Fascism Explained: Principles, History, and Catholic Insights

Mar 24, 2025 | Isms Encyclopedia, Latest

Fascism is a word that gets a lot of mileage in contemporary political discussion. It seems like people on both sides of the political aisle have a fondness for calling their opponents fascists. Most people use the word as a pejorative, an insult leveled against governments, leaders, or policies deemed too authoritarian. In this sense, most people use the term fascism as a synonym for authoritarianism, a jackbooted totalitarian thuggery that oppresses the citizens without due process.

The popular association of fascism with authoritarianism is accurate but falls far short of a working definition of the ideology. While fascist regimes are authoritarian, we would be wrong to simply equate authoritarianism with fascism. Not all authoritarian regimes are fascist. Saudi Arabia’s monarchy is authoritarian, for example, but nobody claims Saudi Arabia is a fascist state. Similarly, Burma is ruled by a brutal military junta, but neither is Burma considered a fascist state. What makes Mussolini’s Italy or Spain under Francisco Franco fascist, but not these other authoritarian regimes?

Clearly, there are other factors required for a government to be considered fascist. In this article, we will explore the idea and history of fascism to try to understand what fascism is—and isn’t…

Principles of Fascism

Fascism comes from the Latin word fasces, the bundle of rods carried by ancient Roman lictors that represented the authority of a magistrate to enforce justice, which tells us frustratingly little about fascist ideology. English historian Ian Kershaw once said that “trying to define fascism is like trying to nail jelly to a wall.” (1) Fascism has proven exceptionally difficult to define. It is not an ideology based on clearly defined propositions. Like communism, for example. Fascism is easier to observe than to define. It is easier to recognize than to analyze. You know it when you see it, even if what is seen is challenging to explain systematically.

The reader should note that fascism has more elements than those listed here. Political scientists sometimes list between ten and twenty traits fascist states share in common. We should, therefore, remember that the following list of fascist principles is not meant to be exhaustive. It is merely a starting point for understanding what all fascist regimes have in common.

Restorationism

Historically, fascism emerged as a reaction against new socio-political threats to traditional society. In Italy, for example, the fascist movement of the early 20th century arose in response to the chaos following World War I and the threat disorders of Italian communists. In Spain, the fascists emerged as a bulwark against the republicans, a coalition of leftist, communist, and anti-clerical movements. Fascism claims to represent a people’s traditional lifeways and customs, pushing back against forces hostile to traditional society. Fascism thus appeals to people as a restoration of tradition and a triumph of order over the disorders of modernity. For example, Italian fascism positioned itself as “restoring” the glory of ancient Rome and the traditional Italian territories.

Extreme Nationalism

Modern society is extremely alienating. With traditional social institutions like churches, families, clubs, and fraternal associations breaking down, modern people feel far more isolated than their ancestors. Fascism claims to remedy this isolation with extreme nationalism, the exaltation of the state above all else as the unifying force of the people. The nationalism of fascism is extreme, to the point where the nation is entirely identified with the state. Benito Mussolini, the infamous fascist dictator, explained it this way:

The Fascist conception of the State is all-embracing; outside of it no human or spiritual values can exist, much less have value. Thus understood, Fascism is totalitarian, and the Fascist State – a synthesis and a unit inclusive of all values – interprets, develops, and potentiates the whole life of a people. (2)

In a 1927 speech before the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Mussolini summarized the fascist doctrine of the state thusly:

Everything in the State, nothing outside the State, nothing against the State. (3)

The state is, therefore, all-encompassing. Because of this, it is right to consider fascism a type of collectivism. However, whereas leftist collectivists see the principle of unity in class, fascists find it in national identity.

“The Folk”

While fascism is not necessarily racist per se, fascist regimes tend to deify “the people” as the ultimate good (whatever people that might be). This exaltation of the people often has apocalyptic overtones. Under the guidance of the state, the people are led to transcend the limitations of their individualism and particular circumstances to realize their glorious future destiny. Conceived this way, political commentators and sociologists sometimes refer to this ideal of the people as “the folk.”

