Heya Marco and all MOQers: below is a point by point reply.
Marco said...
About Italy, your point does not stand. The origins of Fascism (1922) are
not in "lost empires colonies and wars". Italy existed only since 50 years,
never had colonies or empires, and won WWI. There was a certain nationalism
that was the natural nationalism of every young nation, that has to wage
wars to gain its own liberty.
DMB says...
OK. Good Point. Italy had just re-unified as a nation. But that fact only
reinforces my descriptions of Fascism as extreme nationalism borne of
prestige isses. As to "lost empires and colonies",.. I think its clear that
there was a strong element of an ancient Roman revival in Italian Fascism.
And their actions in Ethiopia demonstate the desire for colonial holdings.
Each nation is going to express Fascism in its own way, with certain unique
features, precisely because it is basically nationalism with the volume
turned way up. Still, I was trying to show that these reactionary movements
resemble each other in that they all try to reassert third level values.
Marco said...
Fascism originated from that nationalism, and was fueled by the fear of
communism. In Italy there was the possibility of a soviet-like revolution
and the "strong powers" (the King, the Church, the capitalist families)
thought that Mussolini (formerly a Socialist) was the right man to calm the
masses. They just thought he could last a couple of years, and they were
wrong. But they were right that Mussolini was the right man to bring on
their reactionary agenda. He was a populist and was been able to convince
the masses to abandon socialism in the name of a nationalist dream that
became in 20 years a nightmare.
DMB says...
Right on. Notice the constellation of ancient institutions behind Fascism?
The King, the Church, the wealthy families are all threatened by
intellectual values one way or another. The king's power is nominal at best
in a Democracy. The Church has more than a few differences of opinion with
science. The king, the Church and the rich families all feared communism for
the same reasons. It threatens their hold on power.
Marco...
But in the beginning it was not anti-intellectual. Italy up to the end of
the 20's was intellectually an interesting place. Futurists (futurism was an
interesting artistic movement that originated in Italy at the beginning of
the century: its sayings were "dynamism", "progress", "future"; its aim was
to depict motion using cubist forms... very original!) saw in Fascism the
political version of their aesthetic beliefs. Even an important philosopher,
Giovanni Gentile, (his "actualism" starts from the criticism of.... the
subject/object split!!!) was a convinced fascist. And the greatest poet of
the times, Gabriele D'Annunzio, was literally loved by fascists. Not to
mention the developments of science. Fermi begun his studies just during
those times. The anti-intellectual conversion came later, in the 30's. Once
the masses were calm, Mussolini brought on the agenda of the strong powers
and we know the rest of the story....
DMB says...
Germany had an exceptionally robust intelligentsia too. Its half-jokingly
said that the space race and the arms race was really race between the
German scientists captured by the Soviets and those captured by the USA.
(Dr. Stranglove, I guess.) And in the US in the thirties, the was a Fascist
Party and a reactionary isolationist impulse that ran alongside the New Deal
and a vigorous intellecual class. Henry Ford, was a futurist of sorts, but
was also a great admirer of Hitler's, with whom he traded fond letters and
birthday gifts. Ford was also a rabid anti-Semite and distributed copies of
THE PROTOCOLS OF THE ELDERS OF ZION among his employees and hired mafia
goons to bust the heads of would-be union organizers. My point?
Anti-intellectual reaction often exists in close proximity to intellectual
movements. And the reactionary movement will often appropriate
intellectuals, artists and scientists to the extent that they serve the
movement in practicle terms or even just to add prestige.
Thanks for your time.
DMB
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