THE DOCTRINE OF FASCISM

BENITO MUSSOLINI (1932)

(This article, co-written by Giovanni Gentile, is considered to be the most
complete articulation of Mussolini's political views. This is the only complete
official translation we know of on the web, copied directly from an official
Fascist overnment publication of !"#$, Fascism Doctrine and Institutions, by
%enito Mussolini, &rdita 'ublishers, (ome, paes )-*+. This translation includes
all the footnotes from the oriinal.,
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/ike all sound political conceptions, Fascism is action and it is thouht0 action in
which doctrine is immanent, and doctrine arisin from a iven system of historical
forces in which it is inserted, and workin on them from within (!,. 1t has
therefore a form correlated to continencies of time and space0 but it has also an ideal
content which makes it an e2pression of truth in the hiher reion of the history of
thouht (+,. There is no way of e2ercisin a spiritual influence in the world as a human
will dominatin the will of others, unless one has a conception both of the transient and
the specific reality on which that action is to be e2ercised, and of the permanent and
universal reality in which the transient dwells and has its bein. To know men one must
know man0 and to know man one must be ac3uainted with reality and its laws. There
can be no conception of the 4tate which is not fundamentally a conception of life5
philosophy or intuition, system of ideas evolvin within the framework of loic or
concentrated in a vision or a faith, but always, at least potentially, an oranic conception
of the world.
Thus many of the practical e2pressions of Fascism such as party orani6ation,
system of education, and discipline can only be understood when considered in
relation to its eneral attitude toward life. & spiritual attitude (#,. Fascism sees in the
world not only those superficial, material aspects in which man appears as an
individual, standin by himself, self-centered, sub7ect to natural law, which instinctively
ures him toward a life of selfish momentary pleasure0 it sees not only the
individual but the nation and the country0 individuals and enerations bound toether
by a moral law, with common traditions and a mission which suppressin the instinct
for life closed in a brief circle of pleasure, builds up a hiher life, founded on
duty, a life free from the limitations of time and space, in which the individual, by
self-sacrifice, the renunciation of self-interest, by death itself, can achieve that purely
spiritual e2istence in which his value as a man consists.
The conception is therefore a spiritual one, arisin from the eneral reaction of the
century aainst the materialistic positivism of the 818th century. &nti-positivistic but
positive0 neither skeptical nor anostic0 neither pessimistic nor supinely optimistic as
are, enerally speakin, the doctrines (all neative, which place the center of life
outside man0 whereas, by the e2ercise of his free will, man can and must create his own
world.
Fascism wants man to be active and to enae in action with all his eneries0 it
wants him to be manfully aware of the difficulties besettin him and ready to
face them. 1t conceives of life as a strule in which it behooves a man to win for himself
a really worthy place, first of all by fittin himself (physically, morally, intellectually, to
become the implement re3uired for winnin it. &s for the individual, so for the nation,
and so for mankind (*,. .ence the hih value of culture in all its forms (artistic,
reliious, scientific, ($, and the outstandin importance of education. .ence also
the essential value of work, by which man sub7uates nature and creates the human
world (economic, political, ethical, and intellectual,.
This positive conception of life is obviously an ethical one. 1t invests the whole field
of reality as well as the human activities which master it. 9o action is e2empt from
moral 7udment0 no activity can be despoiled of the value which a moral purpose
confers on all thins. Therefore life, as conceived of by the Fascist, is serious,
austere, and reliious0 all its manifestations are poised in a world sustained by moral
forces and sub7ect to spiritual responsibilities. The Fascist disdains an :easy; life (<,.
The Fascist conception of life is a reliious one (), , in which man is viewed in his
immanent relation to a hiher law, endowed with an ob7ective will transcendin the in-
dividual and raisin him to conscious membership of a spiritual society. ;Those
who perceive nothin beyond opportunistic considerations in the reliious policy
of the Fascist reime fail to reali6e that Fascism is not only a system of overnment but
also and above all a system of thouht.
1n the Fascist conception of history, man is man only by virtue of the spiritual
process to which he contributes as a member of the family, the social roup, the nation,
and in function of history to which all nations brin their contribution. .ence the reat
value of tradition in records, in lanuae, in customs, in the rules of social life (=, . >utside
history man is a nonentity. Fascism is therefore opposed to all individualistic
abstractions based on eihteenth century materialism0 and it is opposed to all ?acobinistic
utopias and innovations. 1t does not believe in the possibility of ;happiness; on earth
as conceived by the economistic literature of the 8@111th century, and it therefore
re7ects the theoloical notion that at some future time the human family will secure a
final settlement of all its difficulties. This notion runs counter to e2perience which
teaches that life is in continual flu2 and in process of evolution. 1n politics
Fascism aims at realism0 in practice it desires to deal only with those problems which
are the spontaneous product of historic conditions and which find or suest
their own solutions (", . >nly by enterin in to the process of reality and takin
possession of the forces at work within it, can man act on man and on nature (!A, .
&nti-individualistic, the Fascist conception of life stresses the importance of the
4tate and accepts the individual only in so far as his interests coincide with those of
the 4tate, which stands for the conscience and the universal, will of man as a historic
entity (!!, . 1t is opposed to classical liberalism which arose as a reaction to absolutism
and e2hausted its historical function when the 4tate became the e2pression of the
conscience and will of the people. /iberalism denied the 4tate in the name of the
individual0 Fascism reasserts
The rihts of the 4tate as e2pressin the real essence of the individual (!+, . &nd if
liberty is to he the attribute of livin men and not of abstract dummies invented by
individualistic liberalism, then Fascism stands for liberty, and for the only liberty worth
havin, the liberty of the 4tate and of the individual within the 4tate (!#, . The Fascist
conception of the 4tate is all embracin0 outside of it no human or spiritual values can
e2ist, much less have value. Thus understood, Fascism, is totalitarian, and the
Fascist 4tate - a synthesis and a unit inclusive of all values - interprets, develops,
and potentates the whole life of a people (!*, .
9o individuals or roups (political parties, cultural associations, economic unions,
social classes, outside the 4tate (!$, . Fascism is therefore opposed to 4ocialism to which
unity within the 4tate (which amalamates classes into a sinle economic and ethical
reality, is unknown, and which sees in history nothin but the class strule. Fascism is
likewise opposed to trade unionism as a class weapon. %ut when brouht within the
orbit of the 4tate, Fascism reconi6es the real needs which ave rise to socialism
and trade unionism, ivin them due weiht in the uild or corporative system in
which diverent interests are coordinated and harmoni6ed in the unity of the 4tate (!<, .
