Proto-fascism
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"Democracy means despair of finding any heroes to govern you, and contented putting up with the want of them."--Past and Present (1843) by Thomas Carlyle "Without question the views of Carlyle could well be advocated by Adolph Hitler today, and that, should fascism develop in Great Britain, the ideology expressed by Carlyle will be a most important weapon in its hands."-- The Conquest of Power (1937) by Albert Weisbord |
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Proto-fascism refers to the direct predecessor ideologies that influenced and formed the basis of fascism. A prominent proto-fascist figure is Gabriele d'Annunzio, the Italian nationalist whose politics influenced Benito Mussolini and Italian Fascism.
Other people who have been labeled proto-fascist because they shared an ideological basis with fascism include:
- Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881)
- Goldwin Smith (1823–1910)
- Georges Ernest Boulanger (1837–1891)
- George Fitzhugh (1806–1881)
- John Ruskin (1819–1900)
- Charles Maurras (1868–1952)
- Ion Dragoumis (1878–1920)
- Patrick Pearse (1879–1916)
- Edgar Julius Jung (1894–1934)
- D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930). The English philosopher Bertrand Russell characterized Lawrence as a "proto-German fascist". This characterization is useful as a demarcation point between Fascism and proto-fascism. The former has totalitarian uniformity as its paradigm, but Russell is referring to Lawrence as a "nonconformist prophet" struggling with individual alienation, looking to the shared identity of ancestral blood and soil for reconnection i.e. an evolution of the German 19th-century Völkisch movement, an ideology that was adopted by the National Socialist movement.
- Giuseppe Mazzini (1805–1872). The famous Genoese patriot strongly influenced Italian fascism, especially in its early years. In particular, fascism inherited from Mazzini the fervent irredentism, the concept of class collaboration, the pedagogical vocation and the spirit of solidarity. Mussolini himself was a great Mazzini admirer, and many fascist exponents were Mazzinian such as Italo Balbo, Giovanni Gentile, Giuseppe Bottai and Dino Grandi.
- Francesco Crispi (1818–1901). The known Sicilian statesman was admired by the dictator Mussolini and considered by many scholars as a precursor of Italian fascist regime, due to his authoritarian policies, the nationalist character, his strongman reputation and the aggressive colonial policy implemented during his government.
- Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925)
