand middleemotional
strataof the country.Other experiencesof the same kind loomed
in thememoryoftherace: Caesar,Columbus,Napoleon, Garibaldi
in the grandstyle;Cola di Rienzo at about the level of d'Annunfromthe Renaissanceto Casanova and furzio; the adventurers,
ther,in the woodland of irresponsiblepioneering.Perhaps this
feelingthathistoryis inventive,thatthe worldof realityis plastic
and obedientto a strong,creativehand, belongsto Italians more
than to othernations.The deed of Fiume aroused many hearts.
Could philosophyhave dikedtheland againstthewaveof mystic
activism?Philosophyhad enjoyedgreatpopularityin Italyduring
the firsttwo decades of the twentiethcentury;and the authority
of BenedettoCroce,a greatthinkerand scholar,had not been conconsiderablyimpairedby his pro-German,or neutral,attitudeat
the startof the war. Some tendenciesof his ethical and aesthetic
tasteentitledhim,in a way,to claim the nationalofficeof an antid'Annunzio. But Italian neo-idealism,either in the shape conferredon it by Croce or in the variantof Gentile- who, in fact,
joined the Fascistpartyas earlyas 1924- had, and still has, no
fundamental
objectionto nationalismand fascism.It asserts,in the
wakeof Hegel, that"all thatis rationalis real,and all thatis real is
rational";ifso, is not nationalismreal? Is not fascismreal- so far
as it is a reality?And how,possibly,can reason,or philosophy,opwitha considerpose them?Besides,thisphilosophyis impregnated
able amountof beliefin the state,and in the national stateas the
highestpossibleattainmentand the broadestpossiblecommunity
throughwhichthe individualis allowed to come in contactwith
the universal.It expressedalso, indefatigably,
a bitterdislike of
and
of
Mazzinianism,democracy,
anykindofabstract,
freemasonry
Utopian,"eighteenthcenturymentality."The shortautobiography
whichCroce composedon the eve of the Italian interventionin
in the candorwithwhichhe
the war,in 1915,is veryinteresting
in politicalcuriosityand
confesses
hisslowness,almostsluggishness,
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INTELLECTUAL
ORIGINS
OF FASCISM
481
interestat the beginningof his career.There was an approach to
socialism,followedby a quick disillusion.The only constantelement in his political temperamentfromadolescenceonward had
been a feelingagainstthe liberal and democratic"rhetoric,"and
an aversionto the abstractthinkingof the "eighteenthcentury
mentality."He had raised,or createdfromnothing,thereputation
of a writer,AlfredoOriani,now canonizedamongthe prophetsof
nationalfascism.In his mostbrilliantif not mostsuccessfulbook,
Philosophyof the Practical,he had inserteda shortbut eloquent
defenseofthe Holy Inquisition,whichwas "reallyholy."Approximatelyat the same time he warmlyintroducedto Italian readers
GeorgesSorel and his "Reflexionssur la violence."This was a big
event.The Italian jeunesse dorée and the honestfanatics- often
formersocialistsand syndicalists
of extremevehemence- did not
have to botherany moreabout the intellectualqualityof the suggestionsof violence thatcame fromthe poet d'Annunzio. Sorel's
pamphlet,withCroce'spreface,stampedtheseal ofseriouslearning
on theirpassions;philosophy,so theyfelt,legitimizedpoetry.In
the followingdecade Sorel was farmore popular in Italy than in
France,and he liked Italyverymuch: an experimentalzone where,
perhaps,the toilsomenail work of this misanthropescratching
civilizationmighthelp
nervouslyon the facade of contemporary
to bringabout some crumblingworththe while..
In the municipalelectionsof 1914 at Naples, Croce headed the
conservativeparties,Fascio dell' ordine,againstthe leftistblock.