Grouped accordin to their several interests, individuals form classes0 they form
trade-unions when orani6ed accordin to their several economic activities0 but first
and foremost they form the 4tate, which is no mere matter of numbers, the suns of the
individuals formin the ma7ority. Fascism is therefore opposed to that form of
democracy which e3uates a nation to the ma7ority, lowerin it to the level of the
larest number (!), 0 but it is the purest form of democracy if the nation be considered as
it should be from the point of view of 3uality rather than 3uantity, as an idea, the
mihtiest because the most ethical, the most coherent, the truest, e2pressin itself
in a people as the conscience and will of the few, if not, indeed, of one, and
endin to e2press itself in the conscience and the will of the mass, of the whole
roup ethnically molded by natural and historical conditions into a nation,
advancin, as one conscience and one will, alon the self same line of development
and spiritual formation (!=, . 9ot a race, nor a eoraphically defined reion, but a
people, historically perpetuatin itself0 a multitude unified by an idea and imbued
with the will to live, the will to power, self-consciousness, personality (!", .
1n so far as it is embodied in a 4tate, this hiher personality becomes a nation. 1t
is not the nation which enerates the 4tate0 that is an anti3uated naturalistic
concept which afforded a basis for 818th century publicity in favor of national
overnments. (ather is it the 4tate which creates the nation, conferrin volition and
therefore real life on a people made aware of their moral unity.
The riht to national independence does not arise from any merely literary
and idealistic form of self-consciousness0 still less from a more or less passive and
unconscious de facto situation, but from an active, self-conscious, political will
e2pressin itself in action and ready to prove its rihts. 1t arises, in short, from
the e2istence, at least in fieri, of a 4tate. 1ndeed, it is the 4tate which, as the
e2pression of a universal ethical will, creates the riht to national independence
(+A, .
& nation, as e2pressed in the 4tate, is a livin, ethical entity only in so far
as it is proressive. 1nactivity is death. Therefore the 4tate is not only &uthority
which overns and confers leal form and spiritual value on individual wills, but it is
also 'ower which makes its will felt and respected beyond its own frontiers, thus
affordin practical proof of the universal character of the decisions necessary to ensure
its development. This implies orani6ation and e2pansion, potential if not actual.
Thus the 4tate e3uates itself to the will of man, whose development cannot he
checked by obstacles and which, by achievin self-e2pression, demonstrates its
infinity (+!, .
The Fascist 4tate , as a hiher and more powerful e2pression of personality, is a
force, but a spiritual one. 1t sums up all the manifestations of the moral and
intellectual life of man. 1ts functions cannot therefore be limited to those of enforcin
order and keepin the peace, as the liberal doctrine had it. 1t is no mere mechanical
device for definin the sphere within which the individual may duly e2ercise his
supposed rihts. The Fascist 4tate is an inwardly accepted standard and rule of
conduct, a discipline of the whole person0 it permeates the will no less than the
intellect. 1t stands for a principle which becomes the central motive of man as a
member of civili6ed society, sinkin deep down into his personality0 it dwells in
the heart of the man of action and of the thinker, of the artist and of the man of
science5 soul of the soul (++, .
Fascism, in short, is not only a law-iver and a founder of institutions, but an
educator and a promoter of spiritual life. 1t aims at refashionin not only the forms of
life but their content - man, his character, and his faith. To achieve this propose it
enforces discipline and uses authority, enterin into the soul and rulin with undisputed
sway. Therefore it has chosen as its emblem the /ictorBs rods, the symbol of unity,
strenth, and 7ustice.
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL DOCTRINE
-hen in the now distant March of !"!", speakin throuh the columns of the
Popolo d'Italia I summoned to Milan the survivin interventionists who had
intervened, and who had followed me ever since the foundation of the Fascist of
revolutionary action in ?anuary !"!$, 1 had in mind no specific doctrinal
proram. The only doctrine of which 1 had practical e2perience was that of
socialism, from until the winter of !"!* - nearly a decade. My e2perience was
that both of a follower and a leader but it was not doctrinal e2perience. My
doctrine durin that period had been the doctrine of action. & uniform,
universally accepted doctrine of 4ocialism had not e2isted since !"A$, when the
revisionist movement, headed by %ernstein, arose in Germany, countered by the
formation, in the see-saw of tendencies, of a left revolutionary movement which
in 1taly never 3uitted the field of phrases, whereas, in the case of (ussian
socialism, it became the prelude to %olshevism.
(eformism, revolutionism, centrism, the very echo of that terminoloy is dead,
while in the reat river of Fascism one can trace currents which had their source in
4orel, 'euy, /aardelle of the Movement Socialists, and in the cohort of 1talian
syndicalist who from !"A* to !"!* brouht a new note into the 1talian socialist
environment - previously emasculated and chloroformed by fornicatin with Giolitti's
party - a note sounded in >livetti's Pagine Libere, >rano's Lupa, Cnrico /eone's
Divenirs Socials.
-hen the war ended in !"!" 4ocialism, as a doctrine, was already dead0 it
continued to e2ist only as a rude, especially in 1taly where its only chance
lay in incitin to reprisals aainst the men who had willed the war and who were
to be made to pay for it.
The Popolo d'Italia described itself in its subtitle as the daily oran of
fihters and producers. The word producer was already the e2pression of a
mental trend. Fascism was not the nurslin of a doctrine previously drafted at a
desk0 it was born of the need of action, and was action0 it was not a party but, in
the first two years, an anti-party and a movement. The name 1 ave the
orani6ation fi2ed its character.
Det if anyone cares to reread the now crumpled sheets of those days ivin
an account of the meetin at which the 1talian Fasci di combattimento were founded,
he will find not a doctrine but a series of pointers, forecasts, hints which, when
freed from the inevitable matri2 of continencies, were to develop in a few
years time into a series of doctrinal positions entitlin Fascism to rank as a political
doctrine differin from all others, past or present.
:1f the boureoisie - 1 then said - believe that they have found in us their
lihtenin-conductors, they arc mistaken. -e must o towards the people... -e
wish the workin classes to accustom themselves to the responsibilities of
manaement so that they may reali6e that it is no easy matter to run a business...
-e will fiht both technical and spiritual rear-uirdism... 9ow that the
succession of the reime is open we must not be fainthearted. -e must rush
forward0 if the present reime is to be superseded we must take its place. The riht
of succession is ours, for we ured the country to enter the war and we led it to
victory... The e2istin forms of political representation cannot satisfy us0 we want
direst representation of the several interests... 1t may be ob7ected that this
proram implies a return to the uilds (corpora6ioni,. 9o matterE
.