This is why fascism sometimes looks different in different places. As Spanish dictator Francisco Franco observed, since fascism is meant to embody the genius of a particular people, its specific forms will contain symbols, ideas, and aims particular to each nationality:

Fascism presents, wherever it manifests itself, characteristics which are varied to the extent that countries and national temperaments vary. It is essentially a defensive reaction of the organism, a manifestation of the desire to live, of the desire not to die, which at certain times seizes a whole people. So each people reacts in its own way, according to its conception of life. Our rising, here, has a Spanish meaning! What can it have in common with Hitlerism, which was, above all, a reaction against the state of things created by the defeat, and by the abdication and the despair that followed it? (4)

It is important to note that, in fascism, “the folk” have a common will distinct from and above the wills of individuals. Whereas in democracy, the common will of the people is determined through elections, in fascism, the state is the authentic—indeed, the only—interpreter and executor of the common will of the folk.

Authoritarianism & Militarism

The state is, therefore, the supreme expression of the people. Functionally, this means that the state is supreme and infallible since it is the exclusive expression of the common will of the people. To oppose the state is to oppose the folk and is, therefore, treason. Fascist states, therefore, are anti-democratic and authoritarian. Fascism tends to view democracy as degenerate and weak and fosters a cult of national strength, exemplified by a glorification of the military. In many fascist states, the government maintains control through the support of the military.

Because of the supremacy of the state, fascist governments typically do not afford any protections to citizens in terms of civil rights. Freedom of speech, assembly, and other civil liberties are sharply curtailed, as the state does not permit any force to question its actions. This results in a “police state,” where government authorities maintain political compliance by harshly repressing individual expression. Citizens who speak or act against the government may be beaten, arbitrarily imprisoned, or even executed.

Traditionally, the fascist state has extended this authoritarianism to the economy as well. However, whereas communist and socialist governments advocated for the nationalization of the economy under the government, the fascists tended to favor a system called corporatism. This is where the economy is organized according to interest groups. For example, corporations, trade unions, and professional associations play a significant role in decision-making processes. In theory, these groups collaborate with the government to manage economic and social policies. In practice, this often meant economic production was subsumed under the needs of the state.

The Leader

Because of the fascist exaltation of order and hierarchy, the state must be controlled by a single individual at the apex of power. The individual is generally called the Leader, although his specific title will, of course, vary from nation to nation. In Italy, Mussolini was known as “il Duce,” or “the Leader.” The leader holds himself out as the interpreter of the popular will (though he genuinely dictates it alone). Fascist leaders may have legal mechanisms to rule by decree. But often, they exert their will through the legislative process dominated by their deputies. Most fascists envelop their leader in a cult of personality, turning him into a larger-than-life character who is lauded as the savior of the nation.

Who’s Who of Fascism

Gabriele D’Annunzio

The development of fascism is typically traced to the Italian poet and World War I hero Gabriele d’Annuncio (1863-1938). He was a celebrated author who, in the chaotic days after the end of World War I, seized the port city of Fiume and ruled it as a dictator for a year. Much of the pageantry of Italian fascism was the creation of d’Annunzio, e.g., blackshirted street brawlers, balcony speeches, suppression of dissent, adopting the title of “Leader.” Though d’Annunzio would be an influential figure in the development of fascism, he never got along with Mussolini and played no part in Mussolini’s government.

Benito Mussolini

Italian fascism will be forever linked with the name of Benito Mussolini (1883-1945), the newspaper editor who became the fascist dictator of Italy from 1922 to his death in 1945. It was Mussolini who solidified the core tenets, including extreme nationalism, totalitarian control, and the suppression of opposition. His aggressive expansionist policies and alliance with Hitler further shaped fascism’s association with militarism and authoritarianism. Mussolini’s regime would serve as a blueprint and inspiration for other fascist movements across Europe and beyond, significantly influencing the course of 20th-century history.