At the startof the war he was pro-Germanor neutral; he never
of thewar as makingthe worldsafe
agreedwiththe interpretation
fordemocracy.This war had to him no ideal meaningat all. Cerand noble,and in theverymany
tainlydialecticthinkingis difficult
thingsthatCroce wroteand said about politicsand historyin the
makingtherewas evera kernelof truth;but dialecticactionis impossible. Hamlet may talk and sink,Fortinbrasmust choose. So
faras Croce was a Fortinbras,directlyconcernedin action,he had
to choose;and at theverydecisivemoment,whichwas the close of
thewar and the immediatemorrowof war,he chose to put all the
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482
SOCIAL RESEARCH
The
weightofhis workon theside of nationalismand pre-fascism.
was
of
and
Mazzinians
Wilsonians
eighteenthcenturymentality
hatefulto him; he had alreadyannouncedthe deathof
necessarily
socialism;he minimizedthe League of Nations; he scornedthe
idea of "State as justice,"again and again upholdingthe stateas
such as thosebetween"Engforce;he stressednationaldifferences,
lish and Russians,Italians and Croats,Christiansand Turks*'; he
ultimatelydecided that politics cannot "be treated as ethics,
whereaspolitics (this is the plain truth) is politics,just politics,
and nothingelse but politics;or, if you wantme once more to repeat the tenetand comparisonthatare dear to me, the moralityof
politicsconsistswhollyand onlyin being excellentpolitics,as the
moralityof poetry,whateverthe incompetentsmay say, consists
In thefollowingyears,under
uniquelyin beingexcellentpoetry/'1
he has writtenmuchfinerthings,someofthemquite beaufascism,
tiful;he has steadilydrawnnearerto theideas of Europe as a unity
and ofpoliticalfreedom,thoughnot yetgivingan adequate philosophicdefinitionof thislatteridea; he certainlybelongs more to
the futurethan to the past,fora man belongswherehe has most
suffered
and hoped. In firmness
inspiredby personalpride and by
and withstandsfascistthreat
withstood
conviction
he
disinterested
and fascistboycott.He has helped as no one else has to build a
bridgebetweenthe generationsof the intelligentsia.This is very
good forthe future,althoughit does not entirelymake up forthe
past. During the fascistrise Croce's philosophyand attitudesdid
not,to be sure,contributean impulsecomparableto d'Annunzio's;
as usual,
but neitherdid theypresentanyreal obstacle.Overstating,
their
forerunners
as
one
him
claim
fascists
Qf
true,
thingsmoderately
and assumethathe,notthey,tookthewrongturning.
Now the apple hungripe,readyforthe strongquick hand that
would stretchto pluck. There was, somewherein the huddle, the
hand of Mussolini.
He had learnedfromLenin and MustaphaKemal thatthe coup
1
Pagine Sparse, Serie Seconda (Naples 1919) p. 258 and passim.
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OF FASCISM
INTELLECTUAL
ORIGINS
483
states.Indeed, both these
d'étatwas possiblealso in contemporary
d'état
were
toward
in
the
the
left,
coups
supposedmain direction
ofhistory;but d'Annunziohad taughtthatanythingis feasible (or
almost) withno matterwhatintellectualor emotionalstuff.Mussolini was an anarchistand an artist.Endowed,no doubt,withan
exceptionaland exceptionallywell trained ability for handling
human passions,he sharedalso the natural inclinationthat such
abilityusually carrieswith it: the inclinationto preferpassions
easierto handle.At thecloseofthewarhe was at a crossroads.Had
his intellectualbackgroundand his moral belief been rocks of
he would have turnedto theroad on the left;toward
steadfastness,
socialismand Mazzinianism,towardproletarian,progressive,
scienrevolution
or
there
all
the
reform;
tifically
inspired
lay
passionsand
chances
cravingsofhis feverishly
staringyouth.This choiceoffered
offailure,verymanyof them;and someof real greatnessin history.
But his adventurousand mixed readingcould not possiblyhave
bestowedon him an intellectualsupplybetterthan the sophisms
and trahisonsde clercswhichhe relishedeveryday, nibblingthe
famedbooksofhistime;he personallywentso faras to supposethat
Einstein'srelativitymeans that there is no real truthand that
is just relative.Afterhesitations,the contentof power
everything
grewmeaninglessbeforehis need of power. On the oppositeroad
therewere nationalisticemotionalismand the fearof the owner
classes;all thathe had despisedand hated.But theywerethe forces
at hand, under high pressure,ready to start,while the socialist
thronghad proved helpless. He was an anarchistand an artist,
and thetemptationwas too strong.He reachedforthenextopportunity.He got it.
and dreamsofa secondchance.
Probablyhe is sometimesrestless,
is nobody.