1 therefore hope
this assembly will accept the economic claims advanced by national syndicalism F
1s it not strane that from the very first day, at 'ia66a 4an 4epolcro, the word
;uild; (corpora6ione, was pronounced, a word which, as the (evolution developed,
was to e2press one of the basic leislative and social creations of the reimeG
The years precedin the March on (ome cover a period durin which the
need of action forbade delay and careful doctrinal elaborations. Fihtin was
oin on in the towns and villaes. There were discussions but... there was some-
thin more sacred and more important... death... Fascists knew how to die. &
doctrine - fully elaborated, divided up into chapters and pararaphs with
annotations, may have been lackin, but it was replaced by somethin far m 5, re
decisive, - by a faith. &ll the same, if with the help of books, articles, resolutions
passed at conresses, ma7or and minor speeches, anyone should care to revive the
memory of those days, he will find, provided he knows how to seek and select,
that the doctrinal foundations were laid while the battle was still rain. 1ndeed, it
was durin those years that Fascist thouht armed, refined itself, and proceeded
ahead with its orani6ation. The problems of the individual and the 4tate0 the
problems of authority and liberty0 political, social, and more especially national
problems were discussed0 the conflict with liberal, democratic, socialistic, Masonic
doctrines and with those of the Partito Popolare, was carried on at the same time
as the punitive e2peditions. 9evertheless, the lack of a formal system was used by
disinenuous adversaries as an arument for proclaimin Fascism incapable of
elaboratin a doctrine at the very time when that doctrine was bein formulated - no
matter how tumultuously, - first, as is the case with all new ideas, in the uise of
violent domatic neations0 then in the more positive uise of constructive
theories, subse3uently incorporated, in !"+<, 19!, and !"+=, in the laws and
institutions of the reime.
Fascism is now clearly defined not only as a reime but as a doctrine. This means
that Fascism, e2ercisin its critical faculties on itself and on others, has studied
from its own special standpoint and 7uded by its own standards all the problems
affectin the material and intellectual interests now causin such rave an2iety to
the nations of the world, and is ready to deal with them by its own policies.
First of all, as reards the future development of mankind, and 3uite apart from
all present political considerations. Fascism does not, enerally speakin, believe in
the possibility or utility of perpetual peace. 1t therefore discards pacifism as a cloak
for cowardly supine renunciation in contradistinction to self-sacrifice. -ar alone
keys up all human eneries to their ma2imum tension and sets the seal of nobility
on those peoples who have the courae to face it. &ll other tests are substitutes which
never place a man face to face with himself before the alternative of life or death.
Therefore all doctrines which postulate peace at all costs are incompatible with
Fascism. C3ually forein to the spirit of Fascism, even if accepted as useful in meetin
special political situations -- are all internationalistic or /eaue superstructures which,
as history shows, crumble to the round whenever the heart of nations is deeply
stirred by sentimental, idealistic or practical considerations. Fascism carries this anti-
pacifistic attitude into the life of the individual. ; 1 don' t care a damn H "me ne
frego# $ the proud motto of the fihtin s3uads scrawled by a wounded man on his
bandaes, is not only an act of philosophic stoicism, it sums up a doctrine which
is not merely political5 it is evidence of a fihtin spirit which accepts all risks. 1t
sinifies new style of 1talian life. The Fascist accepts and loves life0 he re7ects and
despises suicide as cowardly. /ife as he understands it means duty, elevation,
con3uest0 life must be lofty and full, it must be lived for oneself but above all for
others, both near bye and far off, present and future.
The population policy of the reime is the conse3uence of these premises. The
Fascist loves his neihbor, but the word neihbor :does not stand for some vaue
and unsei6able conception. /ove of one's neihbor does not e2clude necessary
educational severity0 still less does it e2clude differentiation and rank. Fascism will
have nothin to do with universal embraces0 as a member of the community of
nations it looks other peoples straiht in the eyes0 it is viilant and on its uard0
it follows others in all their manifestations and notes any chanes in their
interests0 and it does not allow itself to be deceived by mutable and fallacious
appearances.
4uch a conception of life makes Fascism the resolute neation of the doctrine
underlyin so-called scientific and Mar2ian socialism, the doctrine of historic
materialism which would e2plain the history of mankind in terms of the class
strule and by chanes in the processes and instruments of production, to the
e2clusion of all else.
That the vicissitudes of economic life - discoveries of raw materials, new
technical processes, and scientific inventions - have their importance, no one
denies0 but that they suffice to e2plain human history to the e2clusion of other
factors is absurd. Fascism believes now and always in sanctity and heroism, that is
to say in acts in which no economic motive - remote or immediate - is at work.
.avin denied historic materialism, which sees in men mere puppets on the surface
of history, appearin and disappearin on the crest of the waves while in the
depths the real directin forces move and work, Fascism also denies the immutable
and irreparable character of the class strule which is the natural outcome of this
economic conception of history0 above all it denies that the class strule is the
preponderatin aent in social transformations. .avin thus struck a blow at
socialism in the two main points of its doctrine, all that remains of it is the
sentimental aspiration-old as humanity itself-toward social relations in which the
sufferins and sorrows of the humbler folk will be alleviated. %ut here aain
Fascism re7ects the economic interpretation of felicity as somethin to be
secured socialistically, almost automatically, at a iven stae of economic
evolution when all will be assured a ma2imum of material comfort. Fascism
denies the materialistic conception of happiness as a possibility, and abandons it
to the economists of the mid-eihteenth century. This means that Fascism denies
the e3uation5 well-bein I happiness, which sees in men mere animals, content
when they can feed and fatten, thus reducin them to a veetative e2istence pure
and simple.
&fter socialism, Fascism trains its uns on the whole block of democratic
ideoloies, and re7ects both their premises and their practical applications and
implements. Fascism denies that numbers, as such, can be the determinin factor
in human society0 it denies the riht of numbers to overn by means of periodical
consultations0 it asserts the irremediable and fertile and beneficent ine3uality of men
who cannot be leveled by any such mechanical and e2trinsic device as universal
suffrae. Jemocratic reimes may be described as those under which the people are,
from time to time, deluded into the belief that they e2ercise sovereinty, while all
the time real sovereinty resides in and is e2ercised by other and sometimes
irresponsible and secret forces. Jemocracy is a kinless reime infested by many
kins who are sometimes more e2clusive, tyrannical, and destructive than one, even
if he be a tyrant. This e2plains why Fascism - althouh, for continent reasons, it
was republican in tendency prior to !"++ - abandoned that stand before the March
on (ome, convinced that the form of overnment is no loner a matter of
preeminent importance, and because the study of past and present monarchies and
past and present republics shows that neither monarchy nor republic can be 7uded
sub specie aeternitatis, but that each stands for a form of overnment e2pressin the
political evolution, the history, the traditions, and the psycholoy of a iven
country.
Fascism has outrown the dilemma5 monarchy v. republic, over which
democratic reimes too lon dallied, attributin all insufficiencies to the former and
pronin the latter as a reime of perfection, whereas e2perience teaches that some
republics are inherently reactionary and absolutist while some monarchies accept
the most darin political and social e2periments.