Julius Evola

Julius Evola (1898-1974) was a notable Italian philosopher who supported the fascist state with a traditionalist philosophy rooted in ancient spiritual principles. It is important to note that, for Evola, tradition was not Christian. (Evola did not believe in God.) It was instead the perennial values of authority, hierarchy, order, discipline, and obedience, which Evola believed were undermined by modern liberal society. He is known for his doctrine of “spiritual racism.” Unlike the Nazis, who viewed race in terms of blood purity, Evola considered race as primarily a matter of spirit and character rather than just biology. He criticized both democratic liberalism and communism. Instead, he championed a rigid, hierarchical state based on tradition, myth, and what he called the “solar” principle of masculine authority. His ideas significantly influenced post-war far-right and neo-fascist thought.

Francisco Franco

Following the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), Spain was taken over by the fascist regime of General Francisco Franco (1892-1975). Franco would rule Spain as dictator until his death in 1975. Franco advocated a specifically Spanish version of fascism known as the Falange or Falagism. Franco’s Falangist regime shared elements in common with Mussolini’s government. It also integrated conservative Catholicism into its ideology. As Franco was a general, the Falange movement was heavily dominated by the military. Franco prudently stayed out of World War II, enabling his regime to endure till his death in 1975.

Oswald Mosely

Great Britain, too, had a potent fascist movement in the mid-20th century led by Sir Oswald Mosely (1896-1980). Mosley’s British fascism developed distinct characteristics rooted in the British context, founding the British Union of Fascists (BUF). The  BUF emphasized economic corporatism and national planning, hoping to address the Great Depression through a strong, centralized state. Unlike continental fascism’s intense focus on racial ideology, Mosley’s movement initially downplayed race. And unlike the revolutionary fascist movements of the continent, Mosely also thought he could promote fascism in Britain within existing parliamentary structures. (He served in Parliament twice between 1918 and 1926.) Mosely’s BUF would eventually embrace paramilitary organization and street violence, mirroring its European counterparts. This led to its eventual suppression in 1940 as Britain entered World War II.

Fascism in Practice

The heydey of fascism was from the 1920s until the end of World War II in 1945. During that time, much of Europe was controlled by fascist governments. It could also be argued that the early Showa era in Japan (1926-1945) possessed all the traits of a fascist state. During the 30s and 40s, Italy, Austria, Spain, Hungary, Greece, Slovakia, and Romania were all variously under fascist dictatorships. Other countries had fascist states imposed upon them by the Nazis, notably Vichy France and Norway. The German National Socialist state of Adolf Hitler is generally a fascist government, although the Nazis did not consider themselves fascists and Nazism and fascism were different in various respects (we will treat Nazism in a separate future installment in this series).

While most European fascist governments fell after World War II, fascism clung on in the Iberian Peninsula in the regimes of Franco (Spain) and Salazar (Portugal), which endured until 1975 and 1974 respectively. After the war, fascism found fertile ground in South America, where Mussolini’s Italian fascism was deeply influential. Many South American countries had vibrant fascist movements, most notably in Brazil. While not formally fascist, the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in Chile (1973-1991) was deeply influenced by fascism.

Fascism has tended to exist on a spectrum. It is undeniable that the totalitarian nature of fascist government has enabled horrific civil rights abuses. Arrest without charges, condemnation without trial, curbing of political speech, suppression of dissent, and similar oppresive measures have often characterized fascist states. That being said, other fascists states proved able to moderate the totalitarian nature of the system to something more paternalistic, as in the case of António de Oliveira Salazar’s Portugal, which is considered an example of moderate or benign fascism. Ultimately, because of the central place the Leader holds in the fascist system, the nature of any particular fascist state will reflect the ideals and characters of that Leader.

Today, the authoritarian nature of fascism is widely considered incompatible with the freedoms and civil rights that characterize most western societies. While some fascist states were able to attain a degree of stability, most people do not consider the order promised by fascism to be worth the tradeoffs.

The Catholic Perspective