Hitler, fundamentally,
He learned,in turn,fromMussolinithe lesson thateverything
is feasible (not almost), thata reactionary
coup d'étatis thinkable
even afterthe Reformationand Kant; thatindividualpioneering
is possibleeven in the heartof Europe,
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484
SOCIAL
RESEARCH
He merelytranslated,
it, Mussolini'ssystemback into
engrossing
in
which
German
the
language
thoughuntil then lacking imsuch
pulse to action- it had been firstconceived.The differences,
in attitudetowardtheJews,depend
as themuchtalkedofdifference
not on the intentionsof theleaders.
on objectivecircumstances,
Hitleris onlytheshadowof Mussolini;but sucha broad one that
itseemsdoubtfulifmanysunraysforautonomousdevelopmentare
stillleftto Italian fascism.For the timebeing Mussolini,the creator, alreadylooks like the precursorof Hitler, the imitator:a
destinyallottedto manysuchgeniuses.
In the economicfield,and seen in the mostfavorablelight,fascism,eitherin Italyor Germany,has facedthecrisisneitherbetter
nor worsethan communisticor democraticcommunitieshave. If
so, whatis theuse of fascism?In the internationalfield,theclashes
betweenMussoliniand Hitlerseemto indicatethatit is extremely
forfascismto build a new internationalsystem.Should
difficult
Mussolini,in thedesireto evade the Hitlershadow,be driveninto
the path of liberal England or of democraticFrance,thatwould
implysomeconsequencesforhis futurein Italy; since,in the ultimateissue,foreignpolicyand domesticpolicyare interdependent.
Is the alternativewar (which,as Mussoliniquite recentlysaid,
witha quotationfromProudhon,"is of divineorigin")? Who can
wage it, or wherecan it suddenlyexplode fromthe patientlyaccumulatedheap of explosivematerial?Or is the alternativerevoand gradualmergingin theordinary
lution?Or slowdisintegration
fluxof things?Such queries maybe leftto fortunetellers.
There are,beyonddoubt,positiveand creativeelementsin fascism.First,the appeal to energy(althoughenergymustknow its
aim,and theaim mustbe a good one) . Second,theappeal to social
order and discipline (although the basis of this order must be
shifted,and the aim mustbe collaborationamong freelyordered
nations,not war,whichis theworstof disorders). Third, the critiin theirdecay (although
and parliamentarianism
cismofdemocracy
notdespotism,mustbe theinference).
a betterdemocracy,
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INTELLECTUAL
ORIGINS OF FASCISM
485
andbestofall. ItalyandGermany
camelast,notyettwo
Fourth,
modern
of
a
the
row
of
nationalstates.
thirds
ago, into
century
Fascismis givingthemtheinnerexperience
Theywereimmature.
ofstruggle
and character
thatFranceand Englandhad in thelate
MiddleAges,and Americain theCivilWar.MuchofGermany
is
of mediaevalmemostilla storageplaceforthepioussafekeeping
is
still
a
from
the
ancientworldinto
ries;Italy
peninsulajutting
butat highest
is burningin
thenew.Involuntarily,
speed,fascism
all thematerialofthepast:personaland,dogmatic
bothcountries
and church,classicand romanticpedantry,
authority,
monarchy
Fromfascismbothnaand involutedintroversion.
daydreaming
tionswill emerge,soon or late,renovated,
quite Europeanand
andmakersofEurope.
modern,
wordsarein Milton'sParadiseLost,
Fortherest,theconclusive
XII, 95 if.
mustbe,
Tyranny
no excuse.
Thoughto theTyrantthereby
will
Yetsometimes
nations declineso low
Fromvirtue,
whichisreason,thatnowrong,
andsomefatalcurseannex'd,
ButJustice,
them
of theiroutwardliberty,
Deprives
Theirinwardlost. . . .
It has also beensaid,"Deeds,notwords."But it mustbe said,
"Words,notdeeds."
It wasfirst
sinnedin theMind.In thebeginning
wastheWord.
Mindand Wordmustmakeit up. The intellectuals
of thenew
must
and
and
time,philosophers poets,
rejectsophistry lies; they
mustthinkin termsof righteousness
and truth,and of united
which
is
the
next
in
the
towardunityof
stage
development
Europe,
humaneffort.
likeprophets;
Theymustnotfeelashamedoffeeling
theendurance
andselflessness
ofprophets.
andtheymustcultivate
cenTheydo notneedto see a betterworldif they,"immovably
towardit.
tred,"keepworking
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