1n one of his philosophic Meditations (enan - who had prefascist intuitions
remarks, ;(eason and science are the products of mankind, but it is chimerical to
seek reason directly for the people and throuh the people. 1t is not essential to the
e2istence of reason that all should be familiar with it0 and even if all had to be
initiated, this could not be achieved throuh democracy which seems fated to
lead to the e2tinction of all arduous forms of culture and all hihest forms of
learnin. The ma2im that society e2ists only for the well-bein and freedom of the
individuals composin it does not seem to be in conformity with nature's plans, which
care only for the species and seem ready to sacrifice the individual. 1t is much to be
feared that the last word of democracy thus understood (and let me hasten to add
that it is susceptible of a different interpretation, would be a form of society in
which a deenerate mass would have no thouht beyond that of en7oyin the
inoble pleasures of the vular ;.
1n re7ectin democracy Fascism re7ects the absurd conventional lie of political
e3ualitarianism, the habit of collective irresponsibility, the myth of felicity and
indefinite proress. %ut if democracy be understood as meanin a reime in which
the masses are not driven back to the marin of the 4tate, and then the writer of
these paes has already defined Fascism as an orani6ed, centrali6ed, authoritarian
democracy.
Fascism is definitely and absolutely opposed to the doctrines of liberalism, both
in the political and the economic sphere. The importance of liberalism in the
818th century should not be e2aerated for present day polemical purposes, nor
should we make of one of the many doctrines which flourished in that century a
reliion for mankind for the present and for all time to come. /iberalism really
flourished for fifteen years only. 1t arose in !=#A as a reaction to the .oly
&lliance which tried to force Curope to recede further back than !)="0 it
touched its 6enith in !=*= when even 'ius 18th was a liberal. 1ts decline bean
immediately after that year. 1f !=*= was a year of liht and poetry, !=*" was a year
of darkness and traedy. The (oman (epublic was killed by a sister republic, that of
France . 1n that same year Mar2, in his famous Kommunist Manifesto, launched
the ospel of socialism.
1n !=$! 9apoleon 111 made his illiberal coup d'etat and ruled France until !=)A
when he was turned out by a popular risin followin one of the severest military
defeats known to history. The victor was %ismarck who never even knew the
whereabouts of liberalism and its prophets. 1t is symptomatic that throuhout the
818th century the reliion of liberalism was completely unknown to so hihly
civili6ed a people as the Germans but for one parenthesis which has been
described as the :ridiculous parliament of Frankfort ; which lasted 7ust one season.
Germany attained her national unity outside liberalism and in opposition to
liberalism, a doctrine which seems forein to the German temperament, essentially
monarchical, whereas liberalism is the historic and loical anteroom to anarchy.
The three staes in the makin of German unity were the three wars of !=<*,
!=<<, and !=)A, led by such ;liberals; as Moltke and %ismarck. &nd in the
upbuildin of 1talian unity liberalism played a very minor part when compared to
the contribution made by Ma66ini and Garibaldi who were not liberals. %ut for the
intervention of the illiberal 9apoleon 111 we should not have had /ombardy, and
without that of the illiberal %ismarck at 4adowa and at 4edan very probably we
should not have had @enetia in !=<< and in !=)A we should not have entered
(ome. The years oin from !=)A to !"!$ cover a period which marked, even in
the opinion of the hih priests of the new creed, the twiliht of their reliion,
attacked by decadentism in literature and by activism in practice. &ctivism5 that is
to say nationalism, futurism, fascism.
The liberal century, after pilin up innumerable Gordian Lnots, tried to cut them
with the sword of the world war. 9ever has any reliion claimed so cruel a sacrifice.
-ere the Gods of liberalism thirstin for bloodG
9ow liberalism is preparin to close the doors of its temples, deserted by
the peoples who feel that the anosticism it professed in the sphere of
economics and the indifferentism of which it has iven proof in the sphere of
politics and morals, would lead the world to ruin in the future as they have done
in the past.
This e2plains why all the political e2periments of our day are anti-liberal, and it
is supremely ridiculous to endeavor on this account to put them outside the pale
of history, as thouh history were a preserve set aside for liberalism and its adepts0
as thouh liberalism were the last word in civili6ation beyond which no one can o.
The Fascist neation of socialism, democracy, liberalism, should not, however,
be interpreted as implyin a desire to drive the world backwards to positions
occupied prior to !)=", a year commonly referred to as that which opened the
demo-liberal century. .istory does not travel backwards. The Fascist doctrine has
not taken Je Maistre as its prophet. Monarchical absolutism is of the past, and so
is ecclesiolatry. Jead and done for are feudal privilees and the division of society
into closed, uncommunicatin castes. 9either has the Fascist conception of
authority anythin in common with that of a police ridden 4tate.
& party overnin a nation :totalitarianly; is a new departure in history. There
are no points of reference nor of comparison. From beneath the ruins of liberal,
socialist, and democratic doctrines, Fascism e2tracts those elements which are still
vital. 1t preserves what may be described as ;the ac3uired facts; of history0 it
re7ects all else. That is to say, it re7ects the idea of a doctrine suited to all times
and to all people. Granted that the 818th century was the century of socialism,
liberalism, democracy, this does not mean that the 88th century must also be the
century of socialism, liberalism, democracy. 'olitical doctrines pass0 nations remain.
-e are free to believe that this is the century of authority, a century tendin to
the ; riht ;, a Fascist century. 1f the 818th century was the century of the individual
(liberalism implies individualism, we are free to believe that this is the
;collective; century, and therefore the century of the 4tate. 1t is 3uite loical
for a new doctrine to make use of the still vital elements of other doctrines. 9o
doctrine was ever born 3uite new and briht and unheard of. 9o doctrine can
boast absolute oriinality. 1t is always connected, it only historically, with those
which preceded it and those which will follow it. Thus the scientific socialism of
Mar2 links up to the utopian socialism of the Fouriers, the >wens, the 4aint-4imons
0 thus the liberalism of the 818th century traces its oriin back to the illuministic
movement of the 8@111th, and the doctrines of democracy to those of the
Cncyclopaedists. &ll doctrines aim at directin the activities of men towards a
iven ob7ective0 but these activities in their turn react on the doctrine, modifyin and
ad7ustin it to new needs, or outstrippin it. & doctrine must therefore be a vital
act and not a verbal display. .ence the pramatic strain in Fascism, itBs will to
power, its will to live, its attitude toward violence, and its value.
The keystone of the Fascist doctrine is its conception of the 4tate, of its essence, its
functions, and its aims. For Fascism the 4tate is absolute, individuals and roups
relative. 1ndividuals and roups are admissible in so far as they come within the
4tate. 1nstead of directin the ame and uidin the material and moral proress
of the community, the liberal 4tate restricts its activities to recordin results. The
Fascist 4tate is wide awake and has a will of its own. For this reason it can be
described as ; ethical ;.
