Italian Fascism (Italian: fascismo italiano), also known as Classical Fascism or simply Fascism, is the original fascist ideology as developed in Italy by Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini. The ideology is associated with a series of two political parties led by Benito Mussolini: the National Fascist Party (PNF), which ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943, and the Republican Fascist Party that ruled the Italian Social Republic from 1943 to 1945. Italian Fascism is also associated with the post-war Italian Social Movement and subsequent Italian neo-fascist movements.
Italian Fascism was rooted in Italian nationalism, national syndicalism, revolutionary nationalism and the desire to restore and expand Italian territories, which Italian Fascists deemed necessary for a nation to assert its superiority and strength and to avoid succumbing to decay. Italian Fascists also claimed that modern Italy was the heir to ancient Rome and its legacy, and historically supported the creation of an imperial Italy to provide spazio vitale ("living space") for colonization by Italian settlers and to establish control over the Mediterranean Sea.Italian Fascism promoted a corporatist economic system whereby employer and employee syndicates are linked together in associations to collectively represent the nation's economic producers and work alongside the state to set national economic policy. This economic system intended to resolve class conflict through collaboration between the classes.Italian Fascism opposed liberalism, especially classical liberalism, which Fascist leaders denounced as "the debacle of individualism". Fascism was opposed to international socialism because of the latter's frequent opposition to nationalism, but it was also opposed to the reactionary conservatism developed by Joseph de Maistre. It believed the success of Italian nationalism required respect for tradition and a clear sense of a shared past among the Italian people, alongside a commitment to a modernised Italy.Originally, many Italian Fascists were opposed to Nazism, as fascism in Italy did not espouse Nordicism and did not initially espouse the antisemitism inherent in Nazi ideology, although many fascists, in particular Mussolini himself, held racist ideas that were enshrined into law as official policy over the course of Fascist rule. As Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany grew politically closer in the latter half of the 1930s, Italian laws and policies became explicitly antisemitic due to pressure from Nazi Germany (even though antisemitic laws were not commonly enforced in Italy), including the passage of the Italian racial laws. When the Fascists were in power, they also persecuted some linguistic minorities in Italy.
1929Jul, 23
The Fascist government in Italy bans the use of foreign words.
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Events on 1929
- 31Jan
Leon Trotsky
The Soviet Union exiles Leon Trotsky. - 26Feb
Grand Teton National Park
President Calvin Coolidge signs an executive order establishing the 96,000 acre Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. - 8Apr
Bhagat Singh
Indian independence movement: At the Delhi Central Assembly, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt throw handouts and bombs to court arrest. - 21Jun
Cristero War
An agreement brokered by U.S. Ambassador Dwight Whitney Morrow ends the Cristero War in Mexico. - 23Aug
1929 Palestine riots
Hebron Massacre during the 1929 Palestine riots: Arab attack on the Jewish community in Hebron in the British Mandate of Palestine, continuing until the next day, resulted in the death of 65-68 Jews and the remaining Jews being forced to leave the city.