&t the first 3uin3uennial assembly of the reime, in !"+", 1 said :The Fascist
4tate is not a niht watchman, solicitous only of the personal safety of the citi6ens0
not is it orani6ed e2clusively for the purpose of uarantyin a certain deree of
material prosperity and relatively peaceful conditions of life, a board of directors
would do as much. 9either is it e2clusively political, divorced from practical
realities and holdin itself aloof from the multifarious activities of the citi6ens and
the nation. The 4tate, as conceived and reali6ed by Fascism, is a spiritual and
ethical entity for securin the political, 7uridical, and economic orani6ation of
the nation, an orani6ation which in its oriin and rowth is a manifestation of
the spirit. The 4tate uarantees the internal and e2ternal safety of the country, but
it also safeuards and transmits the spirit of the people, elaborated down the aes
in its lanuae, its customs, its faith. The 4tate is not only the present0 it is also
the past and above all the future. Transcendin the individual's brief spell of life, the
4tate stands for the immanent conscience of the nation. The forms in which it finds
e2pression chane, but the need for it remains. The 4tate educates the citi6ens to
civism, makes them aware of their mission, ures them to unity0 its 7ustice
harmoni6es their diverent interests0 it transmits to future enerations the con3uests
of the mind in the fields of science, art, law, human solidarity0 it leads men up
from primitive tribal life to that hihest manifestation of human power, imperial rule.
The 4tate hands down to future enerations the memory of those who laid down their
lives to ensure its safety or to obey its laws0 it sets up as e2amples and records for
future aes the names of the captains who enlared its territory and of the men of
enius who have made it famous. -henever respect for the 4tate declines and the
disinteratin and centrifual tendencies of individuals and roups prevail, nations
are headed for decay;.
4ince !"+" economic and political development have everywhere emphasi6ed
these truths. The importance of the 4tate is rapidly rowin. The so-called crisis can
only be settled by 4tate action and within the orbit of the 4tate. -here are the
shades of the ?ules 4imons who, in the early days of liberalism proclaimed that
the ;4tate should endeavor to render itself useless and prepare to hand in its
resination ;G >r of the MacKullochs who, in the second half of last century, ured
that the 4tate should desist from overnin too muchG &nd what of the Cnlish
%entham who considered that all industry asked of overnment was to be left
alone, and of the German .umbolt who e2pressed the opinion that the best
overnment was a la6y ; oneG -hat would they say now to the unceasin,
inevitable, and urently re3uested interventions of overnment in businessG 1t is true
that the second eneration of economists was less uncompromisin in this respect than
the first, and that even &dam 4mith left the door a7ar - however cautiously - for
overnment intervention in business.
1f liberalism spells individualism, Fascism spells overnment. The Fascist 4tate
is, however, a uni3ue and oriinal creation. 1t is not reactionary but revolutionary,
for it anticipates the solution of certain universal problems which have been raised
elsewhere, in the political field by the splittin up of parties, the usurpation of
power by parliaments, the irresponsibility of assemblies0 in the economic field by
the increasinly numerous and important functions dischared by trade unions and
trade associations with their disputes and ententes, affectin both capital and
labor0 in the ethical field by the need felt for order, discipline, obedience to the
moral dictates of patriotism.
Fascism desires the 4tate to be stron and oranic, based on broad foundations of
popular support. The Fascist 4tate lays claim to rule in the economic field no less
than in others0 it makes its action felt throuhout the lenth and breadth of the
country by means of its corporative, social, and educational institutions, and all
the political, economic, and spiritual forces of the nation, orani6ed in their respective
associations, circulate within the 4tate. & 4tate based on millions of individuals who
reconi6e its authority, feel its action, and are ready to serve its ends is not the
tyrannical state of a mediaeval lordlin. 1t has nothin in common with the despotic
4tates e2istin prior to or subse3uent to !)=". Far from crushin the individual, the
Fascist 4tate multiplies his eneries, 7ust as in a reiment a soldier is not diminished
but multiplied by the number of his fellow soldiers.
The Fascist 4tate orani6es the nation, but it leaves the individual ade3uate
elbow room. 1t has curtailed useless or harmful liberties while preservin those which
are essential. 1n such matters the individual cannot be the 7ude, but the 4tate
only.
The Fascist 4tate is not indifferent to reliious phenomena in eneral nor
does it maintain an attitude of indifference to (oman Katholicism, the special,
positive reliion of 1talians. The 4tate has not ot a theoloy but it has a moral
code. The Fascist 4tate sees in reliion one of the deepest of spiritual manifestations
and for this reason it not only respects reliion but defends and protects it. The
Fascist 4tate does not attempt, as did (obespierre at the heiht of the
revolutionary delirium of the Konvention, to set up a ;odM of its own0 nor does
it vainly seek, as does %olshevism, to efface God from the soul of man. Fascism
respects the God of ascetics, saints, and heroes, and it also respects God as
conceived by the inenuous and primitive heart of the people, the God to whom
their prayers are raised.
The Fascist 4tate e2presses the will to e2ercise power and to command. .ere
the (oman tradition is embodied in a conception of strenth. 1mperial power, as
understood by the Fascist doctrine, is not only territorial, or military, or
commercial0 it is also spiritual and ethical. &n imperial nation, that is to say a
nation a which directly or indirectly is a leader of others, can e2ist without the
need of con3uerin a sinle s3uare mile of territory. Fascism sees in the
imperialistic spirit -- i.e. in the tendency of nations to e2pand - a manifestation of
their vitality. 1n the opposite tendency, which would limit their interests to the home
country, it sees a symptom of decadence. 'eoples who rise or rearise are
imperialistic0 renunciation is characteristic of dyin peoples. The Fascist doctrine is
that best suited to the tendencies and feelins of a people which, like the 1talian,
after lyin fallow durin centuries of forein servitude, are now reassertin itself
in the world.
%ut imperialism implies discipline, the coordination of efforts, a deep sense of duty
and a spirit of self-sacrifice. This e2plains many aspects of the practical activity of the
reime, and the direction taken by many of the forces of the 4tate, as also the severity
which has to be e2ercised towards those who would oppose this spontaneous and
inevitable movement of 88th century 1taly by aitatin outrown ideoloies of the
818th century, ideoloies re7ected wherever reat e2periments in political and social
transformations are bein dared.
9ever before have the peoples thirsted for authority, direction, order, as they do now.
1f each ae has its doctrine, then innumerable symptoms indicate that the doctrine of
our ae is the Fascist. That it is vital is shown by the fact that it has aroused a
faith0 that this faith has con3uered souls is shown by the fact that Fascism can
point to its fallen heroes and its martyrs.
Fascism has now ac3uired throuhout the world that universally which belons to
all doctrines which by achievin self-e2pression represent a moment in the history
of human thouht.
APPENDI4
11 Phl$'$ph! !$%!ep#$%
(!, 1f Fascism does not wish to die or, worse still, commit suicide, it must now
provide itself with a doctrine. Det this shall not and must not be a robe of 9essus
clinin to us for all eternity, for tomorrow is some thin mysterious and
unforeseen. This doctrine shall be a norm to uide political and individual action
in our daily life.
1 who have 1 dictated this doctrine, am the first to reali6e that the modest tables
of our laws and proram the theoretical and practical uidance of Fascism should be
revised, corrected, enlared, developed, because already in parts they have suffered
in7ury at the hand of time. 1 believe the essence and fundamentals of the doctrine
are still to be found in the postulates which throuhout two years have acted as a
call to arms for the recruits of 1talian Fascism. .owever, in takin those first
fundamental assumptions for a startin point, we must proceed to carry our
proram into a vaster field.
1talian Fascists, one and all, should cooperate in this task, one of vital
importance to Fascism, and more especially those who belon to reions where with
and without areement peaceful coe2istence has been achieved between two
antaonistic movements.
The word 1 am about to use is a reat one, but indeed 1 do wish that durin the
two months which are still to elapse before our 9ational &ssembly meets, the
philosophy of Fascism could be created. Milan is already contributin with the first
Fascist school of propaanda.
1t is not merely a 3uestion of atherin elements for a proram, to be used as a solid
foundation for the constitution of a party which must inevitably arise from the Fascist
movement0 it is also a 3uestion of denyin the silly tale that Fascism is all made up
of violent men. 1n point of fact amon Fascists there are many men who belon
to the restless but meditative class.
The new course taken by Fascist activity will in no way diminish the fihtin
spirit typical of Fascism. To furnish the mind with doctrines and creeds does not mean
to disarm, rather it sinifies to strenthen our power of action, and make us ever more
conscious of our work. 4oldiers who fiht fully conscious of the cause make the best
of warriors. Fascism takes for its own the twofold device of Ma66ini 5 Thouht and
&ction u. "Letter to Mic%ele &ianc%i, written on &uust +), !"+!, for the openin of
the 4chool of Fascist Kulture and 'ropaanda in Milan, in Messaggi e Proclami,
Milano, /ibreria d'1talia, !"+", '
.
#",.
Fascists must be placed in contact with one another0 their activity must be an
activity of doctrine, an activity of the spirit and of thouht
.ad our adversaries been present at our meetin, they would have been
convinced that Fascism is not only action, but thouht as well (4peech before the
9ational Kouncil of the Fascist 'arty, &uust =, !"+*, in La 'uova Politica
dell'Italia, Milano, &lpes, !"+=, p. +<),.
(+, Today 1 hold that Fascism as an idea, a doctrine, a reali6ation, is universal0 it
is 1talian in its particular institutions, but it is universal in the spirit, nor could it
be otherwise. The spirit is universal by reason of its nature. Therefore anyone may
foresee a Fascist Curope
.
Jrawin inspiration for her institutions from the doctrine and
practice of Fascism0 Curope , in other words, ivin a Fascist turn to the solution of
problems which beset the modern 4tate, the Twentieth Kentury 4tate which is very
different from the 4tates e2istin before !)=", and the 4tates formed immediately
after. Today Fascism fills universal re3uirements0 Fascism solves the threefold
problem of relations between 4tate and individual, between 4tate and associations,
between associations and orani6ed associations. (Messae for the year ! >ctober
+), !"#A, in Discorsi del 19(), Milano, &lpes, !"#!, p. +!!,.
21 Sp)#u"l5e- !$%!ep#$%
(#, This political process is flanked by a philosophic process. 1f it be true that
matter was on the altars for one century, today it is the spirit which takes its place.
&ll manifestations peculiar to the democratic spirit are conse3uently repudiated5
easyoinness, improvisation, the lack of a personal sense of responsibility, the
e2altation of numbers and of that mysterious divinity called n The 'eople a. &ll
creations of the spirit startin with that reliious are comin to the fore, and nobody
dare keep up the attitude of anticlericalism which, for several decades, was a favorite
with Jemocracy in the -estern world. %y sayin that God is returnin, we mean that
spiritual values are returnin. "Da t%e parte va it mondo, in *empi della +ivolu,ione
Fascista, Milano, &lpes, !"#A, p. #*,.
There is a field reserved more to meditation upon the supreme ends of life than
to a research of these ends. Konse3uently science starts from e2perience, but breaks
out fatally into p%ilosop%- and, in my opinion, p%ilosop%- alone can enlihten science
and lead to the universal idea. (To the Konress of 4cience at %olona , >ctober
#!, !",+<, in Discorsi del 19.. Milano, &lpes, !"+), p. +<=,.
1n order to understand the Fascist movement one must first appreciate the underlyin
spiritual phenomenon in all its vastness and depth. The manifestations of the
movement have been of a powerful and decisive nature, but one should o further. 1n
point of fact 1talian Fascism has not only been a political revolt aainst weak and
incapable overnments who had allowed 4tate authority to decay and were
threatenin to arrest the proress of the country, but also a spiritual revolt aainst
old ideas which had corrupted the sacred principles of reliion, of faith, of country.
Fascism, therefore, has been a revolt of the people. (Messae to the %ritish people0
?anuary $, !"+*, in Messaggi e Proclami, Milano, /ibreria d' 1talia, !"+", p. !A),.
(3) P$'#,e !$%!ep#$% $& l&e "' " '#)u33le
(*, 4trule is at the oriin of all thins, for life is full of contrasts5 there is love
and hatred, white and black, day and niht, ood and evil0 and until these contrasts
achieve balance, strule fatefully remains at the root of human nature. .owever, it is
ood for it to be so. Today we can indule in wars, economic battles, conflicts of
ideas, but if a day came to pass when strule ceased to e2ist, that day would be tined
with melancholy0 it would be a day of ruin, the day of endin. %ut that day will not come,
because history ever discloses new hori6ons. %y attemptin to restore calm, peace,
tran3uility, or. & would be fihtin the tendencies of the present period of
dynamism. >re must be prepared for other strules and for other surprises. 'eace will
only come when people surrender to a Khristian dream of universal brotherhood,
when they can hold out hands across the ocean and over the mountains. 'ersonally 1
do not believe very much in these idealisms, but 1 do not e2clude them for 1 e2clude
nothin. (&t the 'oliteama (ossetti, Trieste , 4eptember ), 19) / in Discorsi
Politici, Milano, 4tab. Tiporafico del N 'opolo d' 1talia 0 , 191, p. !A),.
($, For me the honor of nations consists in the contribution they have severally
made to human civili6ation. (C. /udwi, *al1s 2it% Mussolini, /ondon, &llen and
Onwin, 19(, p. 199#
61 E#h!"l !$%!ep#$%
1 called the orani6ation Fasci 1taliani Ji combat tin onto. This hard metallic name
compromised the whole proram of Fascism as 1 dreamed it. Komrades, this is still
our proram5 fiht.
/ife for the Fascist is a continuous, ceaseless fiht, which we accept with ease,
with reat courae, with the necessary intrepidity. (K n the @11th anniversary of the
Foundation of the Fasci, March 3, 19., in Discorsi del 19., Milano, &lpes,
1
9

), '
.
9
=
,
.

Dou touch the core of Fascist philosophy. -hen recently a Finnish philosopher
asked me to e2pound to him the sinificance of Fascism in one sentence, 1 wrote in
German5 ((-e are aainst the :easy, li ft E a. (C. /udwi5 *al1s 2it% Mussolini,
/ondon, &llen and Onwin, 19(, p. 19)#.
71 Rel3$u' !$%!ep#$%
(), 1f Fascism were not a creed how could it endow its followers with courae and
stoicism only a creed which has soared to the heihts of reliion can inspire such
words as passed the lips, now lifeless alas, of Federico Florio. "Legami di Sangue, in
Diuturna, Milano, &lpes, 19(), p. 4.#.
81 H'#$)!"l "%- )e"l'#! !$%!ep#$%
(=, Tradition certainly is one of the reatest spiritual forces of a people, inasmuch as it
is a successive and constant creation of their soul. "&reve Preludio, in *empi della
+ivolu,ione Fascista, Milano, &lpes, 19(
)
, P$
1
(#
"9# >ur temperament leads us to appraise the concrete aspect of problems, rather than
their ideoloical or mystical sublimation. Therefore we easily reain our balance.
"5spetti del Dramma, in Diuturna, Milano, &lpes, 19(), p. =<,.
>ur battle is an unrateful one, yet it is a beautiful battle since it compels us to
count only upon our own forces. (evealed truths we have torn to shreds, domas we
have spat upon, we have re7ected all theories of paradise, we have baffled charlatans
white, red, black charlatans who placed miraculous drus on the market to ive a
happiness n to mankind. -e do not believe in proram, in plans, in saints or apostles,
above all we believe not in happiness, in salvation, in the 'romised /and. "Diuturna,
Milano, &lpes, 19(), p. (#.
-e do not believe in a sinle solution, be it economical, political or moral, a linear
solution of the problems of life, because of illustrious choristers from all the
sacristies life is not linear and can never be reduced to a sement traced by
primordial needs. "'avigare necesse, in Diuturna, Milano, &lpes, 19(), p. ((#.
(!A, -e are not and do not wish to be motionless mummies, with faces perpetually
turned towards the same hori6on, nor do we wish to shut ourselves up within the
narrow hedes of subversive biotry, where formulas, like prayers of a professed
reliion, are muttered mechanically. -e are men, livin men, who wish to ive our
contribution, however 'modest, to the creation of history. "5udacia, in Jiu turna,
Milano, &lpes, 19(), p. '#
-e uphold moral and traditional values which 4ocialism nelects or despises0 but,
above all, Fascism has a horror of anythin implyin an arbitrary mortae on the
mysterious future. "Dopo due anni, in Diuturna, Milano, &lpes, 19(), p. 6#.
1n spite of the theories of conservation and renovation, of tradition and proress
e2pounded by the riht and the left, we do not clin desperately to the past as to a
last board of salvation5 yet we do not dash headlon into the seductive mists of the future.
"&reve preludio, in Diuturna, Milano, &lpes, !"#A, p. !*,. Pneation, eternal
immobility, mean damnation. 1 am all for motion. 1 am, one who marches on (C.
/udwi, *al1s 2it% Mussolini, /ot ?on, &llen and Onwin, !"#+, p. +A#,.
91 The %-,-u"l "%- lbe)#+
(!!, -e were the first to state, in the face of demo liberal individualism, that the
individual e2ists only in so far as he is within the 4tate and sub7ected to the
re3uirements of the state and that, as civili6ation assumes aspects which row more
and more complicated, individual freedom becomes more and more restricted. (To the
General staff Konference of Fascism, in Discorsi del 199, Milano, &lpes, !"#A, p.
+=A,.
The sense of the state rows within the consciousness of 1talians, for they feel
that the state alone is the irreplaceable safeuard of their unit and independence0 that
the state alone represents continuity into the future of their stock and their history.
(Messae on the @11th all anniversary, >ctober +$, !"+", Discorsi del 199, Milano,
&lpes, !"#A, p. #oo,.
1f, in the course of the past eiht years, we have made such astoundin
proress, you may well think suppose and foresee that in the course of the ne2t fifty
or eihty years the onward trend of 1taly , of this 1taly we feel to be so powerful, so
full of vital fluid, will really be randiose. 1t will be so especially if concord lasts
amon citi6ens, if the 4tate continues to be sole arbitrator in political and social
conflicts, if all remains within the state and nothin outside the 4tate, because it is
impossible to conceive any individual e2istin outside the 4tate unless he be a savae
whose home is in the solitude of she sandy desert. (4peech before the 4enate, May
!+, !"+=, in Discorsi del 197, Milano, &lpes, !"+", p. !A",.
Fascism has restored to the 4tate its soverein functions by claimin its absolute
ethical meanin, aainst the eotism of classes and cateories0 to the Government
of the state, which was reduced to a mere instrument of electoral assemblies, it has
restored dinity, as representin the personality of the state and its power of
Cmpire. 1t has rescued 4tate administration from the weiht of factions and party interests
(To the council of state, Jecember ++, !"+=, in Jiscorsi Jel !"+=, Milano, &lpes, !"+"
p.#+=,.
(!+, /et no one think of denyin the moral character of Fascism. For 1 should be
ashamed to speak from this tribune if 1 did not feel that 1 represent the moral and
spiritual powers of the state. -hat would the state be if it did not possess a spirit
of its own, and a morality of its own, which lend power to the laws in virtue of
which the state is obeyed by its citi6ensG
The Fascist state claims its ethical character5 it is Katholic but above all it is
Fascist, in fact it is e2clusively and essentially Fascist. Katholicism completes
Fascism, and this we openly declare, but let no one think they can turn the tables on us,
under cover of metaphysics or philosophy. (To the Khamber of Jeputies, May !#,
!"+", in Discorsi del 199, Milano, &lpes, !"#A, p. !=+,.
& 4tate which is fully aware of its mission and represents a people which are
marchin on0 a state which necessarily transforms the people even in their physical
aspect. 1n order to be somethin more than a mere administrator, the 4tate must
utter reat words, e2pound reat ideas and place reat problems before this people
"Di scorsi del 199, Milano, &lpes, !"#A, p. !=#,.
(!#, The concept of freedom is not absolute because nothin is ever absolute in life.
Freedom is not a riht, it is a duty. 1t is not a ift, it is a con3uest0 it is not
e3uality, it is a privilee. The concept of freedom chanes with the passin of time.
There is a freedom in times of peace which is not the freedom of times of war.
There is a freedom in times of prosperity which is not a freedom to be allowed in
times of poverty. (Fifth anniversary of the foundation of the Fasci di 8ontbattimento,
March +*, !"+*, in La nuova politica dell'Italia, vol. 111, Milano, &lpes, !"+$, p. #A,.
1n our state the individual is not deprived of freedom. 1n fact, he has reater liberty
than an isolated man, because the state protects him and he is part of the 4tate.
1solated man is without defence. (C. /udwi, *al1s 2it% Mussolini, /ondon, &llen and
Onwin, !"#+, '. !+",.
(!*, Today we may tell the world of the creation of the powerful united 4tate of
1taly, ranin from the &lps to 4icily0 this 4tate is e2pressed by a well-orani6ed,
centrali6ed, Onitarian democracy, where people circulate at case. 1ndeed, entlemen,
you admit the people into the citadel of the 4tate and the people will defend it, if you close
them out, the people will assault it. (speech before the Khamber of Jeputies, May +<,
!"+) , in Discorsi del 19!, Milano, &lpes, !"+=, p. !$",.
1n the Fascist reime the unity of classes, the political, social and coral unity of
the 1talian people is reali6ed within the state, and only within the Fascist state. (speech
before the Khamber of Jeputies, Jecember ", !"+= , in Discorsi del !"+=, Milano,
&lpes, !"+", p. ###,.
:1 C$%!ep#$% $& " !$)p$)"#,e '#"#e
(!$, -e have created the united state of 1taly remember that since the Cmpire 1taly
had not been a united state. .ere 1 wish to reaffirm solemnly our doctrine of the 4tate.
.ere 1 wish to reaffirm with no weaker enery, the formula 1 e2pounded at the scala
in Milan everythin in the state, nothin aainst the 4tate, nothin outside the
state. (speech before the Khamber of Jeputies, May +<, !"+) , Discorsi del 19!,
Milano, &lpes, !"+=, p. t$),
.
(!<, -e are, in other words, a state which controls all forces actin in nature.
-e control political forces, we control moral forces we control economic forces,
therefore we are a full-blown Korporative state. -e stand for a new principle in the
world, we stand for sheer, cateorical, definitive antithesis to the world of
democracy, plutocracy, free-masonry, to the world which still abides by the
fundamental principles laid down in !)=". (4peech before the new 9ational
Jirectory of the 'arty, &pril ), !"+<, in Discorsi del 19., Milano, &lpes, !"+), p.
!+A,.
The Ministry of Korporations is not a bureaucratic oran, nor does it wish to
e2ercise the functions of syndical orani6ations which are necessarily independent,
since they aim at orani6in, selectin and improvin the members of syndicates. The
Ministry of Korporations is an institution in virtue of which, in the centre and outside,
interal corporation becomes an accomplished fact, where balance is achieved
between interests and forces of the economic world. 4uch a lance is only possible
within the sphere of the state, because the state alone transcends the contrastin
interests of roups and individuals, in view of co-coordinatin them to achieve
hiher aims. The achievement of these aims is speeded up by the fact that all economic
orani6ations, acknowleded, safeuarded and supported by the Korporative 4tate, e2ist
within the orbit of Fascism0 in other terms they accept the conception of Fascism
in theory and in practice. (speech at the openin of the Ministry of Korporations,
?uly #!, !"+<, in Jiscorsi del 19., Milano, &lpes, !"+), p. +$A,.
-e have constituted a Korporative and Fascist state, the state of national society,
a 4tate which concentrates, controls, harmoni6es and tempers the interests of all social
classes, which are thereby protected in e3ual measure. -hereas, durin the years of
demo-liberal reime, labour looked with diffidence upon the state, was, in fact,
outside the 4tate and aainst the state, and considered the state an enemy of every
day and every hour, there is not one workin 1talian today who does not seek a
place in his Korporation or federation, who does not wish to be a livin atom of
that reat, immense, livin orani6ation which is the national Korporate 4tate of
Fascism. (>n the Fourth &nniversary of the March on (ome, >ctober +=, !"+<, in
Discorsi del 19., Milano, &lpes, !"+), p. #*A,.
91 De($!)"!+
(!), The war was revolutionary, in the sense that with streams of blood it did
away with the century of Jemocracy, the century of number, the century of ma7orities
and of 3uantities. (Ja t%e pane va it Mondo, in *empi della +ivolu,ione Fascista,
Milano, &lpes, !"#A, p. #),
(!=, Kf. note !#.
(!", (ace5 it is a feelin and not a reality0 "$ Q, a feelin. (C. /udwi, *al1s
2it% Mussolini, /ondon, &llen and Onwin, !"#+, p. )$,.
1;1 C$%!ep#$% $& #he '#"#e
(+A, & nation e2ists inasmuch as it is a people. & people rise inasmuch as they
are numerous, hard workin and well reulated. 'ower is the outcome of this
threefold principle. (To the General &ssembly of the 'arty, March lo, !"+", in
Discorsi del 199, Milano, &lpes, !"#A, p. +*,.
Fascism does not deny the 4tate0 Fascism maintains that a civic society,
national or imperial, cannot be conceived unless in the form of a 4tate "Stab, anti$
Slato, Fascismo, in *empi della +ivolu,ione Fascista, Milano, &lpes, !"#A
,
p. "*,.
For us the 9ation is mainly spirit and not only territory. There are 4tates which
owned immense territories and yet left no trace in the history of mankind. 9either is it a
3uestion of number, because there have been, in history, small, microscopic 4tates, which
left immortal, imperishable documents in art and philosophy.
The reatness of a nation is the compound of all these virtues and conditions. &
nation is reat when the power of the spirit is translated into reality. (4peech at
9aples, >ctober +*, !"++, in Discorsi della +ivolu,ione, Milano, &lpes, !"+=, p.
!A#,. -e wish to unity the nation within the soverein 4tate, which is above
everyone arid can afford to be aainst everyone, since it represents the moral
continuity of the nation in history. -ithout the 4tate there is no nation. There
are, merely. human areations. sub7ect to all the disinteration's which history
may inflict upon them. (4peech before the 9ational Kouncil of the Fascist 'arty,
&uust =, !"+*, in /a 'uova Politica dell' Italia, vol. 1110 Milano, &lpes, !"+=, p.
+<",.
D+%"(! )e"l#+

(+!, 1 believe that if a people wish to live they should develop a will to power,
otherwise they veetate, live miserably and become prey to a stroner people, in whom
this will to power is developed to a hiher deree. (4peech to the 4enate, May +=, !"+<,.
(++, 1t is Fascism which has refashioned the character of the 1talians, removin impurity
from our souls, temperin us to all sacrifices, restorin the true aspect of strenth and
beauty to our 1talian face. (4peech delivered at 'isa , May +$, !"+< , in Discorsi del
19., Milano, &lpes, !"+), p. !"#,.
1t is not out of place to illustrate the intrinsic character and profound
sinificance of the Fascist /evy. 1t is not merely a ceremony, but a very important stae
in the system of education and interal preparation of 1talian men which the Fascist
revolution considers one of the fundamental duties of the 4tate5 fundamental indeed, for if
the 4tate does not fulfill this duty or in any way accepts to place it under discussion,
the 4tate merely and simply forfeits its riht to e2ist. (4peech before the Khamber of
Jeputies, May +=, !"+=, in Discorsi del 197, Milano, &lpes, !"+", p. <=,.